Dinard Pointe du Moulinet visitor guide

Visit Dinard Pointe du Moulinet, France

The Pointe du Moulinet is a promontory to the east of the main beach in the centre of Dinard, one of the most charming resorts in Brittany. The mill (moulin) that gave the promontory its name no longer exists.

Explore the Pointe du Moulinet in Dinard

France This Way review: the Pointe du Moulinet is very pleasant to explore, with several imposing villas, beautiful views of Dinard, and a pretty coast path with views across the sea to Saint-Malo among its attractions

You can start a walk to explore the Pointe du Moulinet at the east end of the main beach in Dinard town centre, the Plage de l'Ecluse. There is a very large open air pool here, the perfect way to start or finish your walk!

The promontory here has less villas than the Pointe de la Malouine at the other end of the beach, but those here are more substantial - and sometimes rather harder to see.

There is a footpath that follows all the way around the Pointe du Moulinet, from the pool to the pleasure port: the entire loop takes about 45 minutes to complete. The first half of the walk has views of Dinard centre as well as lovely views of the Pointe du Moulinet and its villas. The second half has views across the Rance estuary to Saint-Malo, another beautiful town that is just a few kilometres from Dinard.

The port is a recent addition to Dinard, built in the early 20th century. It is quite small and used only by small boats, but these contribute to the pretty view across the water. To reach the port in Dinard you can follow the coast south of the Pointe du Moulinet, along a path known as the Promenade du Clair du Lune.

Villas of Pointe du Moulinet

There are several very imposing villas on the Pointe du Moulinet:

the Villa la Garde is the large villa overlooking the Rance, towards the end of the promontory. The villa was built in the neo-gothic style by the Hennessey family (famous for their cognac) and has several elements that have been copied from medieval castles such as battlements and slots
the Villa Saint Germain is also near the end of the promontory and was built at the end of the 1860s to also give the appearance of a small castle
the third villa on the promontory is the Villa Granit House, which is more recent than the others: it was built in 1923, also by the Hennessy family. This villa also incorporates elements copied from medieval castles and is in the neo-gothic style.
the next villa is the Chateau des Deux Rives, at the narrowest point of the peninsula and close to the end of your circuit, near the swimming pool. This villa was modified in the early 20th century to also incorporate medieval elements, and the roof with two further floors of rooms was added in the 1920s.
further villas can be seen if you extend your tour of the Pointe du Moulinet towards the south-east of Dinard: these include the Villa Viuex Moulin, built on the site of the mill that gave the promontory its name, and the Chateau Coppinger, a rather modest villa compared with the others here but one of the most attractive because it is painted white (and not in the neo-gothic style)

Attractions nearby

See our guide for Dinard for other highlights in the town. You will also want to walk around the promontory to the west of the beach, the Pointe de la Malouine.

If you travel south from Dinard you reach the pretty village of Saint-Suliac then a few kilometres further the historic town of Dinan is one of our favourite historic towns in France.

You can find more travel ideas in the Ille-et-Vilaine guide and the Brittany guide.