We had enjoyed two good days in Dinard and St Malo but the next morning it was time to move on. We woke earlier than planned on account of some seagulls flying past our window and screeching so loud it was as though it was a fleet of police patrol cars driving by on the way to attend an incident with emergency sirens blaring.
Before travel I always carry out careful research but sometimes something just crops up while you are away. At a shop in Dinard I was looking at postcards and came across one for the nearby town of Dinan and it looked exactly like the sort of place that we should visit. Kim was elsewhere in the shop and spotted exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Simultaneously we said “come and look at this, I think we should go here” and we decided there and then that we should.
It took longer to drive to Dinan than it really should have on account of major road works which required a lengthy and tedious detour which doubled both the distance and the time to our destination but as it turned out it was well worth the inconvenience.
Even as we arrived I was thinking half an hour might be more than enough but I was forced to recalculate very quickly when we arrived in the old town which is a warren of narrow streets where it appears that time has stood completely still. Dinan it turns out is one of the best preserved medieval walled towns not just in Brittany but in all of France. After only a moment or so in this picturesque setting I had elevated it straight into my top ten of favourite places even leaping above Santillana del Mar in Spain, Shiltach in Germany and Hallstatt in Austria and before very long we were looking in the Estate Agent’s windows.
From the town we made our way down the steep Rue du Petit-Fort, which was Dinan’s main point of access until the eighteenth century. An uneven cobbled street, the stuff of picture postcards flanked with half-timbered houses and arts and crafts shops on account of the fact that Dinan has been designated a Ville d’Art et d’Histoire (Town of Art and History) and is filled with artists, sculptors, engravers, bookbinders, glassblowers and more.
The road twisted and turned and seemed like it would never end as it spilled half or mile or so down towards the River Rance and the old port, passing through the ancient main gate of the walled town and down to a medieval stone bridge which crossed the river towards another labyrinth of tiny streets on the other side.
The sun was shining and the temperature was rising and there were a string of inviting bars and restaurants alongside the banks of the river so we stopped for a while before tackling the return journey back up the steep hill.
At the mid way point we climbed the fortress steps and took the path around the castle walls with magnificent and commanding views over the surrounding countryside. The town walls are sadly incomplete so it cannot become my favourite walled city and that distinction has to remain with Londonderry in Northern Ireland.
What a fabulous place, what an unexpected find and if you take only one piece of advice from me then if you are ever in Brittany or Northern France then I urge you to visit Dinan. At the end of the visit Kim declared it the highlight of the holiday and that included Mont St Michel.
Reluctantly we left Dinan clutching a fist full of property details and followed the road back to the coast and St Malo. We were behind schedule so the sensible thing to do now was to go directly to Mont St Michel but Kim was intrigued by a visitor attraction marked on the map called the sculptured rocks so sensing another unexpected delight we left the main highway and set out on the coast road.
Let me now give you a second piece of advice – unless you are really determined to see rock carvings do not take an unnecessary detour to Les rochers sculptés! We were expecting a stack of rocks standing in the sea pounded by waves into interesting formations but the site is a small area of stonemason carvings in the side of the granite cliff.
These sculptures were carved just over a hundred years ago by a hermit priest, Abbé Fouré, who had suffered a stroke and lost his ability to hear and speak and the story goes that he began these sculptures as a means of alternative communication. I am not trying to underestimate the value of the work here you understand, what I am saying that it is a tedious detour and the visit is going to be over in about twenty minutes.
If you do want to go and see them then I would do it soon because after one hundred years they are seriously eroded by the sea and the rain and it can’t help a great deal that visitors are allowed to climb all over them.
I was impatient now to get to Mont St Michel but stuck on the coast road progress was infuriatingly slow as we passed through several towns and villages all with inconveniently snail like speed limits. Out in the Gulf of St Malo we could see the abbey on the island but it seemed to take a frustrating age to get there as the road snaked around the coast and every few miles or so we came across a tractor or a school bus which slowed us down even more. Several times I cursed the decision to go and visit Les rochers sculptés.
Click on an image to scroll through the gallery…
Delightful!
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Thanks John, yes, it really was!
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Oh this looks divine. The gallery of photos with the bicycle looks like it could be a postcard collage. I love that both you and Kim decided at the same time you should visit. Now did those real estate flyers have anything interesting?
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You bet, and good prices too. Very tempting to go off an adventure, but we liked Wales as well!
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it’s beautiful!
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Believe me, it is a real gem!
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It looks a really beautiful, and photogenic place!
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It really was John, I really shouldn’t be telling everyone about it!
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Lovely place – thanks for the heads-up!
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Nice on a good day but might be a bit cold if the weather is poor!
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Very true!
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I’ve overlooked Dinan during many trips to St. Malo. I will have to rectify that on next trip.
