The castle of Josselin in Moribhan is one of the main attractions in Britanny.
Set within elegant gardens, the castle dating from the 11th century dominates the medieval town beside it and, surprisingly, has been owned by the Rohan family for over 400 years. Access to the English Park is limited to just a handful of days each year (Sundays in May, the "Meet us in the garden" weekend in June and Heritage Day in September) but you can see them from the ramparts bordering the terrace in front of the castle. You can visit the French and Rose gardens anytime. Although externally more castle than chateau in appearance, inside the decorations are very much chateau in character.
During the 17th century religious war, Henri de Rohan, General-in-Chief of the Calvinists, rebelled against the king. As punishment for this Cardinal de Richelieu ordered that parts of the castle be destroyed. Restoration work was began in 1835 by Charles-Louis Josselin, Duke de Rohan which involved major re-building of the outside and refurbishing of the interior.
The historic town also contains an 11th century church along with the large number of restaurants and shops that you'd expect of such a tourist magnet. The town is designated a "Petite cité de caractère' and has been awarded three stars in recognition of it's floral displays.
The nearest airports are Dinard (DNR), Loriet (LRT) and Rennes (RNS) all under an hour away.
Ferries are the normal way to get here from the UK with the ports of Cherbourg and St Malo being very practical.
Trains are viable but as elsewhere it's best to have a car to explore France.
Photo courtesy of La Ville au Tady
