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The car park is situated at a rest area for cars and cycle paths on the D9, coming from Plougonven towards Morlaix. There is an area on the left followed by one on the right; this is the one we have chosen to access Morlaix via the Voie Verte, so as to enjoy a slightly brisker walk at the start and end of the walk. It is signposted ‘Parking Voie Verte’ with a picnic area sign, and is just before you cross the Jarlot. However, you can also set off from Morlaix, where there is free parking (2), which shortens this walk by 3 km.
If you’re coming by train, leave the station via the South Exit, follow Rue Armand Rousseau to the left, then turn right onto Rue Gambetta. You’ll reach the junction for the out-and-back route to (6).
(S/E) Set off along the Voie Verte heading north-north-west and immediately cross the Pont Noir bridge over the River Jarlot. Continue along the Voie Verte, ignoring a branch to the left, then crossing a bridge over a road, until you reach the first houses in Morlaix.
(1) Opposite the first house on the left, which has a brick-faced façade, take a path leading down to the left. Cross a road and follow Rue de la Fouasserie straight ahead, then turn right onto Rue du Moulin de la Chèvre. Shortly afterwards, take the tarmac path that branches off to the left, between the road and the Jarlot. Walk alongside a large car park to the end, where you’ll find a footbridge over the Jarlot.
(2) Cross the stream and go round a car park on the right to come up a street at a roundabout, Place Traoulen. Take the second exit on the right, following the signs for ‘Centre ville’. Follow this street (Rue de Paris – with a pangolin mural on the right and, opposite, a mural about the Seznec affair) until you come to a flight of steps on the left. Take these to reach Saint-Mathieu Church.
(3) Continue along the street that starts opposite the church door and soon joins another street; turn right here. At the junction, head straight on along Rue du Mur, then take the steps on the left (Escalier du Château). At the top (a cluster of distinctive houses on the left), carry on uphill straight ahead to enter the park (view of the town), then turn slightly right to head back down and leave the park at a junction. Continue down Rue des Vieilles Murailles, which ends in a flight of steps. When you reach a road, turn left (note a mural of a woman wearing lace mittens at the junction with Rue Traverse on the right), then left again at the junction shortly afterwards. You’ll immediately come to a crossroads.
(4) Take the second street on the left, Rue de Brest. Further on, walk past the theatre, then below a beautiful mural on a gable to the left (a message in a bottle); on the other side of this group of beautiful houses, turn round to see another mural (a futuristic Morlaix). Shortly afterwards, in a passageway on the left, there is another mural (the seabed). Walk alongside a long car park on the left; at the end, turn right onto the Escalier Collobert. At the top, first turn right then left and go down a flight of steps to the beautiful Lavoir Collobert (information board).
(5) Walk back up the other side of the washhouse to reach a roundabout, then turn right onto Rue Gambetta. Ignore a street on your right and you’ll come to a junction. Ignore Impasse Gambetta on your right, then turn left (signposted Saint-Martin-des-Champs) for a round trip to the Church of Saint-Martin – not for the church itself, but for the beautiful half-timbered house with a turret next to it and for the lovely mural (a woman with a raven, due to be completed in 2026) on a gable on the other side of the street.
(6) Retrace your steps and, at the crossroads, take the wide staircase opposite, then immediately the street leading down to the left. At the Fork in the road, turn right into Venelle de la Roche. Ignore a street on the left near the Notre-Dame-des-Anges Chapel (information sign), then head down to see a panoramic view of the town. Continue down to the left along Venelle de la Roche, which ends in a flight of steps, and you’ll reach the entrance to the lower level of the viaduct.
(7) Take a short walk to the right along the viaduct to enjoy views of the town and the information boards.
