Vannes Old Town, a Historic Centre Between Harbour and Ramparts, Brittany France

Vannes aged city is fortified by the Romans in the medieval times. The town is a gateway to the Gulf of Morbihan by the Marle estuary south of Brittany. Remaining the funds of Morbihan, Vannes aged town has a pretty port, medieval architecture, beautiful gardens, squares, food scene, and many others., to learn.

Soon after many days of nature exploration pursuing our street trip itinerary for Brittany, we felt exhausted and longed for a leisurely outing. Consequently, the check out to Vannes old city was a excellent tour to healthy our agenda.   

We strolled into the outdated city from the harbourside. The highlights of the Vannes outdated city are:

• Port de Vannes
• Put Henri-IV
• 50 %-timbered homes in Breton design
• Jardin des Remparts
• Saint-Patern historic centre
• Critical structures
• Neighborhood stores and retailers

Port de Vannes

Vannes Harbour

Ideal phase outside the house of the Q-Parking, we observed ourselves struggling with the semi-circular plaza Place Gambetta immediate in entrance of the Vannes port. The walkway to the south alongside the harbour is extensive and sheltered with planted avenues of trees. It reaches the peninsula at Conleau.

Quite a few boats and yachts docked on the port, next to each other devoid of any hole. Lower-climbing apartment buildings neatly surround the smaller port.

Place Gambetta

Going for walks to the most important entry gate of the outdated city from the port, we passed the Location Gambetta, a fast paced trafficking position the place most cars also push as a result of the sq.. Location Gambetta has various present day restaurants and cafes with in depth outdoors seating spots and terrific sights.

St Vincent Gate(Porte St Vincent Ferrier)

The historic monument Saint-Vincent Gate at the northern conclude of the harbour is a previous city gate in Vannes. Entering by the medieval gate, we received lost in the medieval architecture and the winding medieval alleys of Vannes outdated city.

Area Henri-IV

Those medieval alleys connect a number of plazas in the old town. Just one of them is particularly really worth seeing, the Location Henri-IV. It is a historic going for walks area that showcases 16th-century structures and intriguing museums.

La Cohue – Musée des Beaux Arts de Vannes

La Cohue is property to the Vannes Fantastic Arts Museum. Within the constructing, the corridor teems with lifestyle from medieval situations, the stone, archways, and the passageway. La Cohue used to household many stalls on the floor ground and the ducal courthouse on the initially flooring.

I dropped in and was curious about the white paper-formed objects hanging close to. Afterwards, from many data boards outside we located the solutions. That was an exhibition presenting the fantastic methods of state-of-the-art folding and structure crumpling. The artists had designed natural styles making use of sheets of baking paper.

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre (Saint Peter’s Cathedral)

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre, instantly opposite the Museum of Great Arts, is a Basilica developed on the continues to be of an historic Romanesque cathedral. The cathedral is a blend of architecture, which includes the tomb of the town’s patron saint, St. Vincent Ferrer.  

Porte Prison (historic landmark)

Strolling to the east driving the cathedral and along the Rue Porte Prison is a fortified Jail Gate, a single of the oldest entrances to the walled town. It connects to a wonderful 50 %-timbered residence that attracted much more of my attention.

50 %-timbered houses in Breton design

50 %-timbered houses have regular Breton architectural developments. People properties boast a few or 4 floors with corbels jutting out from a wall. The better flooring of the half-timbered homes are wider than the ground ground, enabling a large passage on the community street when escalating the area region on the higher floors.

The floor flooring of the homes incorporate an substantial selection of retailers, boutiques, and cafes. It is also so effortless to discover a place for a crack.

Jardin des Remparts

A fraction of the authentic ramparts is nonetheless intact and consists of a massive segment of the battlement partitions, durable towers, and arched entrances. One of the towers was initially part of the courtyard of the Chateau de l’Hermine.

Upcoming to the ramparts is a effectively-taken care of back garden. A number of walking paths neatly divide the backyard into patches. The backyard garden is a tranquil area to relaxation immediately after a extended walk by the outdated town. The very tiny structures next to the river are the original washhouses for Vannes. By all usually means, It is truly worth going for walks the duration of the partitions and getting in the views of the gardens and the Vannes previous town.

Saint-Patern historic centre

Around the church of Saint Patern is a different charming historic centre. The church was named immediately after the initial recognized bishop of Vannes. Though it is not a will have to-see put, the see of the church from the Jardin des Remparts is eye-catching.

The Saint-Patern quarter is entire of small restaurants and cafés. Its full neighbourhood sits on the slopes of the Boismoreau hill. And, it is also the oldest part of Vannes with beautiful residences. 

Crucial properties

Vannes Hôtel de Ville

Remaining the previous city at the northwest corner is the majestic town hall, the Lodge de Ville on Maurice-Marchais sq.. The opulent building is up coming to an extraordinary previous college. 

The city hall framed by north and south wings has a façade that is specially abundant in decoration. There are square pillars on the side wings, semi-columns on the central tract, alternating triangular and gables, cartouches and busts, and volutes.

I admired the beautiful symmetry and wished to have a look within. But thanks to the pandemic predicament, it was closed to the community. Later on, I have learned that the creating has a monumental double staircase illuminated by a huge skylight.

Préfecture du Morbihan

The Préfecture du Morbihan, built on a U-shaped system, is an administrative making located in Vannes, funds of the French department of Morbihan. The decoration refers to Breton heritage with representations of Nominoë, Count of Vannes, and Alain Barbetorte, two heroes of Breton independence. And the constructing is surrounded by a five-hectare park that mainly resembles an English Back garden.

Community stores and outlets

Right behind the principal gate, St Vincent Gate, are all effectively-preserved medieval streets & 50 percent-timbered residences, whose floor flooring are retailers and suppliers selling the specialties of Brittany. I popped in several retailers as we passed by way of the Vannes old town and could not resist the temptation of the baked products. Some stores focus in a single style of products, this kind of as wines and ciders. Others offer general Breton goods, from baked sweets, canneries, Breton Enamel with blue and white designs to the standard Breton rain jackets. I lingered in 1 retail store and purchased numerous sweets and baked items that experienced caught my eyes. 

Vacation suggestions for Vannes Previous City

Wherever to stay

Since Vannes is a excellent base to discover southern Brittany, France, it also has quite a few lodging in the previous town.  Below two accommodations are straight in the centre of the city:

How to get there

The TGV teach from Paris to Vannes can take less than 3 hours. In general, there are a number of scheduled trains a working day. Vannes teach station is about 700 metres to the edge of the Vannes Previous Town.

The significant roads E60 and N166 attain Vannes. There are a lot of parking destinations straight outside the house the previous town, and the closest a single is subsequent to the harbour, Q-Park Port, about 100 metres to the most important gate of the aged town.