Paimpol is a port town with a strong maritime heritage, nestled along the Goëlo coast in the Côtes-d’Armor department of Brittany in Northern France.
The town is often called Cité des Islandais, City of Icelanders, because it was a departure port for cod fishing to Newfoundland and Iceland in the 19th century.
Today, the economy is built mainly around oyster farming and tourism.
Paimpol is the gateway to the Island of Bréhat and an ideal base for exploring nearby attractions like Château de la Roche-Jagu, Pontrieux, and Beauport Abbey.
For us, it was the cuisine and warm hospitality of Paimpol that made the most lasting impression.
Read our Paimpol travel guide for tips on where to stay, where to eat, and what to see and do.
- Annual Festival in Paimpol: Festival du Chant de Marin (festival of sea shanties) in August
- Paimpol Weekly Market: Tuesday mornings
- Specialities: Paimpolaise oyster and Loguivy blue lobster
- Where to Eat: Crêperie L’Ost-Pic and Ostium
- Where to Stay: Les Hauts de Kerano (3-star hotel), Maison d’hôtes de Kergiquel (B&B), or Chambres et tables d’hôtes Cornec (B&B)
- Get the Guidebook: DK Eyewitness Brittany
Where to Stay in Paimpol, Brittany
Les Hauts de Kerano
Les Hauts de Kerano is a 3-star hotel, situated in a quiet setting, 1 km outside the town center of Paimpol.
This impeccably-run accommodation delights with its on-site restaurant, attractive lounge, and delicious homemade breakfast.
Ostium, a local hotspot for gourmets, proudly serves an inspired medley of shared plates that teeter between the cuisines of Brittany and Périgord, with a splash of Japanese inspiration. The food is excellent as is the service.
In the evening, hotel and restaurant guests gather around the atmospheric lounge, which feels as comfortable and relaxed as your best friend’s living room, for aperitifs and digestifs.
We especially loved the breakfast, a rich assortment of homemade products, fresh breads and cakes, and high-quality regional cheeses and yogurts.
Adjacent to the reception is a small shop selling Fleur de Sel and other Breton products.
Rooms are clean and comfortable, but snug. Parking is free.
Look for accommodation in Paimpol.
Top-Rated Paimpol Accommodations
Budget-Midrange | Described by most guests as “perfect in every way,” Maison d’hôtes de Kergiquel is an outstanding bed and breakfast with 4 tastefully-decorated rooms just outside the town center of Paimpol. A home cooked dinner made with local products is available (with reservation) on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Budget-Midrange | Chambres et tables d’hôtes Cornec is a charming B&B run by hospitable hosts, who invest time in advising guests of the best restaurants, walks, and views in the region. The 18th-century farmhouse is tucked away in quiet Ploubazlanec, between Loguivy de la Mer and Paimpol, near the departure point for Bréhat Island. In addition to breakfast, guests can dine in-house and savor a home-cooked, organic, vegetarian meal.
Budget | Le Bercail is a comfortable and welcoming B&B in Plouézec.
Look for accommodation in Paimpol.
Where to Eat in Paimpol
Crêperie L’Ost-Pic
Crêperie L’Ost-Pic is tucked away in the village of Plouézec, southwest of Paimpol. This hidden gem is packed to the brim with regulars who understand that not all galettes and crepes are created equal.
Crêperie L’Ost-Pic’s menu features classic Breton recipes as well as tantalizing house specialities.
Fonds d’Artichaut poêlés, Oeuf et Jambon cru (Speck): Pan-fried artichoke bottoms, egg and raw ham (Speck)
Tartare d’Algues maison en écrasé de Pomme de terre: Homemade seaweed tartare with mashed potatoes
Chèvre, Chutney d’Oignons et Confiture de Cerise: Goat cheese, onion chutney and cherry jam
Noix de saint-jacques, Fondue de poireaux, Copeaux de parmesan: Scallops melted with leeks, parmesan shavings
Like any respectable creperie, tables are decked with ceramic cider bowls (bolée). Order a Bolée de Paimpol Brut 4.5 with your galette, or better yet a bottle of Prat-Rouz Brut de Penvenan.
Expect the greatest welcome and service by restaurateur Maud Kersual and her hardworking team.
Address | 6 Pl. du Bourg, 22470 Plouézec, France | Google Maps
Opening Times | See info in Google Maps
Reservation | Recommended
Ostium
Ostium, housed in Les Hauts de Kerano, is a gourmet restaurant that merrily marries the cuisines of Brittany and Périgord. Their menu of shareable plates is ever-evolving and reflects a delicious flirtation with Japanese flavors.
Expect amiable service and an overall great, albeit elegantly slow, dining experience.
The wine list is extraordinary. But, as we were in Brittany, we couldn’t resist the golden Cornouaille AOP cider by Manoir du Kinkiz.
Address | 2 Chem. de Kergroas, 22500 Paimpol, France
Late April to Late October | Open daily for lunch and dinner, except for Sunday evenings
Late October to Late April | Open for lunch and dinner on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Open for lunch only on Sundays.
Reservation | Necessary
Pâtisserie Couzigou
Standing on the square of Place du Martray in the center of Paimpol, Pâtisserie Couzigou offers a delectable selection of pastries and a few lunch specials, written on the chalkboard out front.
We loved their chèvre and bacon salad.
Address | 25 Pl. du Martray, 22500 Paimpol, France
Opening Times | Closed on Mondays
Au Traiteur et Fromager de la Vieille Tour
The family-run Au Traiteur et Fromager de la Vieille Tour is a specialty shop, selling cheese, cold cuts, and takeaway meals prepared in-house on Place de Verdun in Paimpol.
