Paimpol

Paimpol (French pronunciation: [pɛ̃pɔl] ^ⓘ; Breton: Pempoull) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwest France.

Paimpol Pempoull
Commune
The harbor
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Paimpol
Paimpol Show map of France Paimpol Show map of Brittany
Coordinates: 48°46′43″N 3°02′43″W
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Côtes-d'Armor
Arrondissement	Guingamp
Canton	Paimpol
Intercommunality	Guingamp-Paimpol Agglomération
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Fanny Chappé[1]
Area 1	23.61 km2 (9.12 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	7,266
• Density	307.8/km2 (797.1/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	22162 /22500
Elevation	0–86 m (0–282 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is a popular tourist destination, particularly during the summer months when visitors are drawn to its port and beaches.

Geography

The town is located in the north of Brittany, at the western end of the bay of Saint-Brieuc, at the bottom of the bay of Paimpol.

The town is on the old national road D 786, 72 mi west of Saint-Malo, 23 mi north-west of Saint-Brieuc, 21 mi east of Lannion (sub-prefecture) and 44 mi to the north-east of Morlaix . Guingamp (sub-prefecture) is 18 mi to the south, and Rennes is 88 mi to the south-east.

Population

Inhabitants of Paimpol are called paimpolais in French. In 1960 Paimpol absorbed the former communes Kerity and Plounez.^[3] The population data given in the table below for 1954 and earlier refer to Paimpol proper, without Kerity and Plounez.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,748 —     1800 1,679 −0.57% 1806 1,849 +1.62% 1821 1,900 +0.18% 1831 2,108 +1.04% 1836 2,012 −0.93% 1841 2,043 +0.31% 1846 2,076 +0.32% 1851 2,136 +0.57% 1856 2,032 −0.99% 1861 2,116 +0.81% 1866 2,166 +0.47% 1872 2,017 −1.18% 1876 2,035 +0.22% 1881 2,363 +3.03% 1886 2,211 −1.32% 1891 2,213 +0.02% 1896 2,473 +2.25%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 2,737 +2.05% 1906 2,805 +0.49% 1911 2,873 +0.48% 1921 2,802 −0.25% 1926 2,690 −0.81% 1931 2,671 −0.14% 1936 2,528 −1.09% 1946 2,781 +0.96% 1954 2,795 +0.06% 1962 7,713 +13.53% 1968 7,723 +0.02% 1975 8,176 +0.82% 1982 7,994 −0.32% 1990 7,856 −0.22% 1999 7,932 +0.11% 2007 7,756 −0.28% 2012 7,293 −1.22% 2017 7,172 −0.33%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)[4]

Breton language

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 29 September 2008.

In 2008, 11.8% of primary school children attended bilingual schools.^[5]

Transport

Paimpol station is connected by trains to Guingamp station on the Paris-Montparnasse–Brest line.

Sights

The port

Blue and white striped-jumpers are immediately visible in the streets and are seen to reflect not only their pride in all things to do with the sea, but also in their région, Brittany.

The town centre leads from the port down to the coast, through cobbled streets filled with restaurants, cafés and bars. The town centre includes the Quartier Latin. It was at La place du Martray that Pierre Loti chose to put the house of Gaud, the heroine of his novel Pêcheur d'Islande. The attractions of the town are also a major theme of Guy Ropartz's opera Le Pays and Théodore Botrel's song La Paimpolaise.

Other popular tourist sights include Beauport Abbey dating back to 1202, and the chapels of Lanvignec, Ste Barbe and Kergrist. L'île de Bréhat is a rocky archipelago 10 minutes by ferry from the coast next to Paimpol. It is made up of two large islands connected by a bridge, and numerous smaller ones.

Other places of interest in the area include the Moulin de Craca and Circuit de falaises in Plouézec, as well as Pors-Even and the Tour de Kerroc'h in Ploubazlanec.

The Monument to Théodore Botrel in Paimpol is by Pierre Charles Lenoir

The monument aux morts has sculpture by André César Vermare

Events

Tourists are well catered for with regular events such as the Tuesday morning street market, night-markets, and "Mardi du port" – where tourists can enjoy diverse world music beside the port.

Paimpol is also home to the bi-annual "Festival du chant de marin" (sea shanty festival) which attracts thousands of visitors over three days in August.^[6]

Gallery

• 
  A man plays bagpipe in the harbour, during the international Celtic "Festival du chant de marin"
• 
  Beauport Abbey
• 
  Beauport bay at low tide
• 
  Town hall
• 
  Pleudaniel church

International relations

The following towns are twinned with Paimpol:

• Grundarfjörður, Iceland
• Romsey, United Kingdom
• Vermilion, United States

See also

• Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department