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I’d heard that the Medieval town of Josselin in Morbihan, Brittany, was worth seeing but that's a definite understatement!

JosselinJosselin (click for larger image)

I’d heard that the Medieval town of Josselin in Morbihan, Brittany, was worth seeing, so we stopped off for lunch there on our way further south. ‘Worth seeing’ is a definite understatement! This neat little town is an architectural gem, with gorgeous 16th and 17th century houses at every turn.

At the bottom of the sloping main street is this glorious juxtaposition of bowed Medieval beams – now housing a shop - and a formal gateway above which rise the dreamy Renaissance stone towers of the Chateau Josselin.

Home to the Rohan family for almost ten centuries, the chateau’s flamboyant Gothic façade overlooks the River Oust and was completely restored in1860 under the direction of a student of Viollet-le-Duc. The pristine formal gardens were laid out by the landscape designer, Duchesne, in around 1911.

The chateau, its gardens and a fascinating doll museum are open to visit between April and October. You can also take guided tours of Josselin arranged by the town’s tourist office, located close to this chateau gateway. I found the staff there to be really friendly and helpful.