Vilaine River

From the Saint Germain footbridge, you will have a beautiful open view over the Vilaine River. You might be wondering why such a beautiful river got such an ugly name. Indeed Vilaine transaltes to naughty, ugly or even wicked. There are a lot of legends and etymologic explanation, all of which tell a different version. I’ll give you a couple and you choose whichever seems the most plausible for you !

1. In the 1st century, women who weren’t exactly gorgeous, known oh so nicely as “vilaines”, quite literally “ugly”, came to bathe in this magical river to enhance their beauty. Indeed the girls from Rennes were renowned for their beauty, and it must have come from the water. Yeah right.

2. If you’re not convinced, it is also said that it come from the old briton name “Ar ster vilen” : meaning the river of mills. Makes sense given the amount of mills still bordering the river today. It may also come from “Ar stern velen” : the yellow river, for it’s muddy color during floods.

3. For amateurs of romance, the name could also come from the story of a lame, hunchbacked girl (poor thing), used to be called “Vilaine” (what else could it have been right?). She was madly in love with the son of an overlord. Of course, she was thrown out by the lord’s family, and went off to shed a river of tears.

So which one do you like best?