Menhir du Champ Dolent Epiniac
Saint-Samson Cathedral
Forest of Dom de Villecartier
Mont-Saint-Michel
Landell Castle
Dol-de-Bretagne
Just a little way from Saint-Michael’s Mount, and on the frontier with Normandy, is the Brittany town of Dol-de-Bretagne.
Very often captured and pillaged, by the Normans, the Francs, the French, and the Revolutionary Troops, this town has reinvented itself recently, adapting quietly to being a tourist destination.
The main unusual feature of the town is its Saint-Samson fortified cathedral dating from over 800 years ago. The interior is also surprising, with its three-tier nave.
La rue des Stuarts is a monument in itself. The oldest houses date from the 12th century with tiny arcades and facades. There are numerous traces of Viking influence, notably the iconography of Nordic legends.
At the edge of the town is le Mont Dol, which was formerly an island. Now surrounded by a swamp, it is topped by the Tout Notre Dame. Pilgrims climb a snaking road to make it to the top.
Not far away, the Landal Castle is beautifully restored and maintained, and eagles are reared there. If the weather is good, you can watch a display of the flight of these magnificent creatures.
Map of the Dol-deBetagne area:
Dinan