Dinan

Instead of nestling on the valley floor like Morlaix, most urban development has been on the hillside overlooking the river Rance. The area alongside the river is known as the "port of Dinan", and is connected to the town by steep streets: Rue Jerzual and its continuation outside the city walls, the Rue Petit Fort. The Rance has moderate turbidity and its brownish water is somewhat low in velocity due to the very low gradient of the watercourse; pH levels have been measured at a slightly basic 8.13^[4] within the city, and electrical conductivity of the waters has tested at 33 micro-siemens per centimetre. In the centre of Dinan, the Rance's summer flows are typically low, in the range of 14 cubic metres per second (490 cu ft/s).

For many years, the bridge over the river Rance at Dinan was the most northerly crossing point on the river, but the tidal power station at the mouth of the estuary, constructed in the 1960s downstream from Dinan, incorporates a 750-metre long tidal barrage, which also serves as a crossing point nearer to the sea.

Dinan station has rail connections to Saint-Brieuc, Lamballe and Dol-de-Bretagne.

Inhabitants of Dinan are called dinannais and dinannaises.

The medieval town on the hilltop has many fine old buildings, some of which date from the 13th century. The town retains a large section of the city walls, part of which can be walked round.

Major historical attractions include the Jacobins Theatre dating from 1224, the flamboyant Gothic St Malo's Church, the Romanesque St Saviour's Basilica, Duchess Anne's Tower and the Château de Dinan.

A major highlight in the calendar is Dinan's Fête des Remparts. The town is transformed with decoration and many locals dress up in medieval garb for this two-day festival. The festival takes place over the third weekend in July every even-numbered year. At least in November, the city hosts the Festival Films courts de Dinan, an international French-speaking film festival.

Prominent people born in Dinan include:

• Charles Beslay (1795–1878), member of the Council of the Paris Commune
• Théodore Botrel (1868–1925), poet and singer
• Yves Guyot (1843–1928), politician and economist
• Odile Ohier (born 1963), long distance athlete
• Auguste Pavie (1847–1925), explorer and diplomat
• Charles Pinot Duclos (1704–1772), author
• Pierre de Porcaro (1904–1945), Catholic priest and prisoner-of-war
• Jean Rochefort (1930–2017 ), actor
• Da Silva (singer) (1976–), singer
• Yann Benoist, musician, (1951–)

Other people associated with Dinan include:

• François-René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848), writer, studied in Dinan
• Maurice Colbourne (actor born 1939) (1939–1989), actor
• Bertrand du Guesclin (c1320-80), connétable of France. Born at nearby Broons. His heart is buried in Dinan.
• John Everett Millais (1829–96), British painter who lived in Dinan as a child
• Danielle Mitterrand (1924–2011), wife of President François Mitterrand, educated at the Roger Vercel college
• Colonel Robert Jambon (1924/5-2011), soldier in the First Indochina War, died in Dinan
• Jean-François Paillard (1928– ), conductor, educated at the Cordeliers de Dinan
• Henri Pinault (1904–1987), Catholic Bishop of Chengdu, educated at the Cordeliers de Dinan
• René Pleven, (1901–1993), politician, minister, essayist. The hospital in Dinan is named after him.
• Horace Tuck (1876–1951), English painter, visited Dinan for its picturesque vistas
• Roger Vercel (1894–1957), writer, winner of the Prix Goncourt in 1934, died in Dinan. A college in the town is named after him.
• Edward Matthew Ward (1816–1879), English artist who painted views of Dinan

Dinan is a twin town with:

• Dinant, Belgium
• Exmouth, United Kingdom
• Lugo, Spain

• Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department