Vitre

Vitre stood on the eastern march of Brittany when Brittany was a separate duchy, and its castle is built to a triangular plan on a spur above the Vilaine, with pointed towers and a gatehouse that has appeared on a great many book covers. The town below kept an unusual density of timber-framed houses, including the Rue de la Baudrairie where leatherworkers lived and the long arcaded galleries called porches on the Rue Poterie. Vitre grew rich on hemp cloth exported through Saint-Malo. The Chateau des Rochers-Sevigne outside town was the country house of Madame de Sevigne, who wrote many of her letters there.

History

The site was occupied in Gallo-Roman times, its name perhaps from a farm owner called Victor or Victrix, and around the year 1000 Duke Geoffrey I of Brittany granted it to Riwallon le Vicaire to hold the Marches of Brittany; a first wooden castle on the Sainte-Croix hill burned several times, and in 1070 Robert I built a stone castle on the present rock above the Vilaine. In the 13th century the castle was enlarged with towers and curtain walls on its triangular outcrop, and in 1295 the town passed by marriage to Guy IX de Laval, later belonging to the Rieux, Coligny and La Trémoille families; walls and ditches gave the walled town its present shape. In the 15th century the castle became a comfortable residence while many half-timbered houses were built in the town, whose street names come from its guilds, and in 1488 Charles VIII took Vitré; in 1598 Henry IV, struck by the town's wealth, said that if he were not King of France he would wish to be a burgher of Vitré (Wikipedia, Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine).

What you'll find

• The triangular castle - pointed towers on a spur above the river.
• The Rue de la Baudrairie - a dense street of timber-framed houses.
• The arcaded porches - covered galleries along the old trading streets.
• Les Rochers-Sevigne - Madame de Sevigne's country house nearby.

When to go

April to October; the castle museum closes some days in low season. The town is quiet even in summer compared with coastal Brittany, which is part of its appeal.

Practical notes

The castle interior is largely a municipal museum rather than furnished rooms. Les Rochers-Sevigne is a few kilometres out and needs a car. Some timber-framed streets are short.

Nearby

Fougeres lies north; Rennes is west.