The Dior city

Discovery of the Upper Town of Granville and the childhood home of the fashion designer Christian Dior, transformed into a museum, starting from the Donville-les-Bains beach.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.14 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 88 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 85 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 45 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 7 m

Description of the walk

In Donville-les-Bains, park in the beach car park on Rue de l'Ermitage, near the Camping de l'Ermitage campsite and the spa.
Please note! This walk is not signposted.

(S/E) Facing the sea, turn left onto the path that runs along the beach promenade, following the red and white markings ofthe GR®®223. At the first-aid station, you will see an information panel entitled "Panorama sur le littoral de Donville" (Panorama of the Donville coastline) on your left.

(1) Before the end of the beach, join the road parallel to the promenade, follow it to the right for a few metres as it climbs and curves to the left, then immediately take a few steps to the right, to the left of the picnic tables, then the alley that joins Rue de la Douane a little higher up. Take it to the right.

(2) When the street turns left at a right angle, at the picnic tables, leave theGR®® which continues along the road, and continue straight ahead on a path to pass between the cliff and the cemetery. You will soon come to a gate. Enter the cemetery, go straight ahead and then turn right to find another gate. Leave the cemetery via a technical services courtyard and turn right along an old greenhouse to enter the Christian Dior Garden.

(3) Head to the right to find the first perfume boxes, continue past the pond, then the rose garden overlooking the cliff. Continuing in the same direction, you will soon find a staircase on the right, marked withGR®® signage. Go down the stairs and, at the bottom, follow the Promenade du Plat Gousset to the left.

(4) At the rock pool on the right, which can only be seen at low tide, note the start of a staircase between two buildings on the left, which the route takes on the way back. For now, continue straight ahead. You will arrive in the centre of Granville at the casino.

(5) Walk past the casino and turn right. You will immediately see a staircase and a sign for "Site Historique de la Haute Ville" (Historic Site of the Upper Town). Climb the stairs.

(6) At the top, continue along the path furthest to the right, which runs along the cliff edge towards Pointe du Roc. Continue along this path, still following the cliff edge. At aGR®®223marker and a beautiful stone house, the path turns away from the cliff edge to the left. On the small cobbled street, turn right, leave the church on your left and go under the gate.

(7) Immediately afterwards, at a small car park on the left (Foyer des Jeunes Travailleurs), turn right to rejoin the cliff and continue along the path to Pointe du Roc. At the very end of the point, the coastal path is closed due to rockfalls. Turn left to pass in front of the lighthouse, then head left towards the orientation table.

(8) On the lawn, head towards the blockhouse and the Rond-Point des Français Libres marked with a stele. Take the road that descends to the right for a few metres, then climb a few steps to the left and continue on the path above. Shortly afterwards, you will see a sign for the Sentier Littoral coastal path and toilets. When the path begins to overlook the harbour, ignore the steps leading down to the right. When you reach the statue of the privateer Pleville le Pelley, turn left to continue along the promenade on the right-hand side of the road. Take the third street on the left and, at the end of this street, turn right.

(7) Go under the gate, then turn right to pass to the left of Notre-Dame Church. Turn right immediately behind the church and, at the beautiful half-timbered house with a turret, continue to the left along Rue du Midi, which once again overlooks the harbour. This street narrows and leads to Rue Cambernon. Walk a few metres to the right to pass under the gate and enjoy a view of the ramparts on the other side.

(9) Go back through the gate and, at the corner of the Granville Museum of Art and History, climb the steps on the right up Rue Lecarpentier. At the end of this street, you will arrive at the garden of the Museum of Modern Art. Turn left to find an orientation table and a sign for the "Promenades du Roc", then walk a few metres behind the orientation table to find the staircase you took on the way up.

(6) Go down to leave the Upper Town. At the bottom, turn right and then take Rue Paul Poirier on the left, a lively shopping street. Ignore a pedestrian street on the right and you will arrive at a crossroads with several streets. Note the Tourist Office opposite on the left. Continue left along Rue Docteur Letourneur and ignore two streets on the right. At the end of the street, turn left, then right onto Rue de la Libération. Turn left to arrive near the casino.

(5) Leave the town centre by taking the Plat Gousset promenade along the seafront, which you already took on the way there.

(4) At the first-aid station and a sign for "Sentier littoral" (coastal path), pass between the two buildings and take the stairs to climb up to the cliff top via the Sentier des Minquiers. You will come to a street; follow it to the left (red and whiteGR®® markings) towards the Jardin Christian Dior (sign for pedestrians). Further on, continue in this direction, taking a path to the left of the house "Le Lude". You will arrive at the Christian Dior Garden at the top of the stairs you took on the way down. Head to the right to pass close to the main entrance to the garden (information sign about the Garden and the House, withGR®® markings), then head towards the house (visit it if you wish), pass to its right, then turn right to leave the garden through the gate you took on the way in.

