Vannes, Medieval commune in Brittany, France
Vannes is a commune on the southern coast of Brittany in France, sitting between the mouths of two rivers and the Gulf of Morbihan. Half-timbered houses from the 15th and 16th centuries line the streets of the old center, enclosed by stone fortifications with several round towers.
The Romans built Darioritum in 56 BC after defeating the Celtic Veneti and turned the settlement into an important administrative hub. In the Middle Ages, the town became the seat of the Dukes of Brittany and later a site of important negotiations between the duchy and the Kingdom of France.
The name comes from the Veneti, a Celtic people who lived here before Roman conquest. The cobbled lanes inside the walls now host cafés and small shops, while the Place des Lices holds a large market every Wednesday and Saturday.
The train station offers regular connections to Paris and other major cities in the region, while the old center is easy to explore on foot. The streets inside the walls are mostly level and accessible to visitors of all ages, though some sections of the fortifications allow a walk along the top using stairs.
A small wooden sculpture attached to the outer wall of a house near the cathedral shows a smiling couple and is often considered a good luck charm. The pattern in the cobblestones in front of the Porte Prison was laid in the 19th century using stones of different colors to visually shorten the distance to the gate.
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