Vannes Old Town (La Cité)
Vannes's walled old town is a living stage set of half-timbered medieval houses, cobbled lanes and a soaring Gothic cathedral — all compact enough to explore in a morning. Unlike Saint-Malo, the crowds here stay manageable, making it one of Brittany's most rewarding historic centres to simply wander.
Place Henri IV & the Timber Frames
The undisputed centrepiece of the old town is Place Henri IV, a triangular square hemmed in by some of the finest 16th-century corbelled timber-frame houses in France. Look up at the carved wooden figures and overhanging upper storeys — each façade is slightly different, a testament to the individual craftsmen who built them.
From here, duck into Rue Saint-Salomon and Rue des Halles for more of the same. The streets are narrow enough that the upper floors nearly touch overhead, and in the evening the warm stone glows amber under the streetlights.
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre
At the heart of the old town stands the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre, a Gothic and Renaissance hybrid built between the 13th and 19th centuries. Its most remarkable feature is the round chapel on the north side — the Chapelle du Saint-Sacrement — an Italian Renaissance jewel that feels completely out of place in Brittany, in the best possible way.
The cathedral is free to enter and cool even on the hottest summer days. Look for the tomb of Saint Vincent Ferrier, the Spanish Dominican friar who died in Vannes in 1419 and whose canonisation put the city on the medieval map.
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