Paimpol – Introduction

Paimpol is a rather large town (or a small city), some 7100 inhabitants, located on the Northern part of Brittany. It’s a pleasant town, and therefore you’ll see many tourists during the summer month, attracted by the harbour, beach and restaurants. The photo above was taken from the Paimpol Tourist Office entrance.

The town is located along Brittany’s “Cote-d’Armor”, a beautiful and wild coastline lined with granite blocks (there’s even a section with pink granite blocks which is located next to Perros-Guirec).

Streets and Buildings

The name Paimpol was first recorded back in the year 1184. The first real “building” for Paimpol were established in 1202 (the Beauport Abbey). The town centre is not that old, but the streets are narrow and often for pedestrians only.

NOTE: Click here to read our review of the Abbey of Beauport.

You’ll not find many old houses or buildings like in Rouen or other old cities, but there are a few.

This is what many of the streets in the town centre look like:

Not all streets in the city centre are like the ones above. The main square towards the harbour is more modern and wide;

Buildings are low rise,and often a century or so old. They are built in the typical Breton style; granite bricks with one floor and an attic.

The Port

The harbour of Paimpol is its mainstay. The harbour was famous towards the end of the 19th century for its Island/Newfoundland fishing. The Paimpol fishermen had been fishing cod since the 15th century.

The entrance to the harbour area sees an old fashion merry-go-round, made out of wood:

The harbour nowadays is mostly pleasure boats, including some rather large yachts.

However, there still is a rather active fishing fleet stationed here:

As you would expect from any self-respecting harbour, there are plenty of restaurants, bars, cafes and terraces around the port itself.

The Locks/Sluice

The main Paimpol harbour has a lock/sluice to allow boats in and out even when the tide is low. Since the harbour is quite busy, it’s a great source of viewing. You can spend quite some time watching boats go through the locks. And best of all, it’s free!

Pointe de Guilben

One area of interest is the “Pointe de Guilben”, a long peninsula that is a hiker’s paradise.

NOTE: Click here to read our review of the Pointe.

Conclusion

Paimpol is an interesting place, particularly in the summer. It does get a bit busy when the weather is sunny.

With several items of interest and a long beach, you can spend a nice day or two here.

There are plenty of restaurants, either in the old city centre or around the harbour:

Of course, if shopping is one of your main highlights for a holiday, you’ll have plenty of choices here as well.

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