Dinard - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Dinard is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

in the Ille-et-Vilaine

Ille-et-Vilaine

Ille-et-Vilaine is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country.- History :Ille-et-Vilaine is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

department in Brittany in north-western France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Dinard is on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a popular holiday destination, and this has resulted in the town having a variety of famous visitors and residents. The towns of Pleurtuit

Pleurtuit

Pleurtuit is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Bretagne north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Pleurtuit are called Pleurtuisiens.-See also:* Dinard - Pleurtuit - Saint-Malo Airport...

and Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...

are nearby and the Dinard Pleurtuit Saint-Malo airport is about 4 km south of Dinard.

History

In modern history Dinard was first settled by Saint-Malo's shipping merchants who built some of the town's magnificent houses in the town- however very few survive. In the late 19th century American and British aristocrats made Dinard popular as a fashionable summer resort, and they built stunning villas on the cliff tops and exclusive hotels such as the 'Le Grand Hotel' on the seafront during the French "Belle Epoque".

The name Dinard comes from the words Din ("hill"/"fort") and Arz/Art ("bear"/"Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

"); the bear in Celtic mythology

Celtic mythology

Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...

is a symbol of sovereignship.

Originally, Dinard was part of the parish of St-Enogat. In the late 19th century, the resort became popular with the British wealthy who built magnificent villas on the coast. Dinard rapidly expanded and became the most popular seaside resort in Europe. It started declining in the 1930s when the Jet set started preferring the Côte d'Azur. Today, Dinard is considered one of the most "British" of sea resorts in France, however it has retained its French charm. There are 407 listed villas.

The official name of the town was Saint-Enogat until 1879 when the name was changed to Dinard-Saint-Enogat. The name was changed once more in 1921 to become simply Dinard. Saint-Enogat is now just the name for the western area of the town.

Population

Inhabitants of Dinard are called Dinardais. Among famous Dinardais are Arnaud Gaudin, the renowned Wholesale Developer

Year	Population
1962	8,834
1968	9,052
1975	9,234
1982	9,590
1990	9,918
1999	10,430

Climate

Dinard lies on the Gulf Stream

Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...

which means it enjoys a warm climate, several degrees warmer than the surrounding areas. The Yacht club has fine examples of tropical palms and plants, which stretch round the coast on the Promenade du Claire de Lune, which pipes out music throughout the evening for couples to enjoy romantic walks, during the summer months.

Hotels

The most exclusive hotel is the Grand Hotel Barriere (4 star), which looks over the Rance

Rance River

The Rance is a river of northwestern France. It flows into the English Channel between Dinard and Saint-Malo.Before reaching the Channel, its waters are barred by a 750 metre long dam forming the Rance tidal power plant....

Estuary. Other notable hotels are the Royal, which sits next to the Casino above the main Esplanade. Further round the coast in the St Enogat area of Dinard is the Thalassa Dinard and Villas de La Falaise. This exclusive sea water therapy centre is one of only a few throughout Europe. The architecture of this building is sympathetic with the coast line, and from some angles becomes at one with the cliffside.

In the Summer the population swells to over 40,000 with the influx of holiday makers.

Visitors

Dinard's reputation as the "Cannes

Cannes

Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

of the North" has attracted a wide variety of stars. Joan Collins

Joan Collins

Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...

is a frequent visitor, and Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

enjoyed holidaying on the River Rance. It is claimed locally that Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

visited Dinard and based the house used in his most famous movie Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...

on a villa standing over the Plage de l'Écluse, but no evidence is produced. Lawrence of Arabia lived in Dinard as a small child, long before his Arabian exploits, and Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...

, painted here in the 1920s. Debussy is supposed to have had the idea for "La Mer" during a visit to St Enogat in 1902.

Attractions

Dinard cannot boast much nightlife, but many bars and fine restaurants fill the town's streets. The abundance of beaches coupled with a consistently sunny weather, however, attracts many visitors during the summer holidays. The attractions include a casino with a restaurant facing the sea and a hall which hosts many expositions. The nearby towns of Saint-Briac-sur-Mer

Saint-Briac-sur-Mer

Saint-Briac-sur-Mer , is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine Department of Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Saint-Briac-sur-Mer are called Briacins.As of the census of 1999, the town had a population of...

and Saint-Lunaire

Saint-Lunaire

Saint-Lunaire is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department and in the Brittany region in north-western France.This old fishing village is very popular for its old church, its beautiful beaches and the English-style houses on the Pointe du Décollé...

also feature respectively a fairly large golf course and the beach of Longchamp, renowned as a "surfers' spot".

Dinard holds every year a Festival of British Cinema in the first days of October.

Educational facilities

Many educational facilities may be found in Dinard, most of them elementary and primary schools, though there are two secondary schools. The most popular, the Collège Le Bocage, is a state school (the other being private) and has an estimated 700 pupils from Dinard and its vicinity. From there onward, children go to lycée, the closest being the Lycée Jacques Cartier in Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo

Beaches

The town has several beaches, all of which are sandy, clean and large. The main beach is Plage de l'Ecluse and the second largest is the Plage de St Enogat.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.