The Most Beautiful Town in Brittany? | Dinan - Exploring France
It's been argued for a long time that Dinan is the most beautiful town in the whole of Brittany. We thought we should go and have a look ourselves and make our own minds up. Beautiful, yes but the most beautiful, we're not sure, but we did have a lovely time.
The view from the top, overlooking the beautiful port - very picturesque
As always before we go on a trip like this, I (Jess) did a bit of planning, where to park, what to see, where to eat or get coffee, I like to be organised. So I planned the route around Dinan known that it was a beautiful place with lots to see and lots of history to be discovered. I found a great car park (which google said was free) that was really central and easy to get to. In the end it cost us €1.30 to park for 2 hours on a Sunday so really not that bad, although it's only the third time since living in France that we have paid to park! Incidentally, I've just been looking at parking in Bath, UK for a few hours as I am visiting in a few weeks, parking there is £6 for the same amount of time. I could get three bottles of wine for that over here in France. Anyway, that's not about Dinan is it, so let's get back to the point.
It's thought the name of Dinan itself could have Breton routes made up of the word Din meaning fort or fortress, but it's more likely to have Gallic routes, Din meaning hill and Ahna who was goddess protector of the living and guardian of the dead. Cheerful. The region has been inhabited since the Neolithic Period which dates from 7,000 BC to 1,700 BC although lots of this history has been lost and is mostly unknown up until the 11th century.
I knew our first stop was the Château de Dinan and a walk along some of the 2.6km long ramparts that would have once protected the town from invasion. What would have originally been the outer walls is now the inner most city as it has expanded over the centuries. The ramparts are a fascinating place, with 21 gates and doorways when it was originally built, only 7 have been destroyed. These are now the longest fortifications in the whole of the region. This location would have had great strategic importance in its time because we were right on the boarder of Brittany and Normandy which were fought over a lot during the 14th century. In 1064, he Norman Duke, who would become William the Conqueror besieged the town and this is shown on the Bayeaux Tapestry. It was a Norman town from this time up until 1283, when the Duke of Brittany bought half the town. It was during this time the first ramparts were built, consisting of eight towers to surround the town. There were originally four gates and a fifth built in 1620.
The back of the château, this walkway is the main entrance into the castle today
The fortifications were modernised during the second half of the 15th century and artillery towers were built. Part of the towns suburbs at the time were actually burnt down to accommodate the new buildings for the ramparts. The canons that were stationed here were never free. And like all Breton towns during this period, it was returned to the kingdom of France in 1532. From the late 16th century, the fortifications lost their defensive use and were no longer maintained, although they remained strong and in good condition. It was amazing to see all of this, before we had even got to our first stop, the château.
Le château de Dinan is a 14th century castle that would have replaced an ancient fortress. Positioned on a hill side, it would have originally been used as the main entry point in and out of the town. It was commissioned and built by John the Conqueror (I'd never heard of him either) who won the War of Succession of Brittany in 1364. He became ruler of the kingdom and decided to build a master tower in Dinan. It was composed of two adjoining round towers reinforced by a square facing and it raises to over 30 metres tall. As we walked around it, we could see an old drawbridge that would have originally gone over the moat. It wasn't signposted, but I got the feeling we were walking in, what would have once been, the moat. This imposing structure, originally had a slate roof and it was abandoned in the 17th century. Architects have praised the construction of the building as it has stood the test of time and remained quite unchanged during the centuries.
During the 18th century, hundreds of English sailors used the château as somewhere to stay, and only a century later, it became a prison! At the beginning of the 20th century, it was bought by the city of Dinan and a museum set up in it, which was removed from the castle in 2015. The castle was originally the southern gate to the city and it was used as a residence and not just as a stronghold for fortifications. You can go inside and visit the château but we knew there was so much to see, so we gave it a miss this time, but if you would like to visit, they are open from April to December and it costs just €7.50 per adult to enter. From the château, we took a walk up towards the main high street and the belfry.
