So looking over my blog now with plenty of time… I have found sometimes places traveled and not on my blog; this is a pity. Therefore, it is time to catch up. I have been to Vitré several times and many posts, however, I like to tell you about its train station or gare and the tourist office !!! Hope you enjoy it as I; and thanks for reading me since November 2010!
Well location, Vitré is in the Ille et Vilaine dept 35 of my lovely Bretagne. It occupies the Marche region in upper Bretagne. It is label City of Art and History and the inscription to the list of the most beautiful detours of France. Vitré is the 37th French town with the most historical monuments and comprised 14% of the historical monuments of the department. The city was promoted to flower town or “Ville Fleurie”, on 3 flowers label and has two stars in the green Michelin Guide. There what are you waiting for?
The town is about 2 hrs from our home. We took the N157 from Rennes into the D777 to Vitré by car is easy. Vitré is located 275 km from Paris, 132 km from Caen, 104 km from Nantes, 62 km from Mont-Saint-Michel and 35 km from Rennes. The Paris-Brest Expressway N157-E50, which extends the A11 expressway to Vitré.
It, also a railway node, line to Vitré was opened in 1857 on the Paris-Brest line. Then, a second line in the direction of Fougréres was opened in 1867 a viaduc spanning the valley of the Vilaine was built to the west of the city, and finally in 1874, a third line to the La Guerche-de-Bretagne. The construction of the train station was carried out in 1855 in the form of a small Gothic Castle in brick and Tufa, in the city center, just south of the walled city.
The gare de Vitré or train station is at 15, place du Général de Gaulle, It’s construction began in 1855 and ended in 1857. Victor Lenoir was the architect of the Vitré train station but also that of the old station Montparnasse in Paris. The installation of the station in the immediate vicinity of the historic center resulted in the destruction of the southern ramparts and a Haussmannisation of the inner city districts by the opening of north / south oriented boulevards such as rue Garengeot, rue Bertrand-d’Argentré, and rue Duguesclin. A medieval suburb dating from the Middle Ages has disappeared. It occupied the current parking lot north of the station and went as far as the Sainte-Croix Church; the rue de la Fontaine served this district as well as a tennis court.
The SNCF train station of Vitré has a passenger building with a ticket office, open every day. It is equipped with machines for the purchase of TER transport tickets The station is served by TGVs running between Paris-Montparnasse and the Breton stations of Rennes and Saint-Malo, and by regional trains from the TER Bretagne and TER Pays networks de la Loire, circulating between Rennes, Laval and Le Mans. Since the commissioning of the Virgule de Sablé line , the station has also been linked to Nantes, via Angers.
The Vitré – Fougéres section of the Vitré – Pontorson line closed on March 5, 1972, The Vitré – La Guerche-de-Bretagne section of the Martigné-Ferchaud – Vitré line was closed the same year. The railway line was transformed into a hiking trail in the 1990s.
The SNCF train station of Vitré webpage: https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gare/frxvt/vitre
The TER lines of Bretagne on Vitré: https://www.ter.sncf.com/bretagne/gares/87471508/Vitr%C3%A9/pratique
The Vitré tourist office is located at Place du Général de Gaulle right across the train station. This as always is the starting point for a visit anywhere you are not familiar with and even if are me think. We always get updates here and at Vitré there is a world of information to know the city well, I like to add it here as across the street from the gare.
The Vitré tourist office on its history/heritage : https://en.bretagne-vitre.com/art-et-histoire/
There you go folks a nice side step to see nice useful information for any visit to any town or region and the ever present train stations of my belle France; oh yes have ridden in them but not at Vitré just for the show and information. Hope you enjoy the post as I!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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