Page 278 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

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Combourg
! B3 ⌂ Ille-et-Vilaine £ @
n 9 rue Notre Dame; www.
tourisme.bretagne
romantique.fr
A small, sleepy town set
EXPERIENCE Brittany completely over shadowed by
beside a lake, Combourg is
the great, haunting Château
de Combourg. The building
we see today dates from the
14th and 15th centuries. In
1761 it was purchased by the
Comte de Chateau briand. The
melan cholic childhood spent
there by his son, the author
and diplomat François-René
de Chateau briand (1768–1848),
is candidly described in his
enter taining book Mémoires The ancient stone Chapelle busy harbour from which
d’Outre-Tombe (Memoirs from St-Gonery, in the centre of cloth was shipped, it is now a
Beyond the Grave). Plougrescant, 7 km (4 miles) quiet backwater, where you
Empty after the Revolution, to the north of Tréguier on the can take a pleasure cruise, or
the château was restored in D8 road, has a leaning lead walk along a towpath to the
the 19th century and is open spire and a 15th-century restored 17th-century Abbaye
for tours. One room has the painted wooden ceiling. St-Magloire at Léhon.
belongings of François-René The handsome Château de
de Chateaubriand. Dinan is flanked by the 14th-
20 century Duc de Bretagne Jean
Château de Combourg IV keep and the 15th-century
"' ⌂ 23 rue des Princes Dinan Tour de Coëtquen. Inside, in
# Apr–Oct: 10am–6pm Sun– ! B3 ⌂ Côtes d’Armor £ @ contrast to the military-style
Fri (daily in Jul & Aug:) n 9 rue du Château www. exterior, there is a kitchen,
∑ chateau-combourg.com a chapel and various well-
dinan-tourisme.com
designed residential rooms
Situated on a hill above the that are most notable for their
19 forested Rance Valley, Dinan monumental fireplaces.
is a modern market town with
Dinan’s surrounding country
Tréguier a medieval heart. Surrounded lanes are peppered with pre-
by its substantial ramparts, historic dolmen (stone tombs).
! B2 ⌂ Côtes d’Armor n 11
rue Marcellin Berthelot; the half-timbered houses and Château de Dinan
cobbled streets of its Vieille
www.bretagne-
cotedegranitrose.com Ville (Old Town) retain an " ⌂ Rue du Château § 02
impressive, unforced sense of 96 87 58 72 # May–Sep:
Overlooking the estuary of unity. Nearby, Basilique St- 10am–6pm daily ¢ Pub hols
the Jaundy and Guindy rivers, Sauveur contains the heart of
Tréguier stands apart from Dinan’s famous son, the 14th-
the resorts of the Côte de century warrior and one-time GREAT VIEW
Granit Rose (p270), nearby. It is Constable of France, Bertrand Tour d’Horloge
a typically Breton market town, du Guesclin. It’s a stiff climb up to
with one main attraction, the Behind the church, the the top of Dinan’s Tour
14th- to 15th-century regal peaceful Les Jardins Anglais d’Horloge – 158 steps
Cathédrale St-Tugdual. It has enjoy good views of the River in all – but it is worth
three towers: one Gothic, one Rance and the viaduct span the effort for the far-
Romanesque and the other ning it. A couple of streets reaching views to be
18th century. The latter, which further to the north, the steep enjoyed at the top,
was financed by Louis XVI with rue du Jerzual, bright with which can extend as
his winnings from the Paris geraniums, winds down far as Mont-St-Michel
Lot tery, has holes in the shapes through the 14th-cen tury on a clear day.
of playing-card suits. town gate to the port. Once a
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