Vallée de la Rance & Léhon Abbey Walk
Follow the towpath south from Dinan's port for four kilometres and you'll arrive at the village of Léhon, home to a 12th-century Benedictine priory with a cloister garden that feels entirely lost in time. The walk itself threads through a wooded river gorge where herons fish the shallows and the only sounds are birdsong and the occasional lock gate opening.
The Towpath Walk
The flat, well-maintained towpath along the Canal d'Ille-et-Rance begins at Dinan's port basin and follows the river south through a canopy of willow and alder; it's suitable for cyclists, walkers and families with pushchairs.
You'll pass two working locks — the lock-keepers are usually happy to chat if a boat is passing through — and several picnic spots with views back up to the wooded valley walls.
The walk to Léhon takes about an hour at a relaxed pace; you can return the same way or, in summer, take a river taxi back to Dinan's port (check seasonal schedules at the port tourist kiosk).
Léhon Priory
The Prieuré Saint-Magloire de Léhon was founded in the 9th century and rebuilt in the 12th; its cloister, refectory and church have been beautifully restored and are open to visitors with a small guided tour available in French (and sometimes English) on summer afternoons.
The cloister garden is planted with medicinal herbs that the monks would have cultivated — lavender, rue, valerian and angelica — and the silence inside the stone arches is profound even in the height of summer.
The village of Léhon itself is classified as a Petits Villages de Caractère and has a handful of stone houses, a crêperie and a riverside terrace café where the post-walk drink tastes particularly well-earned.
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