Mysterious Brittany: legends and prehistoric sites

Enter the land of legends, of Merlin the Wizard and the Knights of the Round Tabler! In Paimpont, the Gate of Secrets proposes a sensory immersion in the wonderful universe of Brocéliande forest… Let your imagination run wild on a storytelling walk.

Overlooking the Nantes-Brest canal, Château de Josselin has been the residence of the Rohan family for over 10 centuries. From the river side, visitors can discover its powerful medieval fortress architecture. And from the town side, in spectacular contrast, its sumptuous sculpted granite façade. The French formal garden contains an exceptional rose garden and a valley with a landscaped English-style garden.

Close to the forest of Paimpont, the moorlands of Monteneuf, the seventh remarkable space in Brittany, is home to enchanting archaeological and natural heritage. 420 megaliths from the Neolithic period stand upright in the glades or hug the bottoms of trees.

Bordered to the south by the Gulf of Morbihan, Vannes is a marina, fortified town, medieval town, Town of Art and History, and so on. With its preserved architecture, magnificent French formal gardens, medieval streets and a lovely blend of elegant mansion houses and half-timbered houses that date back to the 15th century, Vannes is a major tourist destination in Brittany.

The Isle of Gavrinis is just a 10 minutes boat trip from the port of Larmor-Baden. The Gavrinis monument is a passage grave (covered in dry stone), built around 3500 BC. The particular feature of this place lies in the magnificent carvings present on virtually all of the slabs of both the passage and the chamber. The symbols are characteristic of art from the Neolithic period.

Carnac has one of the most extraordinary concentrations of standing stones in the world. More than 4,000 have been counted, arranged in alignments or hidden here and there, distributed over 40 hectares and 4 kilometres in length. The most impressive alignments are those of Menec, Kerlescan and Kermario. The Museum of Prehistory will tell you more about the origin of these megaliths.

20 minutes from the Gulf of Morbihan, Rochefort en Terre, a “Small Town of Character” is one of the most beautiful villages of France. Every detail is meticulous and the cobbled streets are lined with 16th-century dwellings which contain boutiques selling craft items or Breton products. A little gem at the heart of Morbihan! Don’t miss the castle grounds and the Naïa museum.

La Gacilly is a City of Arts and Crafts where the know-how of the craftsmen and women will be revealed to you. The Yves-Rocher Végétarium and the botanical garden reveal the secrets of more than one thousand plant species. Every summer, from 1st June to 30th September, the open-air photographic festival proposes an immersive experience as you wander through the village streets. Around 30 open-air galleries present the best of contemporary photography.

In Saint-Just, at the heart of the Pays de Redon area, the moorlands known as the ‘Landes de Cojoux’ form one of the major prehistoric sites in Brittany.