I’m sure that everyone has at least once heard about King Arthur, his sword Excalibur, Lancelot and Merlin the Enchanter, who inspired a “Merlin Order” in Harry Potter books. But who could have thought that a legend so tightly connected to Medieval England, has its base in France as well! This time we’ll take you to the Brocéliande Forest – home of magic and arthurian fairy tales.

First thing first, what King Arthur – the heart of English literary heritage, had to do with France? According to some of the legends, a big part of Arthur’s adventures took place in Broceliande. It is situated in Brittany – 50 km from its capital Rennes, and Brittany had its very own history, which didn’t always go alongside the history of France. The events described in the legends were happening shortly after the Fall of the Roman Empire, when Little Brittany was still united with Great Britain.

This is a very simplified explanation as, naturally, these nations and countries were very far from their today’s definition. Moreover, the representation of King Arthur and his knights is extremely embellished too – people from the 5th century definitely couldn’t be so advanced in their clothes and weapons as we normally picture them.

Not that it matters, as King Arthur and everything that comes with him was nothing more than a legend described by several authors. One of them was the medieval poet Chrétien de Troyes, who placed some of the events of Arthur’s history in Brocéliande. However, there is not a single historical fact that confirms Arthur’s existence. Still, generations of kids were brought up on the tales about Arthurs and hundreds (!) of stories based on his supposed adventures.

And here we come to the best part of the visit of the Brocéliande forest. Even if we know perfectly well that neither King Arthur nor the Knights of the Round Table, let alone Merlin the Enchanter or Morgan le Fay, have ever existed, believing just for a while that, perhaps, they have after all… This is what brings the whole fun to the visit of the forest – believing in a fantasy and reaching to one’s inner child.

Using a correct term, the forest itself is called Paimpont Forest – it is one of the highlights of the Brocéliande, which is the destination’s name in general. Even if Brocéliande has much more to offer, it’s the forest we came for and its centuries-old trees and magic vibe.

If you want to focus on the forest, do the essential hikes and visit all Arthur-related places, one weekend will be enough, but if you are interested in seeing other points of interest in Brocéliande, add two or three days.

The best way to start visiting the Paimpont Forest is La Porte de Secrets – an audiovisual show, which presents the essentials of the forest in a truly magical way – with a virtual guide. Its lights and audio-visual effects will mesmerize and charm even the harshest sceptics. It runs every 20 minutes, which allows you to be flexible with your timing. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed, but truth to be said – we were so immersed in the show that even if we wanted, there wouldn’t be any time to film anything.

8€ – the entrance cost

Of course, one would expect to see some trees in the forest, but the trees we are talking about are not from “just another tree” category. These ones are centuries old and could be your great-great-great-great-grandparents if they were humans. When you see something (or should we say “someone”) so old, you can’t help but hear your own heartbeat in front of such majesty. Seriously, can you imagine? Some of these trees existed at the same time as William the Conqueror, Leonardo Da Vinci or Louis XIV!

In the Paimpont forest we visited four of them:

As I already mentioned, there are hundreds of tales based on the fictional King Arthur, and each author invented for him something different. French author Chrétien de Troyes placed the characters all around the Paimpont forest and according to several sources, it was him, who invented the character of Lancelot. These places are mainly connected to Merlin and Viviane – his sweetheart. Please, consider these spots more like an amusing reason to hike in the forest, not an actual point of interest not to risk being disappointed.

Thus, you can hike around the following spots:

• Val sans retour – Valley Without Return in English is an enchanted valley, which was a trap for infidel lovers set by Morgana. It’s at the entrance to the valley that you will see Golden tree – a symbol of the renewing forest after a devastating fire in 1990, which destroyed 400 ha of its territory.
• Fontaine de Barenton – pour some water from the special goblet and you’ll cause a rainstorm. You will probably be attacked by a knight for that.
• Rocher glissant – a cliff where Lancelot became lovers with the Queen Guenièvre – king Arthur’s wife. Awkward.
• Fontaine de Jouvence – bathe in it and you will recover your youth. 
• Merlin’s tomb – a rock where Vivian hid Merlin to keep him for herself only.

I won’t tell any legends about those places here, but if you visit Porte des Secrets, it will be much clearer. If you want to know more about King Arthur legend and its connexion to the Paimpont forest, then make sure to visit Chateau de Comper aka Centre de l’imaginaire Arthurien – a little exhibition in an old castle explaining some of the Arthurian legends.

The exhibition is very simple, but we enjoyed it nevertheless, especially thanks to the guided tour. Finally, we managed to untangle the complicated flow of Arthur’s life. The flying bats inside the castle boosted the overall atmosphere by hundred.

The castle stands on the pond, and underneath its waters stands the Crystal Palace – a gift for Vivian from Merlin. Magic everywhere. Check the schedule of the Chateau de Comper, as it is closed for the winter.

7€ – the entrance cost

We’ve done all the suggested walks on the Brocéliande map and it was such a joy to immerse into the true fairy tale with the green sky and to walk through the mossy trees and rocks. I realised once again that while people endlessly ask the question “mountains or sea”, my personal answer stays “Forest”. The walk we liked the most was the one around Chêne des Hindrés, but there are so many of them for all levels and distances, that it’s up for you to pick yours. The Tourism office will gladly help you make your choice.

As we visited the Brocéliande forest on a rainy weekend of October, we were lucky to stumble on our way upon a crazy amount of mushrooms, so we helped ourselves to the juicy porcinis.

Check out: One day in the Black Forest

Camping d’Aleth

Even if we honestly intended to camp, our plan changed when we saw the cozy wooden cabins in the Camping d’Aleth. Curiously, it is made in the American forest style, with the Native Americans, saloon and cowboy theme. Quite a change from all Arthur and Merlin spots! The camping is very well maintained, the service is great and the two nights we spent in the cabin were amazing. We didn’t miss the tent at all.

30€ – cost for our cabin per night

Don’t forget that you can open the map with all the details in a full screen by clicking on the “full screen” button.

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