Dinan - good location within?
 

Hello everyone, I am looking at booking a house in Dinan subsequent to Fodorites good reviews of the town! I am trying to ascertain whether the location of the house is a good one and it is difficult to know looking at the map if you are unfamiliar with the town. It is on the Rue de la Madeleine "which is a street leading up from the port area to Lanvallay - it is about 100 to 200m to the river."
Any thoughts from someone who knows Dinan please?

ozgirl, I was really hoping I could help you with your street search but Madeleine does not show up on my two different maps of Dinan. Is the street within the Remparts? If you can find out which Tower is close to the rue I might be able to help.

Hopefully you will get a response from someone more familiar with the streets. We were in Dinan three days this Sept for the first time but we did spend alot of time walking through the town.

I, or rather my husband, can scan the map I have from the Dinan TA and email it to you if that would help.

I loved Dinan, my husband could have done with fewer steep streets. He refused to walk UP rue du Jerzual from the Port ;;) Deborah

IF you check maps.google.fr and enter your address, you'll see that there is a rue de la Madeleine at Lanvallay - should give you some idea of the layout.

I haven't been to Dinan, and so can't comment on the location.

good suggestion from Carlux. I went to viamichelin and put in rue de madeleine to rue de l'horloge, which I thought to be in the midst of old town Dinan and it gave a distance of 1.2 km.

Near rue de madeleine and across vieux pont there is a pedestrian only street, rue du petit fort that leads you right into the old part of Dinan, going up the road (Jerzual) the same one my husband refused to walk up ;;)

Deborah

I checked. Rue de la Madeleine is in Lanvallay, and not in Dinan -- but leads down to the port of Dinan. Lanvallay is just across the river.

I like the port area, but I am an enthusiast for boats. There are some nice café/bars there, and a couple of restaurants that look appealing but that I have not tried. It is not far from the centre of Dinan, perhaps 800m, but it is a truly steep climb up the Jerzual (Note what DeborahAnn says about her husband's attitude; I can understand it for older or unfit people).

At least parking would not be a problem. It can be a bit difficult in Dinan.

padraig, my husband would take great exception to be placed in with a grouping called old or unfit ;;) He saw nothing on the jerzual that he was willing to walk UP to see as we had seen it already from the top down;;) Deborah

Deborah, I didn't want to accuse him of being lazy!

Herself and I attack it with gusto. It's an undeclared contest. Last time the tortoise won, as Herself misjudged the pace and had to stop to recover her breath.

Thanks all. I had googled the street and come up with the Lanvallay connection but wasn't really sure what that meant. So essentially Lanvallay is an adjoining town/village?
I had read about the steep Rue du Jerzal and realised we would have to traverse up that - if we didn't tackle the walk, and occasionally drove, would we be any worse off than if we were actuually staying outside of Dinan anyway?
I guess what I am trying to establish is if that particular area still has the charm that Dinan is recognised for?
Thank you all again.

Yes, Lanvallay is an adjoining village, as you surmise. It does not have the same medieval character that Dinan has, but I cannot comment on the Rue de la Madeleine, which is very close to Dinan. The port area of Dinan is charming in its own way, and retains some medieval buildings, so the location is not necessarily bad.

Let's not overrate the Jerzual. Yes, it is a steep cobbled street (pedestrianised) that might be a challenge to the old, the unfit, the lazy, and (Deborah, I hope you are reading this) the bored, but for healthy people who should take a bit of exercise, it's fine. You can always pause to befriend cats, as there seem to be quite a few around.

It's a bit of a pain driving around Dinan, and parking tends to be difficult, so I would rather walk.

Personally, I would not rule out the location, especially if the house seems nice and the price is good.

Thank you Padraig, that helps. So with regard to the location, what about getting to and fro when we leave Dinan for day trips to surrounding areas, would it be a problem traffic wise in this spot?

Deborah Ann, my husband will attack the hill with gusto - I'm not so sure about me - once or twice if it's not too hot!!

Seriously, I found a couple of nice looking rentals outside of Dinan, but no one has returned my emails which is frustrating but this property does look very nice.

padraig, that street is a BEAR, I can only liken it to getting to the top of an Aztec temple, totally hunched over, clawing our way to the top ;;)

ozgirl, we stayed outside the ramparts at a B&B, owned by a very nice British couple, our price was 55 euros per night, that claimed it was a short walk to Old Town Dinan. Now, Ron and I are into walking but that was a hike, wandering past schools, businesses and residential areas so after the first attempt we gave up on it and drove. My point is that we were staying outside the ramparts and still had a wonderful visit.

If what you have chosen is a good price, you will be fine. The port area does have some fun looking restaurants/bars and you will have easy access driving to towns outside Dinan.

It really is a gem of a town. I'll tell you more when you are ready to work on the "what to do in Dinan and where to dine" stuff.

Have fun planning your trip. Deborah

How difficult it is to travel from Lanvallay depends on where you want to go! To get to St. Malo or Dinard, the obvious route is through Dinan. It's quite manageable once you have worked out the route (which goes around, rather than through, the medieval quarter). On the other hand, you are well-placed for Dol-de-Bretagne (worth a look) and Rennes (worth a day).

Deborah Ann, my son has just emailed me back photos of Macchu Picchu and I now have visions of rue du Jerzual leading up to same - thankyou for the laugh!
I can always drive can't I?
If I don;t hear back from the alternatives I think I will go with this one which looks very well appointed and they are willing to rent for less than a week enabling us to spend two days in Bayeux for the beaches.
We are looking at the B&B you recommended there and Francois for the tour.
Thanks again Padraig!

ozgirl, jerzual is pedestrian only, keeps the fun all to the tourists ;;) Deborah

Oh ok. I can still reach the old town by road via another route though I guess. I promise I will tackle it at least once and if you read headlines "Death in Dinan of Aussie tourist" you will know it WAS too much for me!

correction to comment by padraig on the drive to St. Malo, you can take the rue du quai on the outskirts of Dinan to a roundabout that will get you on n-176 and then on to St. Malo do a search on viamichelin.com and will show you the route

our B&B was only a couple of miles from where you would be staying, which is why I am familiar with the area. Deborah