Châteaubriant, more than steak!
Legend has it that the Chateaubriand steak gets its name from this delightful walled town. Certainly, there is still a weekly cattle market.
But visitors come to see the town’s medieval heart, with well-preserved half-timbered houses and fine mansions behind the solid ramparts. Other highlights include the 10th-century church of Saint-Jean-de-Béré, the oldest Romanesque church in the département. The impressive chateau is part stylish 16th-century Renaissance palace, part 11th-15th century fortress, built to protect the town that could all too easily be threatened by neighbouring Brittany and Anjou.