(7) On your return, continue up the staircase on the right. You’ll come out onto a wide, busy street bordering the Place du Général de Gaulle (which is, in fact, a large car park covering the Rivière de Morlaix here, unfortunately). On the gable to the right is a beautiful mural (Klimt-inspired, in my humble opinion), depicting Hygieia (the goddess of medicine). Carry on to the left, go round a roundabout and you’ll finally come to the River Morlaix, which has been channelled, and the marina. Take a detour to the left along Rue de la Villeneuve (with an old wash house on the right-hand side of the street) as far as a chapel and its mural (featuring an angry monk).
(8) Retrace your steps. Continue left along the quay to the Manufacture (former tobacco factory).
(9) Enter the building to explore the various courtyards (with numerous information panels covering, amongst other things, the site’s history); don’t miss the frescoed staircase and the ‘Morlaisienne’ statue in the small courtyard at the back. Exit the factory on the IUT side and head straight back to the quay to cross the river via the footbridge, arriving at a café terrace (Tempo). Head left onto the street (Cours Beaumont) and cross the road. For a round trip, turn left until you reach the archway marking the entrance to Rue du Styvel. Walk under the archway to see the pretty Fontaine du Styvel in a (private) garden.
(10) Then retrace your steps, keeping to the left-hand side of Cours Beaumont. At the rear of the Tempo café, look out for another fountain set into the wall on the left – the Fontaine des Anglais – then pass through a small square and you’ll come to the beautiful Fontaine des Chiens (information panel about the three fountains).
(11) Continue along the Quai de Tréguier to the roundabout at the end of the harbour and carry on straight towards the town centre, skirting the Place Charles de Gaulle; note the town mansion, the Maison Penanault (Penn an aod, meaning ‘the end of the beach’ in Breton; admission fee applies), which houses the tourist information centre.
(12) Continue along the square. A little further on, pass under the viaduct and walk a few more metres until you see the steps leading up to Saint-Mélaine Church on your left.
(13) Visit this beautiful, colourful church; note the beams and the carvings at the top of the walls. On leaving the church, go back down the steps and turn left. Walk along Place des Otages (another car park) on your right, then cross the road towards the town hall and turn right behind it onto Place Émile Souvestre. Take the first street on the left, Rue du Pont Notre-Dame. At the junction, walk a few metres to the left, then turn right onto Grand-Rue, where you’ll find a beautiful mural of a woman-deer and numerous old houses. You’ll arrive at Place Allende (yet another car park), which also features some lovely old houses. Walk around the square on the left-hand side.
(14) Quickly take the Venelle des Halles, which leads back to the left towards a busy street, Rue de l’Aiguillon. Cross this street at the traffic lights and carry on straight ahead (on the right, set back behind another car park, is the Ancien Couvent des Jacobins). Turn left onto Rue au Fil, reach Place des Viarmes and continue straight ahead along Rue Ange de Guernisac (with many old houses).
(15) Turn right onto Rampe du Créou, which begins to climb a few steps (and offers a bit of peace and quiet). At the junction further up, turn right, then, at the next junction, turn left uphill. At the junction, continue to the right along the Venelle du Créou. Ignore the Escalier Sainte-Marthe, which leads down to the right, then a street to the left, and carry on straight ahead down a narrower alleyway. At the next junction, you’ll reach the beautiful Fontaine des Carmélites (information panel).
(16) To the left of the fountain, take the Venelle des Carmélites. When you reach a junction, turn immediately right onto the hairpin bend of Rue Louis Pasteur. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue Louis le Guennec.
(17) Take the second street on the right, turning right onto Rue des Ursulines (be careful not to take the first right, Venelle des Ursulines). Further down, descend a few steps to reach Rue de Bréhat, near an old fountain (information sign). Here you’ll rejoin the GR®, marked in red and white, which you should follow from now on until the end of the walk. Turn left onto Rue de Bréhat, ignore Rue Laënnec further on to the left, then arrive at the junction with the Voie Verte near the Fontaine du Lait (information board) and a beautiful old manor house.
(18) Turn right onto the Voie Verte towards Pont Noir. Further on, you’ll reach the junction from the outward journey with the path leading down to the right.
(1) Follow the outbound route in the opposite direction to return to the car park (S/E).
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