During the Middle Ages, DOL-DE-BRETAGNE, 30km west of Mont St-Michel, was an important bishopric. It no longer has a bishop, though its huge granite cathedral endures, with its strange, squat, tiled towers. The ambitious new CathédralOscope (daily: Feb–April & Oct to mid-Jan 10am–6pm; May–Sept 9.30am–7.30pm; €6.60), in the cathedral square, sets out to explain the construction and significance of medieval cathedrals in general, but for all its high-tech presentation and flair, non-French-speakers may well find it rather heavy going. Also in the square, the more traditional Musée Historique de Dol (Easter–Sept daily 2–6pm; €2) holds two rooms of astonishing wooden bits and pieces rescued in assorted states of decay from churches, often equally rotten, all over Brittany.Dol still has a few streets packed with venerable buildings, most notably its central axis, the pretty Grande-Rue, where one Romanesque edifice dates back as far as the eleventh century, alongside an assortment of 500-year-old half-timbered houses that look down on the bustle of shoppers below. All approaches to Dol from the bay are guarded by the former island of Mont Dol, now eight rather marshy kilometres in from the sea. This abrupt granite outcrop, looking mountainous beyond its size on such a flat plain, was the legendary site of a battle between the Archangel Michael and the Devil. Various fancifully named indentations in the rock, such as the "Devil's Claw", testify to the savagery of their encounter, which as usual the Devil lost. The site has been occupied since prehistoric times – flint implements have been unearthed alongside the bones of mammoths, sabre-toothed tigers and even rhinoceroses. Later on, it appears to have been used for worship by the druids, before becoming, like Mont St-Michel, an island monastery, all traces of which have long vanished. A plaque proclaims that visiting the small chapel on top earns a papal indulgence. The climb is pleasant, too, a steep footpath winding up among the chestnuts and beeches to a solitary bar. There's not a great deal to keep casual visitors in Dol for very long. However, the tourist office, at 3 Grande-Rue (July & Aug daily 10am–7.30pm; Sept–June Mon 2.30–6.30pm, Tues–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm; tel 02.99.48.15.37; www.pays-de-dol.com), can direct you eastwards to a reasonable hotel, the Bretagne, next to the market at 17 place Chateaubriand (tel 02.99.48.02.03; under €30; closed Oct). This has rooms to suit all budgets – those at the back look out across a vestige of ramparts towards Mont Dol – and menus from €14 to €26. The best campsite in the area is the luxurious Castel-Camping des Ormes (tel 02.99.73.53.00, www.lesormes.com; closed mid-Sept to April), set around a lake 6km south towards Combourg on the N795, which offers horse-riding, golf and even cricket. A couple of nice fish restaurants stand opposite each other in the ancient houses on rue Ceinte, as it winds its way from Grande-Rue to the Cathedral: Le Porche au Pain at no. 1, and La Grabotais at no. 4 (tel 02.99.48.19.89; closed Mon).
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