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The haunt of pirates for hundreds of years, the “Cité Corsaire” has always done things its own way: In the 1590s it even declared itself an independent republic.

Saint-Malo is still protected by its historic stronghold, while the tidal islands next to the city continue to be fortified by fortresses from the 17th century. Step through the cobblestone streets within the walls and see the lavish homes of the people who got rich from privateering in the 17th and 18th centuries. Saint-Malo also has a lot to say about August 1944, when it was liberated from the Germans. On warm summer days, the boundless fine sand of the Plage du Sillon will be calling you name. Discover the best things to do in Saint-Malo.

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1. Saint-Malo Walls

The ramparts protect the entirety of the old part of Saint-Malo and from a circuit of 1.75 kilometers. They were started in the 1100s, updated to combat new military technology in the 1600s and then expanded again up to the mid-18th century.

When you do the walk be sure to have some literature with you, because every gate, bastion, and the view has a story to tell.

Go up for panoramas of the sea, the Grand Bé island, Fort National, Dinard across the water and the magnificent granite homes of the city’s wealthy ship-owners, and come down if you see a shop or crêperie that takes your fancy.

East of GrandePortPorte in the east is surrounded by two chunky fortresses and the narrow finger protection of the land that connects the walled city of Saint-Malo.

2. Old Saint-Malo

With grey granite as their material, Saint-Malo’s houses have a distinguished air that borders on severe but is always beautiful.

The sense of respect for the city was so strong that it was almost impossible to recover most of Saint-Malo after 1944. It was a difficult task to choose; The best is in the old Saint-Malo, but the Rue Jacques Cartier is beautiful.

Here on the east side of the walled city, the houses are built into the defenses and the ground floor is one long string of cafes and restaurants.

3. Plage du Sillon

One of those dynamic beaches in a constant state of flux, Plage du Sillon is three kilometers of fine sand beginning just north of the walled city. On the edge is a great embankment, built at the turn of the 20th century and spanning more than a kilometer and a half.

This makes for easy strolling at any time of year, to work up an appetite and see the kites at low tide. On mild summer days, families find smooth sand and can swim in shallow rock pools on the western edge of Fort National. Then on the gloomy winter days, the sea would crash into the embankment at high tide.

4. Château de Saint-Malo

To the northeast of the walls are castles built by Duke Brittany in the 1400s to guarantee their ownership of the city, now Saint-Malo town hall. The castle loomed over the city as a reminder of the authority of the dukes, and then the King of France after unification in the 16th century.

Grand Donjon has the best view of Saint-Malo from the platform. This building houses a museum about the history of the city and surrounding the “Malouin” region, visiting some of the intriguing personalities from this part of France, like the writer Chateaubriand and the explorer Jacques Cartier.

5. Grand Aquarium Saint-Malo

A fast bus ride from the walled city will take you to Saint-Malo Aquarium, a premium day updated almost every new season. For vacationers with little boys, it is a rainy day attraction that also fits neatly into the city's seafaring history.

You can’t talk about the animals without mentioning the 360° shark aquarium, which was added in 2011 and holds 600,000 liters. In another tank, the wreck of a historic galleon is a home for white-tip and blacktip sharks.

Elsewhere the aquarium synthesizes environments from around the world, so the mangrove has piranhas, four-eyed fish and turtles and the tropical tank has coral and colorful species like clownfish and surgeonfish.

6. Paramé

The area next to the Plage du Sillon, northeast of the walled city, grew rapidly in the late 19th century, equipping it with many of Belle Époque's beautiful villas. They were built by wealthy tourists who allowed the freedom to restore their fickle consciousness.

For a journey, you can take a walking tour of this leafy neighborhood, stopping to see wonderful houses like Villa Lien Argonne on Boulevard Chateaubriand, which has a beautiful octagonal tower and a tissue. Glazed red brick pattern alternating.

Afterward, Villa Me on the exaggerated Flemish Boulevard Hébert, with a gable of footstep and kicking.

7. Fort National

The technical mastermind of Vauban has outlined a plan for this fortress ahead on the Î Muff rock at the western end of Oak du Sillon square. It features its narrative star configuration and is the last piece of the Saint-Malo defense puzzle, conceived to protect the city from the British navy.

It did just this job in 1693 when it helped to fend off an Anglo-Dutch attack. Much later it became a makeshift prison for the German forces in the last days of their occupation in 1944. The fort is open in the summer for tours and is a perfect document of the military design of the 17th century.

You’ll know when you come for a look around because the French tricolor will be flying.

8. Grand Bé

You also have to wait for low tide to access Grand Bé, another islet a few strides from the ramparts. In the Second World War rocky little islands such as this became a useful spot location for German gun emplacements.

When the Americans liberated Saint-Malo Grand Be, it collapsed quickly, but it took several weeks before the Alet peninsula at the mouth of the Rance River to surrender. Many come to Grand Bé to pay their respects to the romantic writer Chateaubriand, whose grave faces the sea as he had requested 20 years before he died.

9. GR-34

The Sentier des Douaniers (Custom’s Officers’ Trail) is exactly what it says it is: A coastal footpath devised in the 1700s to foil smugglers. If you want, you can start from Saint-Malo and walk to Brest in Finistère.

But you may need to allow 25 days to walk these 400 kilometers, so it’s not exactly a day trip! Instead, you could pass a memorable day hiking the Côte d’Émeraude (Emerald Coast), on either side of Saint-Malo.

You’ll encounter pale windswept beaches, granite cliffs, meadows flecked with wildflowers, oyster and mussel beds and many bunkers and pillboxes from the Second World War.

10. Parc de la Briantais

On the high ground by the Rance Estuary is a sumptuous English park that once formed the grounds of the Château de la Briantais. The property belongs to wealthy boat owners, who built a baroque mansion here in 1666, and the strange but handsome ruins of this building are still visible in the park.

A newer château from the 19th century is still going strong as a cultural center, with art exhibitions and concerts for jazz and classical music. Visit for meditative walks on avenues dotted with sculptures, and to see those exhilarating views. You can see Saint-Malo, Dinard and the entire Rance Estuary.

More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Ravenna

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-st-malo-706805.html

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