Rue de Petit Fort

Rue de Petit Fort, originally uploaded by Gavatron.

This road was a highlight of the trip. Funny, I know.

Dinan is a city with a thousand-year history: founded at the narrowing of the Rance River, a bridge was built and boat traffic was charged a toll to pass. As the town grew on the flats by the bridge, it became a greater target for aggression from neighbours. So, the town retreated up the side of the river valley and became a walled city. The connection to the river was still important, and the Rue de Petit Fort (Little Fort Road) is the winding, cobblestoned connection down the steep valley from the medieval walled city to the Rance river below.

Lined with half-timbered houses, you could easily imagine schlepping up and down the streets in the 14th century; I envisioned cobblestones slicked with excrement from animals pulling carts to and from the river port. Loved it.