Dinan
France
A walled medieval town on a ridge above the Rance, joined to its little river port by one very steep cobbled street
Photo by Desert Morocco Adventure on Unsplash
Photos by Svetlana Kholkina, Radek Kozák, Pascal Bernardon and Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
May to September
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 90mm in Nov
Where it is
48.45°N, 2.05°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Walk down the Jerzual in the morning and have lunch at the port
- Walk the towpath to Léhon, half an hour each way
- Climb the Tour de l’Horloge for the roofs
- Take the boat to Saint-Malo one way and the bus back
- Come for the Fête des Remparts, a medieval festival held every other summer
Dinan travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeEuros, and cards everywhere, including the crêperies on the Jerzual and the boats on the Rance.
ATMs & cards
Bank machines in the walled town round the Place Du Guesclin. Use a bank’s own machine and refuse the offer to convert into your own currency.
Avoid these
- independent machines that offer to charge you in your own currency
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne
- Société Générale
- La Banque Postale
Cards are taken everywhere. Refuse any offer to convert.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
Very safeA very safe small town. The Jerzual is steep, uneven and slippery after rain, which in Brittany means often. The ramparts and the viaduct have long drops and low parapets in places. Below the Châtelier lock, a few kilometres downstream, the Rance is tidal, and the boat to Saint-Malo runs to the tide rather than to the clock — check the day’s times.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- the walled town — the old centre inside the ramparts
- the port
- the Jardin anglais — the garden on the ramparts above the viaduct
- Léhon
Worth more attention
- the Rue du Jerzual — steep, uneven cobbles that are slippery in rain
- Parking inside the walls in summer, which fills by late morning; the car parks outside the ramparts are the answer
- the viaduct and the ramparts — long drops behind low parapets; keep children close
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodThis is Haute-Bretagne, so the galette is the meal and the galette-saucisse — a sausage rolled in a cold buckwheat pancake — is what is eaten standing up at the market. Cider is dry or sweet, brut or doux, and comes in a bowl. The Thursday market fills the squares of the walled town.
Travel tipsGetting around
Limited- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Dinan
No Holistay rentals in Dinan yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Dinan on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Dinard DNR
20 minfrom the airport· 15 km as the crow flies
About 20 minutes by taxi or hire car; there is no useful bus.
Also worth pricing: Rennes RNS — under an hour by road, with more routes all year.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
