Groups
Circuit découverte de la ville de Fougères
Route details
Description
Extend your walk by visiting the sites and monuments open to the public.
Your itinerary
Stage 1: The Château de Fougères
Before or after completing the discovery tour of the city, discover the fabulous Château de Fougères, the largest medieval fortress in Europe. A veritable book of open-air military architecture, this jewel of our Breton heritage defended the Duchy of Brittany from the year 1000 to 1500. A dive into medieval times guaranteed!
Step 2: The Val Nançon garden
From the castle entrance, cross the square and its terraces to reach the Val Nançon garden on the left. This large green space in the heart of the city, connects in peace and freshness, the castle to the upper town. An ideal place to take a relaxing break on its peaceful stretches of grass along the river Le Nançon. Discover the picturesque charm of its allotment gardens as well as "l'Œuvre à la Vie", a contemporary glass sculpture symbolizing peace and the meeting of world cultures by Louis-Marie Catta.
Stage 3: The Upper Town
Reach the upper town via Place Aristide Briand with its many shops and lively terraces. Continue along Rue Nationale. The Victor Hugo theatre, the oldest belfry in Brittany, the museum of the impressionist painter E. Villéon, several richly decorated private mansions and the shops of craftsmen and food trades guide you to the church of Saint -Leonard at the entrance to the Public Garden.
Step 4: The public garden, an exceptional view of the Château de Fougères
An unmissable stop on the discovery tour of the city, the public garden, also called Place aux Arbres, is an ideal place to take a relaxing break. Established on three levels, it offers you an exceptional and panoramic view of the medieval quarter and its castle. Before going down to this district, walk the labyrinthine paths of this garden to discover the work of the landscape gardeners who take care of it and several works of art scattered here and there.
Step 5: The medieval quarter
Stroll through the charming little cobbled streets of the medieval quarter to discover the half-timbered houses. This district, the oldest in Fougères, was that of craftsmen: tanners, drapers and dyers who drew water from the Nançon river for their activities. The traditional wash house also welcomed the washerwomen.
Place du Marchix where the first livestock market was held, admire in particular the Maison de Savigny (14th and 15th century) at the corner of Rue de Savigny and Rue des Fontaines. Then reach the Château de Fougères via the Notre Dame Gate, the only preserved gate in the city's fortified enclosure.