Due to the growing number of bourgeoisie in the city, the council of notables decided they needed to build somewhere to serve as a place for meetings, to hold archives and to serve as a watch tower to try and spot and prevent the many fires raging through the city. The first stone of the belfry was laid in 1471 but it wasn't until 1500 that it was officially a belfry. Duchess Anne, who was daughter of the Duke of Brittany at the time granted permission for the council to place a clock on the tower elevating it to the status of a belfry. This is one of only three belfries in the whole of Brittany. We visited one of the others in Fougères and the third is in... well, I can't find it. I've tried to have a look online but I can't see where it is but I'm sure it looks lovely!
The belfry would have once towered high over the town
The bell in the tower of the belfry weighs over 2,400kg and is called Anne, after Duchess Anne. The clock and the bell were installed at the same time and it was changed in 1657, and then moved into the museum in 1847. A replica clock has been placed there and the bell rings every 15 minutes. Architecturally, it is a lovely building, eight metres square at the bottom, from the fourth floor, the building becomes octagonal shape and rooms inside are lined with small staircases and the tower itself is accessed by a spiral staircase. There are a total of five bells, the smallest weighing just 55kg with a diameter of only 45cm. This bell is permanently fixed and so it never rings. It must have done at some point! The next bell is the light quarter bell and it weighs 121kg, the big quarter bell is 154kg and as their names state they ring every quarter of the hour. Another one weighing 170kg rings every quarter of the hour as well, this one is a later addition, being added in 1823 and was forged in Villedieu les Poêles which isn't far from where we live. The largest one, Anne, only bongs on the hour. Again, we were wanting to see as much as we can so we didn't see inside the belfry but you can visit from February til October and it costs just €4 per adult. These places, we have noticed are quite cheap compared to places you can visit in the UK that we're used to.
From the belfry, we continued to walk through the picturesque streets of Dinan, towards the Basilica Saint Sauver which is one of two main places of religious importance in Dinan. The Basilica is a Roman Catholic Church whose oldest parts were built during the 12th century. As with many churches, it has been reconstructed and adapted over the many years, its main reconstruction being in 1480's. This reconstruction signified the growing wealth and showed the town was thriving at the time. These stain glass windows actually date from the 20th century, due to them being blown out during World War II. I found out lots of interesting information about bells during this trip, as you can tell from the belfry and another interesting bell fact about the Basiclia is that it houses three bells. Two of them chime throughout the day on every quarter, but the third, smallest one, only chimes three times a day. Not that unusual I suppose, but the time it chimes is, 8.02, 12.02 and 19.02. No idea why, I presume it has got out of time as the years passed but you'd have thought it would have been fixed!
Inside the beautiful Basilica
The other church is Eglise Saint Malo. We didn't actually go to this church but it is apparently beautifully constructed 15th century built in gothic style. It has been added to and adapted until the 19th century. This was due to lack of money and the work was suspended for a few centuries. It was held up a few times. In 1597, a gunpowder store in the church exploded and it was destroyed. After this, noble families invested in the church and their coats of arms can all be seen on the ceiling inside. During the early 18th century, architects lowered the nave as it was close to collapse and for just a few hundred years, during the French Revolution, it was no longer used as a place of worship but used as stables, a concert hall and barracks. It was returned to a place of worship in 1803 but it needed restoration costing 10,000 francs. The local council couldn't afford this at the time and therefore put the renovations on hold. However, later that century, the repairs were completed costing a massive 200,000 Francs! Bet they wish they'd paid the 10,000 a few years prior. The nave was completed in 1865. Unlike the majority of the churches in the region of Brittany and Normandy, this churches' stained glass windows were spared from WWII and most of the windows date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Writing this now, I wish we had made time to visit this church it sounds wonderful, maybe it will be an excuse to go back.
It was a beautiful sunny day when we visited Dinan, as much as we had a plan, and I love a schedule, it didn't really matter where we went. We wandered down alleyways and through the narrow cobbled streets of Dinan, most of which are pedestrianised and we ended up on another tower of the fortifications. This one overlooked the valley of the river Rance. A very impressive site with magnificent views of the port and the viaduct that puts Dinan on the map. The viaduct was built in the mid 1850's and allowed people to more easily travel over the valley. Our original plan was to walk down to the port and have a spot of lunch on the banks of the river and the hike up the steepest and most famous road of the whole of Dinan. However, the sun was high in the sky and it was starting to get really hot, so after a 6 day working week for Matt, we decided we should drive down to the port and have a wonder along the river rather than hiking down to come back up. So we adapted our itinerary and headed for this steep road anyway, but luckily, we were near the top.
