Places to see in ( Dinan - France )
Places to see in ( Dinan - France )
Dinan is a town in Brittany, northwest France. It’s known for its medieval ramparts, cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses. Dinan Castle has a 14th-century keep and the Tour du Coëtquen, a 15th-century artillery tower. The grand, Gothic-style Saint-Malo Church has vibrant stained-glass windows. The Clock Tower offers panoramic views. The Rail Museum has model railways, plus posters and signal boxes.
Dinan is without doubt one of the most attractive and best preserved small towns in Brittany. With its 1.8 mile (3km)-long ramparts, half-timbered houses, attractive port and cobbled streets filled with art galleries and craft shops, it’s worth a day of anyone’s time.
The most attractive part of Dinan is arguably its port, which is where you’ll arrive if you take a boat from Dinard or St Malo. The quay is lined with old stone houses, many of which are now waterside restaurants and chandlers’ shops. Take a walk along the old towpath or cross the 15th-century stone bridge to Lanvallay to find out about life on the river in the Maison de la Rance discovery centre. Wherever you are, you won’t miss the 131ft (40m)-high viaduct.
From the port, make your way up the steep Rue du Petit-Fort, which was Dinan’s main point of access until the 18th century. This cobbled hill with its half-timbered houses appears on many a postcard; have a browse in the arts and crafts shops. Dinan has been designated a Ville d’Art et d’Histoire (Town of Art and History) and the town is filled with artists, sculptors, engravers, bookbinders, glassblowers and more.
Dinan’s old town is a warren of narrow streets where it appears that time has stood still. The quaintest part is Place des Merciers where you’ll find the best examples of the town’s half-timbered houses; just opposite is the pedestrianised Rue de la Cordonnerie, also known as ‘thirsty street’ as it has nine bars.
To get your bearings, climb the 158 steps to the top of the 40m (132ft)-high Tour de l’Horloge for wonderful views over Dinan and the surrounding area – you can see as far as Mont St Michel on a clear day. Nearby Place du Guesclin is the site of the Thursday-morning market.
The 13th-century castle now houses the town’s museum and this is the best place to start a tour of the magnificent ramparts, 8804ft (2684m) long, which are the oldest and most impressive in Brittany. Dinan holds the Fête des Remparts medieval festival each July.
( Dinan - France ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Dinan . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Dinan - France
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Palaces and Castles of France
Palaces and Castles of France
Versailles, Chenonceau, Chambord, Élisée, Chantilly, Carcassonne, Tau, Vitré, Beynac, Haut-Koenigsbourg, Plessis-Bourré, Sully-sur-Loire, Villandry, Luxembourg, Saumur, Chaumont, Rambouillet, Vaux le Vicomte, Popes´ Palace, Fontainebleau, Cheverny, Fougères, Pierrefonds, Bannes, Langeais, Auzers, Valençay and Rohan
Châteaux of the Loire Valley
The Châteaux of the Loire Valley are part of the architectural heritage of the historic towns of Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Montsoreau, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours along the Loire River in France. They illustrate Renaissance ideals of design in France.
By the middle of the 16th century, King François I had shifted the center of power in France from the Loire back to the ancient capital of Paris. With him went the great architects, but the Loire Valley continued to be the place where most of the French royalty preferred to spend the bulk of their time. The ascension to the throne of King Louis XIV in the middle of the 17th century made Paris the permanent site for great royal châteaux when he built the Palace of Versailles. Nonetheless, those who gained the king's favour and the wealthy bourgeoisie continued to renovate existing châteaux or build lavish new ones as their summer residence in the Loire.
The French Revolution saw a number of the great French châteaux destroyed and many ransacked, their treasures stolen. The overnight impoverishment of many of the deposed nobility, usually after one of its members lost his or her head to the guillotine, saw many châteaux demolished. During World War I and World War II, some chateaux were commandeered as military headquarters. Some of these continued to be used this way after the end of World War II.
Today, these privately owned châteaux serve as homes, a few open their doors to tourist visits, while others are operated as hotels or bed and breakfasts. Many have been taken over by a local government authority, or the giant structures like those at Chambord are owned and operated by the national government and are major tourist sites, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
tags: France, Europe, places, touristic, travel, tourism, tourist, trip, travelling, traveller, backpacker, palace, castle, guide, history, architecture, european, Versailles, Chenonceau, Chambord, Loire Valley, Reims, Paris, Élisée, Royal, Tour, Chantilly, Carcassonne, Tau, Vitré, Beynac, Haut-Koenigsbourg, Plessis-Bourré, Sully-sur-Loire, Villandry, Luxembourg, Saumur, Chaumont, european, Paris, Rambouillet, Vaux le Vicomte, Brittany, Château, Palais des Papes, Fontainebleau, Cheverny, Fougères, Palais des Papes, Pope's Palace, Avignon, Provence, Middle Ages, Pierrefonds, Bannes, Langeais, Auzers, Valençay, Rohan-Soubise, gardens, Alsace, Strasbourg, medieval, French Revolution
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