I have a lot of posts on my wonderful capital City of Vannes in my blog. In my quest to have more from my latest road warrior or rather walking warrior trip to the city for you and me, the memories of always ,The city has a gorgeous original architecture untouched by wars, one of the most beautiful harbors in the world (conde nast, great bays etc) which of course takes you into the Atlantic ocean. Let me bring you up to date on Vannes,in my beautiful Morbihan dept 56 of my lovely Bretagne and in my belle France. Therefore, here is my take on the streets of Vannes , part V !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Place des Lices is originally a former free space devoted to tournaments and other outdoor exercises that took place in the Middle Ages. The Lices, a term which was used to designate the field or the enclosed land surrounded by palisades, intended for these activities, recall this first use of the premises. This space was created in the 14C during the accession of Jean IV,(John) Duke of Brittany. The Place des Lices, formerly Place de la Réunion, is the main public square in downtown Vannes . It hosts a bi-weekly market and is surrounded by shops. The square is about 200 meters long, with an average width of 25 meters.
The place Gambetta, of hemispherical plan, marks the end of the port of Vannes and puts it in contact with the historic center by the Porte Saint-Vincent. The square was created in 1835 in order to clean up a low zone corresponding to the old ditches of the city, in which the wastewater accumulated. The construction of the houses of the former Place du Morbihan ended in 1843. The place was restored in 1976, which gave rise to the destruction of the remaining arches of the old Saint-Vincent bridge. The free space is almost entirely used by cafes and restaurant terraces.
Place Henri-IV is a square located in the inner city on the heights of the Mené hill. It communicates with the Place Saint-Pierre and the St Peter’s Cathedral,(see post) and to the rue Saint-Salomon (see post) and to the rue des Chanoines and the rue Émile-Burgault. The square measures about 20 meters per side, or an area of about 400 m2. In the 18C, this square was called Mallièvre, a deformation of its original Breton name Men-Guevr, goat stone, After having been named Place du Département for a time during the revolutionary period, it was finally renamed to its current name during the 19C.
The Place Saint Pierre square has a few old houses adjoining La Cohue (fine arts museum), opposite the St Peter’s Cathedral (see posts). La Cohue designating the old partly Romanesque halls, remains dating from the 16C. The ground floor was occupied by the stalls of merchants, mostly butchers and the first floor reserved for courts of law. TheParliament of Brittany sat there when it was exiled to Vannes. In the last century, a theater occupied the first floor which now houses the museum. At No. 9 Place Saint Pierre is one of the oldest houses in the city, recognizable by its many small windows, testimonies of civil architecture from the beginning of the 15C. Of course, the must visit in town is that here you have the Cathédrale Saint Pierre (see posts) or St Peter’s Cathedral built in the 13C-15-16C-19C.
Thé place Marchais (former place du marché) and the rue Hoche (former rue Saint-Yves) on the upper part of the street was named rue Joseph Le Brix in 1931. As a result, the numbering of the houses on the street has changed Today it starts at the place Joseph Le Brix and continue to the confluence of rue du Lieutenant Colonel Maury, rue Saint Nicolas, and rue Francis Decker. The street is full of shopes , The building at nos, 8, 10 built at the end of the 19C in the gardens of the ancient ditches affected by the rampart, destroyed, on a site until 1840, but built of two houses from 1863.
The Rue Saint-Patern is the main artery of the district. It bears the name of the first bishop of Vannes, Saint Patern who lived in the 5C. Located on the hill of Boismoreau, the Saint-Patern district is the oldest and most important in the city. Archaeological excavations have revealed many vestiges of the ancient agglomeration, when the city was the capital of the Gallo-Roman city of the Vénètes, You see several half timbered houses here with one special at 16 rue Saint-Patern;it dates back to the 16C with a more recent elevation.
The City of Vannes on the Place des Lices : https://www.mairie-vannes.fr/place-des-lices
The city of Vannes on the Place Henri IV: https://www.mairie-vannes.fr/place-henri-iv
The City of Vannes on place Gambetta : https://www.mairie-vannes.fr/le-port-et-la-place-gambetta
The city of Vannes on its heritage: https://www.mairie-vannes.fr/decouvrir-le-patrimoine-vannetais
The local Gulf of Morbihan tourist office on Vannes: https://www.golfedumorbihan.co.uk/explore/meet-the-exceptionnal/visit-vannes/
The Morbihan dept 56 tourist office on Vannes: https://morbihan.com/decouvrir/le-morbihan-et-ses-perles-bretonnes/destination-golfe-du-morbihan/vannes-entre-art-et-histoire/
There you go folks, a bit of up close and personal post of the wonderful historically sublime streets of Vannes, We take the road warrior approach seriously and are on the move every day, This is one post for the memories of always, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the streets of Vannes , part V !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 