Most beautiful road in Dinan? I wouldn't have wanted to live here!!
Rue de Jerzual, this is apparently the most picturesque street of the most picturesque town in Brittany, we thought we needed to see it to believe it. This road connected the port to the historic central town and was heavily used by merchants from the port. It is one of the oldest streets of Dinan, but since the viaduct was built, the road was rarely used as a link to and from the port. I bet the merchants at the time weren't complaining! Until the 1930's, this road was home to weavers, basket makers and tanners but in the 1970's many artists took over the premises restoring the beauty of this street. We have to say, it was beautiful, lined with half timbered houses and cobbled streets underfoot, we trudged the few hundred yards up the streets passed window boxes bursting with spring flowers and bees buzzing around quickly trying to gather their nectar to make precious honey. I have to admit, it was a beautiful street.
What a stunning front garden. This is wisteria goals! (I will get ours looking like that one day)
Once we were part way up this road, we were thankful we hadn't walked down to the port. The sun was high in the sky and it was starting to get very warm. We moved along to Place des Merciers which is Dinans main square, making this the last place on our tour before heading down to the port. This square is most famous for its half timbered houses some dating back to the 13th century, with little coffee shops nestled in amongst the tangle of buildings and wooden columns supporting the toppling buildings. From this square are a series of lanes and alleyways which are mostly dedicated to traders at the time. Here, you will see Rue de la Poissonnerie - Fishmongers Street, Rue de l'Horloge - Clockmakers Street, Rue de la Chaux - Lime Street (probably derived from some form of pottery), Rue de la Petit Pain - Bread Street, Rue de la Cordonnerie - Shoe Repairer Street, and also ironmongers, meat sellers and weavers. This square also leads to what is described as one of Dinans best kept secrets, an undercover market. We were in the town on a Sunday, so this market was a bit of a ghost town with only three stalls open. It was nice, but for Dinans sake, I hope there are better kept secrets.
Amazing half timbered houses look like they're falling down!
So that was our tour of the town done, our next port of call was the port (excuse the pun). The mouth of this river, the Rance, comes out at Saint Malo, which as the crow flies isn't too far and it is a stunning place to visit. We are really glad we decided to drive down, even though parking was bit of a nightmare, if you visit, stay clear from the port parking unless you are going very early or very late, this car park was rammed and there was no turning space, we had to do a 45 point turn in our medium sized car! We decided in the end to park the opposite side of the river and walk the few hundred metres around. we scoured out the local restaurants for lunch, being Brittany, it is famous for its crepes both sweet and savoury and they love them! Us, not so much, so we decided to go to a seafood restaurant and it was delicious. The food here in France is such good value, especially at lunch time. This place did a two course lunch for €15 or 3 courses for €18. They are full sized portions and the food is generally local and fresh that day. They cook whatever they can get, hence why its so cheap and everywhere does a Plat du Jour for their lunches.
So, Dinan, is it the most beautiful town in Brittany? I don't think we have the authority to comment on this one, having only visited a handful of towns in Brittany I think it would be unfair to judge. But, I do think it is a stunning place that is well worth a visit if you're in the area and if you can, spend a couple of days here so you can have the chance to visit the castle, the belfry and also there is an abbey just outside of the town that looks beautiful for a place to visit. Theres so many nooks and crannies of this town to explore and its the place that just keeps giving and I think spring time is a wonderful place to see it.
In conclusion visit Dinan (now I sound like an advert for it - this is an unpaid tour) and if you want to SEE its splendour but you cant get to the town itself, check out our latest YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafklL7k4CrfWgiA9H3RawQ
W3W
Parking in the town: ///recovery.thrilled.stream
Parking at the port: ///crops.rentals.replied
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