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Yes, do, I am certain that you will enjoy it!
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Looks to me like an amazing trip, felt sorry for the frustrating leg to Les rochers sculptés though, I know exactly what you mean by slowly meandering on narrow roads that seem to attract obstacles and barriers, which tend to feel bigger when you’re feeling frustrated anyway 🙂 But you endured and good for you, Andrew
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I remember some tedious driving in Croatia as well!
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Precisely, the background to my comment – the meandering in Croatia + all sorts of obstacles that pop out of nowhere in fair few places – so unnerving 🙂
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I’ve always wanted to go to Mont St. Michel but if ever I manage that hop over the Channel I’ll add Dinan. A house in France, Andrew? Seriously? I could be visiting Kim’s B & B 🙂
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I also wanted to go to Mont St Michel and to live in France. I have seen the Mount and will think about the other some more…
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What a charming little town!
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It was beautiful Gunta, really wonderful!
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Oh how I love this! THIS is exactly why I believe in being flexible when you travel. All of the wonderful little gems to be found that aren’t on your ‘schedule. What a lovely town,
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I love it when you get an unexpected surprise. I’ve had some disappointments as well though. What about you?
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True, I’ve had my share of disappointments also, but they worth the risks. Wouldn’t be an adventure with some risks. 😊
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Whimsical and something out of a fairy tale. I’m smitten. What’s not to love despite uneven walkways and slanting and endless, tiny street. ❤ ❤ ❤
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Very close to perfection I would say!
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So beautiful. That town actually reminds me of Mont St Michel with its high walls and cobbled streets and colorful paint. And those carved stones are awesome!
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But much less crowded. I guess it gets busy in the height of summer but at the end of September it was perfect. Mont St Michel on the other hand was still very busy.
Whoever carved those stones had bags of patience that’s for sure!
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I was lucky when I went there. It wasn’t busy at all. There were some folks but not many. Did you stay overnight? We stayed overnight and there was only a handful of people after dark. I highly recommend walking around the grounds at night. It is beautiful and serene in the evening.
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I would have liked to have stayed there but it was too expensive, way beyond my travel budget. We stayed at a place nearby on a farm with great views of Mont St Michel and paid just £50.
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Cool. We must have got lucky because out place wasn’t expensive either.
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Wow, that looks like such a lovely place!
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Yes, it was, well worth noting if you go to Brittany.
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Love those walking roads through town.
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Yes, but I don’t remember them being pedestrianised now that you mention it.
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Certainly they weren’t vehicled???
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Not when I took the pictures!
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One of France’s best kept secrets by the sounds of it, Andrew. That last sculptured rock looks like Mr Punch.
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That is exactly what I thought Hugh. Thanks.
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Maybe you should apply to go on A Place In The Sun – Home or Abroad. Will it be Brittany, Wales or will they stay in Grimsby?
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I think possibly Wales would be my first choice.
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It’s great when you can be spontaneous on holiday and it’s even greater when it works out so well….with the exception of the frustrating drive 😛
But that’s the reason why France still has these amazing historical places to go visit – because they don’t knock them all down to build eight-lane superhighways.
I hope that Dinan is still there when I finally get to France 🙂
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I hope so too.
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I am swept away by the photos, but *both* of you finding the village of Dinan a highlight confirms it for me: I want to go there. Everything in your photos and description shows that it is the kind of place that would make me grin during my entire visit.
That last photo. I imagine that’s a stone selfie of yourself, stuck in traffic, thinking about how much you wish you did not go look at stone sculptures by the sea.
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I was a bit stony faced I have to admit!
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Pingback: France, A Medieval Walled Town | Have Bag, Will Travel
Thanks the link works now! Beautiful part of the world – could wander round those quaint streets for hours. Visited Mont St Michel years ago must go back at some point 🙂
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I was disappointed at just how commercialised it is, great to look at from the outside but too touristy inside!
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I remember all the shops lining the street as you go up the steps to the “Mont”. It was very commercialised back then (early 1980s) so expect it’s far worse now!
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Slow traffic can ruin any outing.
Also, I just drove (virtually, via Google Map’s Street View) through Dinan. Interesting place. It does look like it’s primarily a tourist attraction.
Did you ride the carousel?
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The old town is a tourist trap but it is a working modern town as well!
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Reblogged this on found-in-france and commented:
I love Paris but if you haven’t explored beyond it, you miss so much.
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The streets are reminiscent of Aquitaine, where I had a house
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Post war reconstruction of the town’s of France is something to be admired and envied.
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Those rock carvings are amazing. An excellent post.
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Thank you, I appreciate you stopping by!
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Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
This from Andrew 😉
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Pingback: A to Z of Windows – D is for Dinan in France | Have Bag, Will Travel
A lovely town, which you describe so well and affectionately.
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Thanks Margaret.
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