The (ancestors of) the Brits and the French have waged many bloody battles over Brittany for more than 1500 years …  The area shows both influences – not exactly British but not entirely French either.  There is even a unique Breton language.  Over the centuries, a defensive ring of castles was constructed.  Along the entire coastline, old maritime fortresses are witness to the eventful centuries when Brittany was forced to protect itself from attack by the English Navy. The Fort National at Saint-Malo is one such coastal fortification.

Map of Brittany

TGV high speed bullet train at Gare Montparnasse

Dinan is a quaint old medieval town – one of the oldest in Brittany.  The narrow, pedestrian-only cobblestone streets wind up the hill overlooking the Rance river.   The “tour” dropped us off at the river (i.e., the bottom of the hill) where we could see an old Roman aqueduct entering the city.  We strolled up through the quaint streets and shops until we reached the cathedral and ultimately part of the medieval wall (and the new city square) at the top.

Mom and I could have easily spent a few more hours in Dinan.

The town of Dinan (pop. 14,500), still surrounded by its old walls, lies on a hill far above the left bank of the Rance.  The old town with its 15^th and 16^th century houses and the 14^th century castle of Anne de Bretagne preserve something of Dinan's medieval atmosphere.

(yes, we walked up this far)

The Breton port of Saint-Malo (săN-mälō') has a magnificent location on a former island on the English Channel, now joined to mainland France at the mouth of the river Rance. Still surrounded by its old walls, it preserves the aspect of a fortified coastal town of the Middle Ages.  A Welsh monk built a monastery nearby in the 6th cent., and in the 9th century refugees fleeing Norman raids on nearby Saint-Servan settled at the site of the present-day Saint-Malo.  During the Second World War the old town was largely destroyed, with the exception of the walls, but was rebuilt after the war in its original style, with narrow little streets and tall granite houses.

Our stop in Saint-Malo was short.  We opted to catch a quick sandwich at a Boulangerie so we could do a little sight-seeing.  It was an interesting town, but I think we both liked Dinan better.

Mont St Michel was our final stop on our grand day trip out of Paris.  After the opulent churches of Paris, it was quite an austere experience.  Everything was barren and huge and imposing.  For example, the cooking "stove" (fireplace) had a pit 8 feet high.

Mont-Saint-Michel (môN-săN-mēshĕl'), is a rocky isle in the Gulf of Saint-Malo, an arm of the English Channel. The isle, accessible by land at low tide, is also linked with the mainland by a causeway.

Classified a World Heritage Area by UNESCO, the bay of Mont- Saint- Michel boasts the strongest tides in Europe. The “Wonder of the Western World” stands proudly in the middle of the vast mud-flats.

(We didn't realize how quiet and smooth it was until we went to Barcelona!)