Prestigious guests

On 20 July 1831, Dona Maria, Queen of Portugal, was warmly welcomed by the people of Morlaix and stayed at the Hôtel de l’Europe, which hosted other prestigious travellers: the Duke and Duchess of Nemours (Duke of Orléans, second son of Louis Philippe) in September 1843, Prince Jérôme Bonaparte (brother of Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte) and his two sons in August 1880, and the Dowager Queen of Italy in 1908.
The establishment’s visitors’ book bears the dedications of Marshal Ferdinand Foch, General Maxime Weygand (who each owned a manor house in Ploujean-Morlaix), General Charles de Gaulle (21 July 1945), and numerous artists.

The present day
Between 1951 and 1972, the hotel was managed by a succession of directors (Mr Charles, Mr Thomas Bourgneuf), followed by Mr Jacques Feunteuna from 1972 to 1999. In September 1999, the Hôtel de l’Europe was taken over and managed by Mrs Arlette Paroux. Then, in October 2012, Mr Guillaume Pellerin took over as manager. Since August 2023, Elena and Jean de Kertanguy have been running the Grand Hôtel de l’Europe.
This text is the fruit of research by Marthe Le Clech, a historian from Morlaix, who has written a book on the history of the hotel, “De l’hôtel des Oriot à l’hôtel et au restaurant de l’Europe”, available from Editions Bretagne d’Hier.