(3) Take the same route as on the way there to return to the car park on Rue de l'Ermitage (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 8 m - Beach car park Rue de l'Ermitage
  2. 1 : km 0.71 - alt. 13 m - Reaching the road
  3. 2 : km 1.17 - alt. 32 m - Straight path
  4. 3 : km 1.47 - alt. 43 m - Christian Dior Garden - Musée et Jardin Christian Dior
  5. 4 : km 2.04 - alt. 9 m - Go straight on the way there and turn right on the way back.
  6. 5 : km 2.29 - alt. 10 m - Casino
  7. 6 : km 2.46 - alt. 34 m - Path on the right - Granville Haute Ville
  8. 7 : km 3.12 - alt. 35 m - On the right after the gate
  9. 8 : km 3.82 - alt. 43 m - Orientation table
  10. 9 : km 4.89 - alt. 25 m - Ramparts
  11. S/E : km 8.14 - alt. 9 m - Beach car park Rue de l'Ermitage

Notes

Start: In Donville-les-Bains, park at the beach car park, Rue de l'Ermitage, near the L'Ermitage campsite and the thermal baths.

Interesting walk to do if you are at Camping de l'Ermitage, or even if you are not, because you avoid parking problems in Granville.

Worth a visit

Discover more walks in this area with descriptions or the Visorando app here

In the bay of Mont Saint-Michel, Granville, a former pirate town, has been converted into a seaside resort. The "Monaco of the North" is popular with tourists who stroll through its pedestrian streets, the Upper Town, the fishing port and the Promenade du Plat Gousset.

The Dior House and Garden. Les Rhumbs, Christian Dior's childhood home, stands on the cliff. Christian Dior's parents acquired this bourgeois house with a winter garden in 1906, but after the family's ruin, the house and garden were bought by the town. The garden is open to the public and the house has been converted into a museum.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
NRBJ
NRBJ

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Great walk in the morning with beautiful photos of the sunrise.
The path to Pointe du Roc was open (there was just a sign asking visitors to stay on the path due to the risk of rockfalls) and it was well worth it. However, the Minquiers path is closed. To get back up to the Dior gardens, I took the same steps as on the way down, the Catherine Dior climb.
A perfect walk for anyone staying at the Thalasso spa in Donville-les-Bains with a half-day free 😉

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rAoule66
rAoule66

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

It's a lovely walk that gives you an overview of Granville, but above all of the Dior garden and its museum.
Unfortunately, as I hadn't booked, I couldn't get in because it was so busy. However, I really enjoyed wandering around the garden, even though the rose bushes weren't in flower yet.
Walking around the ramparts of Granville and its narrow streets was also very pleasant.
Next time, I'll do the longer walk to discover the town more intensely.
Really enjoyable city walk 😊
Thank you ☺️

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PERRET Marie-Noëlle
PERRET Marie-Noëlle

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We made the diversions to the Pointe du Roc - the view is well worth the effort - and then rejoined the route by climbing the stairs to the harbour.

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Marjeanne
Marjeanne

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An interesting walk through the old town of Granville and along the coast.

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santo.suy
santo.suy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice tour combining the seaside and the town.
A very pleasant walk.

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chouchou 14
chouchou 14

beautiful hike

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DaDoRando14
DaDoRando14

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A well-marked walk to see most of Granville. Don't be afraid of the stairs!

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chouchou 14
chouchou 14

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

c'était un samedi donc un peu de monde belle sortie bien expliqué

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great-lolo
great-lolo

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Worth doing - lovely view
we just took a little longer because when we got to the point at the lighthouse, the description "take the path in front of the lighthouse" was not relevant. where is the path in front of the lighthouse? but it didn't matter, it was nice to see the Jardin Dior and the Haute Ville as well as the centre of Granville.

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mamalou
mamalou

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

pleasant walk. visit the old part of Granville as well as the DIOR town.

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Martin Ader
Martin Ader

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The walk takes in a seaside resort, around a harbour, with its villas big and small, and small pretending to be big, and big trying to disguise themselves as small, sometimes with a view of the ocean that is magnificent in fine weather, and terrible in stormy weather.
The visit to the Dior house is the highlight of the tour.

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toporient
toporient
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful walk.
It allows you to discover the "coastal path" between Donville-la-Plage and Granville, passing through the beautiful grounds of the DIOR villa. It takes us through the "upper town" of Granville, so steeped in history, with its many narrow streets and ramparts.

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ROULLAND BERNARD
ROULLAND BERNARD

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A great way to discover the upper town of Granville, with a magnificent view of the islands and the bay of Mont St Michel. A visit to the Christian Dior gardens and museum was a must.
Thank you for this wonderful trip.
Bernard.

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xgauchard
xgauchard

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 31, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A pleasant way into Granville, with stops at the Christian Dior Museum and the Richard Anacréon Museum of Modern Art.
The path offers fine views of the Channel Islands and the Bay of Mont Saint Michel as far as the Pointe du Grouin.

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jemarche72
jemarche72

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 10, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Having previously done the La Haute Ville de Granville trail, I enjoyed the La Cité Dior hike from Donville-les-Bains to point 6.
A pleasant walk along the dyke before reaching La Villa Dior: the garden is splendid and well worth a stop.
Great views over the beach and islands.

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