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.

Technical sheet

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

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 88 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 85 m

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

Description of the walk

Start: In Donville-les-Bains, park at the beach car park, Rue de l'Ermitage, near the L'Ermitage campsite and the thermal baths.
Please note: This trail is not marked.

(S/E) Facing the sea, go left on the path that runs along the promenade handrailing the beach, following the GR®223 Red and White waymarkers. At a first aid building, notice an information board about the Panorama of the Donville coast on the left.

(1) Before the end of the beach, join the road parallel to the promenade. Follow it to the right for a few meters as it climbs bearing left. Then immediately take some steps on the right, on the left side of the picnic tables. Then, take the path that joins Rue de la Douane a little further up and take it on the right.

(2) When the street bears sharp left, at the picnic tables, leave the GR® which continues on the road, and carry straight on a path to walk between the cornice and the cemetery. Soon find a gate and enter the cemetery, head straight then right to find another gate. Leave the cemetery onto a technical service courtyard and turn right alongside an old greenhouse to enter the Christian Dior Garden.

(3) Head to the right to find the first perfume boxes, continue through the pond, then the rose garden overlooking the cornice. As you carry on in the same direction, you will soon find stairs on the right, with GR® markings. Go down then, at the bottom of the stairs, follow the Promenade du Plat Gousset on the left.

(4) As you reach a swimming pool in the rocks to the right, which can only be seen at low tide, notice, between two buildings of the first aid building on the left, the beginning of stairs which the route takes on the way back. For now, continue straight ahead. Arrive in the centre of Granville at the casino.

(5) Pass in front of it, and turn right, immediately find stairs and an information board about the Historic Site of the Upper Town, and go up.

(6) At the top, continue following the path furthest to the right which runs along the cornice towards the Pointe du Roc. Continue on this path, still along the edge of the cornice. At a GR®223 waymarker and a beautiful stone house, the path moves away from the cornice, bearing left. On the small cobbled street, turn right, leave the church on the left and go under the porch.

(7) Just past it, at a small car park on the left (the Foyer des Jeunes Travailleurs), turn right to find the cornice and continue on the path to Pointe du Roc. At the very end of the point, the coastal path is closed due to landslides. Turn left to pass in front of the lighthouse then head left towards the orientation table.

(8) When you walk on the lawn, head towards the blockhouse and the Rond-Point (roundabout) des Français Libres marked with a stele. Take the road for a few meters which goes down to the right then climb a few steps to the left and continue on the path uphill. Find, shortly after, a sign for the Coastal Path and toilets. When the path begins to overlook the port, ignore the steps going down to the right. Arrive at the statue of the corsair Pleville le Pelley and turn left to continue on the promenade along the road, towards the right. Take the third street on the left, at the end of this street, turn right.

(7) Walk under the door, then go up to the right to pass the left side of the Notre-Dame church. Turn right immediately behind the church and, at the beautiful half-timbered house and tower, continue left, Rue du Midi, again overlooking the port. This street narrows down to lead to Rue Cambernon. Go a few meters to the right to pass under the gate and have, on the other side, a view of the ramparts.

(9) Go back through the door and, at the corner of the Museum of Art and History of Granville, go up, on the right, the steps of Rue Lecarpentier. At the end of this street, arrive in the garden of the Museum of Modern Art. Turn left to find an orientation table and a panel on the the Promenades of the Roc, then walk a few meters behind the orientation table to find the stairs taken on the way out.

(6) Go down to leave the Upper Town. At the bottom, turn right then take Rue Paul Poirier on the left, a lively shopping street. Ignore a pedestrian street on the right and arrive at a junction of 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 take Rue de la Libération on the right. Turn left to arrive near the casino.

(5) Leave the city centre by taking the Plat Gousset promenade along the seafront, already taken on the way out.

(4) At the first aid building and a Coastal Path sign, walk between the two buildings and take the stairs to climb the ledge via the Sentier des Minquiers. Arrive on a street and follow it to the left (GR® Red and White markings), towards the Christian Dior Garden (Jardin Christian Dior sign for pedestrians). Further on, continue in this direction taking a path on the left of the "Le Lude” house. Arrive in the Christian Dior Garden at the top of the stairs taken on the way down. Head to the right to pass not far from the main entrance to the garden (information board on the Garden and the House, with GR® markings), then head towards the house (visit it if you wish), pass to its right, then turn right to exit the garden through the door used on the way in to enter.

(3) Take the same path as on the way back to the car park, 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 ahead
  4. 3 : km 1.47 - alt. 43 m - Christian Dior Garden - Musée et Jardin Christian Dior
  5. 4 : km 2.04 - alt. 9 m - Straight ahead on the outward journey, right on the return journey
  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 - To the right of the door
  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

Practical information

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.

In the nearby area

In the bay of Mont Saint-Michel, Granville "corsair city", 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, the childhood home of Christian Dior 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 city. The garden is open to the public and the house is transformed into a museum.

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

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

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 13 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
rAoule66
rAoule66

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Sep 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Jan 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Aug 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Jun 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Apr 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Sep 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Sep 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Aug 30, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : 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
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : 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 walk : Sep 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ 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 walk : Oct 30, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ 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 walk : Sep 09, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ 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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