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Towns with great view

Soon the summer is back and so is the crowd in our favourite romantic towns. Benefit of the last months before the holidays, be smart and visit the famous French historical cities out of the high season. We've been to Saint-Malo and Dinan.


 Dinan

 1, Extraordinary location

 This gem is still hidden from the mass tourism. We found out about  Dinan thanks to an Instagram post and the town was immediately put on our Bucket list of Brittany. 

 163 km from Nantes, located by the Rance estuary, Dinan is a picturesque old town. 
The river Rance forms a deep gulf between Dinan and the sea. The gulf is due to the marine flooding of a steep-sided valley which has been formed by tidal water. The historical city is both located down in the valley and up on the hill. This curious location would already give us a good reason to visit. Not to mention the old half timbered houses from 15C to 17C, the narrow, sloped, cobbled streets, the Tour de l’Horloge, the Basilique St-Sauveur and the view from the ramparts.


 2, Get lost

 We spent some time following the old streets. The Tour de l’Horloge whit its interesting roof woke up our curiosity and guided us. Finally we reached the Jardin Anglais for a spectacular view on the valley and the old lower district by the right bank of the river. Finishing with a walk on the ramparts it was time to return to the car and carry on our trip to Saint-Malo.




Saint-Malo

1, Bad luck turned into good

We hoped for high-tide and great stormy waves that are reaching the top of the ramparts. Well, we arrived during low tide on a sunny day. The only way to turn our luck was to get down to the coast, climb all over the rocks and enjoy the unusual view on the fortified city from below.

2, Get lost and discover

We arrived for lunch and left a whole afternoon for visiting. It’s the least time you need. As gastronomy Brittany is famous of its crepes (both sweet and salty) and of course of sea food. You cannot be mistaken by choosing any of these options from the menu. Even better to order crepes with sea food filling! Some apple cidre nicely fits to these. 

The highlight of the city is the walk on the ramparts with the view. You don't only have a nice view on the harbour and the sea but also an overlook on the historical city centre. If you have the chance also visit any of the islands : the Grand-Bé and the Petit-Bé. Depending on the tides you can directly walk to these.



 Travelling with dogs 🐕

As these are cities there’s no problem for your pooch to join you for the adventure. Our bichon loves the sandy beaches after low tide, and jumping from rocks to rocks by the coast. If you ask him, Saint Malo is a top destination ;) 
In France you can normally bring your dog inside the restaurants too. He will be served with water 💚


Following articles

Our next great location is the Mont-St- Michel. Meanwhile with the nice weather we hike a lot around Nantes. We’d like to share a few of these less touristy sights that we’ve recently discovered.

Keep following us on Instagram for more photos and adventures! 


Eszter  & Rémi ( and Le Bodza the petit bichon)








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