Dinan, Brittany: A Walled Medieval Town on the Rance

Dinan, France, sits on a granite spur high above the River Rance, its ramparts still wrapped around an old town of half-timbered houses, steep cobbled lanes and church towers. Below, a long, steep street drops to a small river port where boats tie up beside a low stone bridge and a nineteenth-century viaduct strides across the valley. Few towns in north-west France have kept so much of their medieval shape, and it is one of the most rewarding places in Brittany to explore on foot. This guide covers the ramparts and castle, the old streets and their houses, the port on the Rance and the practical side of a visit, including how much climbing is involved. On Day 12 of our Anglo French small group tour of Normandy, Brittany and the Channel Islands, the group arrives in Dinan for a guided tour of the town, the last Breton stop before Saint-Malo and the ferry to Jersey.

A thousand-year-old town at the head of the Rance

Dinan grew up around its port on the Rance, which the local tourist office calls the cradle of a city about a thousand years old, and a castle stood here by the 1060s. The town stands at the head of the Rance estuary, which runs north to the coast between Dinard and Saint-Malo, so it looked both inland and to the sea. By the late Middle Ages Breton merchants were trading here, and the steep street that linked the port to the hilltop town was lined with the workshops of weavers and tanners.

Dinan belonged to the independent Duchy of Brittany, and its fortunes rose and fell with the duchy’s wars with France and England. Its most famous son is Bertrand du Guesclin, born around 1320 at La Motte, near Dinan, according to Britannica. He became one of the great commanders of the Hundred Years’ War and was made Constable of France in 1370. He died in 1380 while besieging the fortress of Châteauneuf-de-Randon, far to the south, and his heart now rests in Dinan. Today Dinan is one of France’s officially designated Towns of Art and History, and its old centre is one of the best preserved in Brittany. Our wider guide to travelling in Brittany places it in the context of the region’s other historic towns.

The ramparts and the castle

Dinan’s walls are the town’s defining feature. The Dinan tourist office describes them as the largest and oldest in Brittany: about three kilometres of wall, begun in the thirteenth century and strengthened in the late Middle Ages, with a castle keep, a series of towers and four monumental gates. Sources count the towers differently, from ten to fourteen depending on what is included. Walking a section of the wall walk gives a fine sense of the town’s position, with the slate roofs of the old town on one side and deep, tree-filled ditches or the drop to the Rance on the other. At the time of writing, the town is restoring a long stretch of the northern ramparts and opening a new walking trail along it, so the sections open to walkers may vary; check locally before you go.

At the southern end of the walls stands the castle, a tall keep known as the Donjon de la Duchesse Anne. Brittany’s official tourism site describes it as a ducal residence built between 1380 and 1384 for Duke John IV of Brittany, who had taken control of the town from its old lords. It was later enlarged with the Coëtquen tower, served for a time as a prison, and was listed as a historic monument in 1886. The castle now houses the town museum, with displays on the art of war and daily life in a princely residence, refreshed in 2019. The visit involves a series of narrow spiral staircases, and the tourist office describes it as suited to good walkers; at the time of writing it is open from spring to the end of the year, so check opening times before you go.

Half-timbered streets and the old town

Inside the walls, the old town is a tight web of streets and small squares lined with houses from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Many are half-timbered, with upper storeys jutting out over the street on carved beams; in the most characteristic, around the Place des Merciers and the Place des Cordeliers, the projecting upper floors rest on wooden or stone pillars, forming covered porches where traders once set out their goods. Later, wealthy families added granite town houses in the eighteenth century, so the old centre reads as several centuries layered together rather than a single period piece.

Rising above the rooftops is the Tour de l’Horloge, the town belfry. According to the French Ministry of Culture’s heritage register, it was built around 1505 at the request of Anne of Brittany, the duchess who was twice queen of France, and it has been a classified historic monument since 1910. Anne’s connection with Dinan is a strong local tradition, and the castle keep also carries her name. In season visitors can usually climb the tower, which involves a long, narrow stair, for one of the best views over the town and the surrounding countryside.

A short walk away is the Basilica of Saint-Sauveur, a church built over several centuries. Its Romanesque west front dates from the twelfth century, while much of the rest was rebuilt in Gothic style from the late fifteenth century, and Brittany Tourism notes that the building was never finished in the form first planned, which accounts for its slightly lopsided look. In the right transept is the memorial to Bertrand du Guesclin, which holds his heart, set in a granite tomb. Behind the apse, the Jardin Anglais, a small garden laid out on a former cemetery, looks over the Rance valley to the viaduct and the port below. A short walk away, on the Place du Guesclin, a bronze equestrian statue of the constable by the sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet has stood since 1902.

