Around the former Gourmelen Hospital and Quimper’s small gardens

(S/E) From the Salle Omnisports car park, head towards the water’s edge, turn left, and follow the Odet river under the trees towards the hall, which you should go round. Exit onto the street (Impasse de l’Odet) by turning right until you reach the level crossing (approx. 400 m).
Then turn right onto Rue Jacques Cartier, which crosses the Odet, and turn right onto Rue Aristide Briand. Walk past the Ceili, a Breton bar popular with locals.

(1) Cross the level crossing to the right, then turn left onto Rue Romain Derrien, via a flight of steps.
At the top, turn into Allée Docteur Aristide Pilven (^first on the right); there is a beautiful old building converted into a private residence. Then retrace your steps and go round the former large chapel (deconsecrated) of the hospital, and follow Rue Étienne Gourmelen on your right.

(2) Enter through a gate into the old entrance of Gourmelen Hospital (note: do not take the street slightly to the left, but go through the gate/entrance). This part is almost completely disused. Follow the magnificent palm-lined avenue, an unusual sight in Quimper. Note the bust of Dr Follet, the hospital’s^first director.

Walk along the row of old buildings on your right until you reach the last building with a sign reading “Human Resources Management”. Go round it and cross a small square on your right with old trees and old garages at the back. Climb over a low wall and turn left to pass in front of an old chapel with symbolic markings.

Continue straight ahead; on the left, behind some bamboo, lies the former residence of the hospital director, set within its enclosed grounds. Stop in front of a very large^19th-century building on the right, marred by more recent alterations. This is one of the historic buildings of the “insane asylum”.

Retrace your steps and turn left towards “Clinique 2”, going round the building and keeping it on your left. Behind it is a rotunda-shaped section. Perhaps this was where families visited the patients (with the family remaining outside).

Continue down slightly to the right behind a modern building (sign for “fire brigade access”), along a wooded area. Go up behind a second^19th-century building, which also has a rotunda. Walk past the rotunda and continue along a row of lime trees.

At the junction, follow the tarmac path on the right which slopes down slightly, then climb up a flight of steps in the middle of the lawn.

(3) On your right, head towards a sort of viewing point surrounded by trees. View of the station and south-east Quimper. Turn back to pass this time in front of the second 19th-century building (“Clinique 6 Les Mimosas”).
Continue straight on until you reach the first 19th-century building and walk past it.

At the crossroads, opposite and slightly to the right, is the entrance to a small complex of old outbuildings with very high doors (stables?).
Head back out and turn left between the palm trees, then left again onto Allée de Kerfily (against the flow of traffic).
Continue all the way along Allée de Kerfily to exit the hospital. This time, go round the back of the director’s house grounds.

(2) Once outside, continue along Rue Étienne Gourmelen. On the roof of the last house, just before the bridge on the left: an unusual panoramic view.
At the end, turn right and, at the edge of the roundabout, a low wall and public toilets conceal the Frout, a small stream almost forgotten by the people of Quimper, yet a tributary of the Odet.
Head back to the ramparts and walk up Rue des Douves.

(4) Halfway along, on the right-hand side, is the tiny garden of the Conservatoire de Musique with its amusing street furniture. Cross the street again: opposite are the Jardins de la Retraite. The top of the garden (another staircase on the right on the ramparts) offers a view over the rooftops.
Exit on the other side of the gardens, facing the rear of a tall chapel which serves as an auditorium. Walk down Rue Élie Fréron, past its old buildings, to Place Saint-Corentin.

(5) Cross the square situated between the Museum of Fine Arts and the cathedral. Visit it if it is open; note its ‘diagonal’ layout.
Walk past the cathedral on the square to reach Rue du Frout, then turn right onto Rue de Juniville. Cross the bridge over the Odet, turn left and walk along the river on your left, then cross Boulevard Dupleix.

(6) Head right towards the Théâtre Max Jacob (or “old theatre”), opened around 1900. Go round it on the left, leaving the Novomax on your left (a building dedicated to musical activities, including contemporary music).
You’ll arrive at the Jardin du Théâtre, a chance to take a break in the shade; note, at the far end, the rear of the old municipal gymnasium.

Walk through the rose garden to the left of the square, which leads to a cluster of small buildings. In the middle, note an old house that survived the redevelopment scheme. Its front façade is clad in pink stone, which is uncommon here.

Exit on the other side onto Rue Aristide Briand, turn left onto this street and follow it until you cross the river, then turn right to return to the starting point of the walk (S/E).

Parking: park at the Salle Omnisports car park (free, Impasse de l'Odet, behind the station).
Start/finish at the car park.

Along the route: public toilets, bakeries, mini-supermarkets, bars, restaurants.

• Former Gourmelen Hospital
• La Place au Beurre
• Tourist Office
• Saint-Corentin Cathedral
• Museum of Fine Arts
• Breton pub "Le Ceili"
• Irish pub "An Poitin Still"
• Restaurant "Chez Max"