Châtelaudren: a fashionable spot with a rich and celebrated history

Located in northern Brittany, Châtelaudren sits on the River Leff, 20 minutes west of Saint-Brieuc in the Côtes-d’Armor. 

Sprinkled with various boutiques and cafés, it’s surprisingly lively, thanks to the residents who actively ensure that it stays that way.

As you wander around its picturesque streets, you’ll be caught by a sense of history, but you might not realise that this village was once regarded as France’s ‘second fashion capital’.

An echo from the past 

‘Le Petit Echo de la Mode’ was a weekly women’s magazine that featured fashion, lifestyle articles, serialised novels and advice on everything from DIY to health, beauty and education. 

Printed in Châtelaudren, it ran for over 100 years with a print run of up to 1.5 million copies and in its heyday more than 10% of the village population worked for the company.

The magazine’s industrial building is still standing, and five years of restoration transformed it into a hub for the arts and tourism, which opened in 2015. It is now home to a cultural centre, conference hall, co-working space and resource centre, welcoming year-round exhibitions and hosting educational events. 

The festival L’Effet Mode is held every other year, uniting arts and fashion through shows, workshops and exhibitions. 

The 2026 event is on the weekend of May 30-31, its highlight being the competition ‘C’est moi le patron’, in which designers adapt a pattern from an old issue of Le Petit Echo magazine and reinterpret it in a contemporary way.

The village itself

Liz Lamour lives just outside the village. 

“Châtelaudren - known to locals as Châté (‘shattay’) has a compact town centre featuring old lanes, characterful buildings, and well-preserved heritage,” she says. 

“The Monday morning market is bursting with fresh produce, fish, cheeses, galettes and crêpes – everything you need to fill a basket guided by the seasons.”

The village has always been a centre of trade, thanks to its accessibility by road and rail; indeed a railway still connects Châtelaudren to Paris in under three hours. Local life revolves around easily walkable shops and businesses with the unpretentious, ever-welcoming café and épicerie Chez Georgette at its heart. 

You’ll pass several homes dating back to the 1700s, some with stone-carved dormer windows, and you might spot a curious cottage with cats outside and several hand-painted notices inviting donations for care for local felines.

As you explore the town, look up for La Récréation, an imposing stone building with rows of windows. This former Catholic school dating from 1892 is now a Bed & Breakfast, but it was also used as a military hospital during World War One, and once housed a girls’ sewing school so it has a rich history.

Also overlooking Châtelaudren is the chapel of Notre Dame du Tertre, which you should definitely visit, because its curved ceiling is a startling showcase of rectangular painted panels. In the centre stands the more traditional Saint-Magloire, around which is an area nicknamed ‘the Latin Quarter’ by a Parisian who enjoyed the hustle and bustle of these narrow streets with their comings and goings.

Leisure and a longer walk

The River Leff has played a key part in the economy of the town, used to power water mills then the printing presses. Stroll the river banks and watch the water turn from a peaceful pond to a cascading waterfall, enjoy a picnic or watch the fishermen catching carp, tench and pike. 

For a longer hike, the old Roman road that linked Châtelaudren to Quintin is part of the famous pilgrimage trail also known as the Compostella or the Camino de Santiago. 

The trail from Beauport Abbey to Santiago in Spain, takes around 65 days if you have the energy!