Rue du Jerzual and the port on the Rance

The best-known street in Dinan is the Rue du Jerzual, which runs steeply downhill from near the old Franciscan convent of the Cordeliers to the Jerzual gate, a fourteenth-century gateway in the walls. Below the gate it continues as the Rue du Petit Fort down to the river. For centuries this was the main link between the town and the port, and its half-timbered and gabled houses were home to weavers, tanners and other trades. Today many are workshops and galleries for glassblowers, painters, wood gilders and other craftspeople. The street is cobbled and very steep, with gradients that one travel guide puts at up to about 33 per cent in places.

At the bottom of the hill, the port of Dinan is a quiet stretch of quays on the Rance, lined with old houses, cafés and moored boats. An old stone bridge crosses the river here, and the far bank, in the neighbouring commune of Lanvallay, gives the classic view back up to the town. Above the port, the granite viaduct carrying the road across the valley was inaugurated in 1852; two of its arches, damaged during the Second World War, were rebuilt after 1945. From the port, a former towpath runs along the river in both directions, north towards the estuary and the village of Taden, and south towards Léhon, with its abbey and the ruins of a medieval castle. The Maison de la Rance on the quay, open seasonally at the time of writing, has exhibitions on the river and estuary.

Is Dinan, France worth visiting?

Yes: Dinan is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Brittany, and it rewards anyone interested in history, architecture or simply walking through a living old town. Its combination of ramparts, half-timbered streets and a river port in a deep valley is unusual, and the town is compact enough to understand in a few hours. It also makes a natural pairing with the walled port of Saint-Malo on the coast, which has a very different, maritime character.

How long do you need in Dinan?

A half day is enough to see the main sights of the old town, walk part of the ramparts and go down the Rue du Jerzual to the port; a full day lets you add the castle museum, the clock tower and a walk along the river. The tourist office’s own guided walks of the town last about one and a half to two hours. Staying overnight, as the tour does, means you can see the old streets in the quieter early morning and evening.

How much walking is involved in Dinan?

A fair amount, and some of it is steep. The old town is on a plateau, so the streets within the walls are mostly gentle, but they are cobbled and uneven. The Rue du Jerzual and Rue du Petit Fort descend sharply to the port, and the climb back up is demanding; the tourist office does not recommend its walk that includes the street for people with walking or breathing difficulties. The castle keep and the clock tower both involve narrow stairs. Wear sturdy shoes with good grip, as the cobbles can be slippery after rain, and take the descent and climb at your own pace.

When is the best time to visit Dinan?

Late spring and early autumn usually offer the best balance of mild weather and manageable crowds, while summer is the busiest season, especially at weekends. Every two years the town holds a medieval festival over a weekend, with tournaments, costumed townspeople and street entertainment, which is a lively spectacle but brings large crowds. Brittany’s weather is changeable at any time of year, so a light waterproof is always useful.

Dinan on Days 12 and 13 of the tour

Dinan comes near the end of the tour’s journey through Brittany. Earlier, on Day 6, the group leaves Bayeux for the abbey island of Mont-St-Michel and continues to Rennes, the historic Breton capital. Day 7 brings a guided tour of Rennes and free time in the walled town of Vannes on the Gulf of Morbihan before the group moves on to Fouesnant in southern Brittany. On Day 11 the group travels north from Fouesnant to Trébeurden, stopping at several of the region’s parish churches and taking a tour of the Sept-Îles off Perros-Guirec.

On Day 12 the group heads for Trégastel, on the Pink Granite Coast, to visit the local aquarium and learn about the town’s wartime history. From there it travels on to Dinan for a guided tour of the town, followed by dinner at the hotel. On the morning of Day 13 the group leaves Dinan for a walking tour of Saint-Malo, then boards the ferry from Saint-Malo for the crossing to the Channel Island of Jersey. Our Normandy, Brittany and Channel Islands itinerary follows the whole route day by day.

The tour is rated Level 2, Moderate: participants should be able to manage three to five hours of activity a day, the equivalent of walking up to 8 kilometres on uneven ground, as well as stairs and their own luggage. Dinan’s steep streets are a good example of why. An Odyssey Program Leader travels with the group throughout.

Dinan is a town best understood on foot, climbing from the river to the ramparts and seeing how a medieval port and fortress grew together on the Rance. On the Anglo French Tour: Normandy, Brittany and the Channel Islands, a small group of up to 16 travellers explores it with a local guide, as part of a journey from Paris through Normandy and Brittany to the Channel Islands and London.