The lovingly-run shop, overflowing with an exciting assortment of French products, is the perfect place to order a picnic basket, cheese and charcuterie platters.
Address | 22 rue de Verdun, 22500 Paimpol
Opening hours | Tuesday to Saturday: 9 am – 1 pm and 3 pm – 7 pm. Sunday: 9 am – 12 pm
Picnic Order | Contact info in on their website
What to See and Do around Paimpol: Top Attractions
Beauport Abbey
Standing on a pretty plot that unfurls into the sea, Beauport Abbey (Abbaye de Beauport in French) is made-up of a church, refectory, guest hall, chapter house, and cellars. Much of this 13th-century gothic complex is a ruin, albeit well-preserved.
In the middle ages, the abbey was an important way station for English pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela. Its religious chapter came to a swift end during the French Revolution, when the abbey was shut down, looted, and later parceled out to three families from Paimpol.
Afterwards, the buildings were converted into stables, a saltpetre (potassium nitrate, typically used in fertilizers) works, a cidery, a town hall, apartments, and a school.
In 1992, the French coastal protection agency purchased the abbey and its grounds to better preserve the historical monument. The estate is a patchwork of well-kept gardens, apple orchards, marshland, woods, streams, reed beds and rocky shores.
Visitors can walk the grounds, tour the abbey, and attend cultural events like a capella choir concerts and temporary textile and art exhibitions.
We passed by the abbey when we walked along the GR 34 coastal trail from Pointe de Bilfot to Pointe de Guilben (10 km). Shorter hikes are possible.
Opening Times | Open daily between May and mid-November. See exact opening times.
Pontrieux
Pontrieux is a picturesque village on the banks of the Trieux river at the head of Trieux estuary, a mere 25-minute drive away from Paimpol.
Pontrieux’s claim to fame is its staggering 50 riverside washhouses (lavoirs).
In the 1800s, every bourgeois family maintained a private washhouse to protect their privacy.
Due to the close proximity of the washhouses and the slender width of the waterway, the river was rife with gossip.
To prevent the washerwomen from chatting, the family matrons often oversaw their work from the second story of the washhouse.
Between May and September, young locals run an electric boat tour so visitors can see the historic washhouses along the Trieux river. The boat ride lasts around 20 minutes and costs 5 EUR.
La Route des Falaises
La Route des Falaises, meaning “Cliff Route,” runs along the coast of Bay of Saint-Brieuc between Saint-Quay Portrieux and Paimpol.
This scenic route, which can be hiked, cycled, or driven, is actually three parallel routes with some overlap.
We hiked the stretch between Plage de Bréhec and Pointe de Guilben, following the GR 34.
The stretch between Plage de Bréhec and Pointe de Bilfot alternates between quiet roads and coastal paths that drop down to wild, secret beaches like Pointe de Pors Pin and Plage de Porz Donan.
Beyond Point de Bilfot, the trail loses some of its scenic allure. But, it’s interesting, because it runs parallel to the oyster beds of Port Lazo. The oyster park covers an area of more than 500 hectares and produces nearly 7,000 tons of hollow oysters each year.
Our favorite section of the undulating Route des Falaises hiking trail was between Pointe de Minard (Google Maps) and Pointe de Bilfot (Google Maps), which exclusively follows a clifftop footpath (no roads).
If your time is limited, we recommend driving to Pointe de Bilfot and hiking to Pointe de Minard out-and-back (2 hours, 6 km out-and-back, 142 meters elevation gain/loss). Afterwards, swing by Crêperie L’Ost-Pic in Plouézec for lunch, or dinner.
Château de la Roche Jagu
Château de la Roche Jagu is a 15th century castle on the west bank of the Trieux estuary.
The castle was built to protect the waterway as part of the defensive system between Pontrieux (the cute village with the washhouses) and the Bréhat archipelago.
The ground floor of the castle houses a permanent exhibit about the daily life of a Breton lord at the end of the Middle Ages. The floors of the castle are dedicated to temporary exhibitions. Between May and September, there are also concerts on the castle grounds.
While entry to the castle interior is ticketed, the castle grounds are a public park and free to visit. The park comprises a medieval vegetable garden, rose gardens, woodland and hedgerows, coastal moors and salt meadows, and more.
We stopped by Château de la Roche Jagu on our way to Pontrieux. There’s a café in the garden facing the Château.
Paimpol Town Center
The town center of Paimpol is a tangle of cobbled streets extending from the harbor. The town is buzzing with locals and tourists hopping between speciality shops, boulangeries, and creperies.
On Tuesday mornings, a weekly market showcases local products.
Any visit to Paimpol ought to be combined with an amble around the nearby fishing village of Loguivy de la Mer.
This Paimpol travel guide was created in collaboration with Visit Bretagne and Guingamp Baie de Paimpol.
France Travel Guides
Brittany:
- Brittany Road Trip Itinerary
- Roscoff Travel Guide
- Pink Granite Coast Hike
- Crozon Peninsula Travel Guide
- Belle-Ile Island Travel Guide
- Cap Frehel and Fort la Latte Hike, Emerald Coast
Marseille:
Calanques National Park:
- How to Visit Calanques National Park
- Hiking in Calanques National Park
- Cassis – Calanque d’En Vau Hike
- Devenson Cliffs Hike
- Calanque de Sugition – Calanque de Morgiou Hike
- Calanque de Sormiou – Les Goudes Hike
Pin this Image for Future Trip Planning!
Stay Connected:
Connect with us on Pinterest.
Follow us on Instagram.
Like us on Facebook.
Support Us:
If you love reading our content, you can tip us via Ko-Fi.
