Paimpont

Brocéliande is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It features heavily in the Arthurian legend, with emphasis on Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. Today you can visit the (fictional) area in Paimpont forest.

According to legend, the forest sheltered Morgan’s magical Vale of No Return, the faery fountain of Barenton, and the place of Merlin’s retirement, imprisonment, or death. We visited all three, and while with no regrets, this is an entirely skippable experience.

*Merlin’s Tomb is a megalithic monument dating from the Neolithic period. It’s Merlin’s simply because someone decided it should be (and there’s a spring nearby, offering “eternal youth”). There’s nothing much to say about this beyond it’s very popular, with a surprising volume of visitors. 

The *Château de Comper hosts the “Arthurian Center” – a child-centric exploration of the legends, with lots of props and costumes. The castle is first recorded associated with the Baron Raoul de Gaël-Monfort, who was a companion of William of Normandy during the 11th century Norman conquest of England. During the 13th century, Comper was considered one of the strongest castles in Brittany. The large pond of Comper is said to be the home of Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, where she lives in a crystal palace hidden under the waters. It’s a pretty enough castle (a newer, replacement version), and there is a lake, but you don’t need much time to see it all.

*Paimpont Abbey was our last stop in this area, another relative dud. It’s a pretty building on a lake – with an hour or so to spare, you can walk to a great vista of it from the opposite shore. Up close, it’s now a public building and rather spartan. The abbey replaced an earlier monastery on this site that dated to the 7th century; the current church dates to the 13th century, and was added to over succeeding centuries. We did manage to avoid the row of tourist-centric dining options and had a nice lunch at **L’Atelier (set menu, very reasonably priced, well-prepared French food).

Josselin

Unlike the area around Paimpont, Josselin far exceeded our expectations. What a gem! This is big on the canal-cruise route, would be fun for a biking tour, and wouldn’t be a bad choice for an overnight. It’s certainly on the touristy side, but in a “people still live here” way, not trying too hard.

***Josselin Castle is the centerpiece, rising up from the river/canal. It’s very old – building began around the year 1008, choosing a rocky promontory overlooking the valley of the Oust. What’s there today is relatively recent (lots of destroy, rebuild, destroy, rebuild in the history): during the French Revolution and the First French Empire it became a prison and a warehouse. In 1822, Caroline, Duchess of Berry, persuaded the then Duke of Rohan, Louis-François de Rohan-Chabot to restore it – and restore it they did, with grand opulence.

The castle remains a residence of Josselin de Rohan, fourteenth Duke of Rohan, who was President of the region of Brittany from 1998 to 2004.

There’s also a doll museum with over 5000 objects in its collection, and wonderful gardens.

Aside from the castle, the town itself has a cheerful air and lots of colorful half-timbered buildings. And of course, below the canal is a great place for strolling.