Visit Saint-Malo

Granite ramparts battered by waves, islets you can walk to when the sea pulls back, a huge beach where the water rises up to the sea wall: Saint-Malo changes its face twice a day. Three days let you add Dinard, Cancale and Mont-Saint-Michel.

Why visit Saint-Malo?

Saint-Malo is a former corsair city whose walled town, largely destroyed in 1944, was rebuilt as it was behind its ramparts. Its tides are among the largest in Europe and make some islets reachable on foot at low tide. The town is a base for Dinard, Cancale and Mont-Saint-Michel.

Saint-Malo's must-sees

Ramparts, forts and seawater pools, most within walking distance of the walled town.

Rampart walk

The full circuit of the walls offers successive views of the harbour, the islets, the Sillon beach and Dinard; ideal late in the day, at high tide.

Grand Bé

An islet reachable on foot at low tide, it holds the tomb of Chateaubriand, facing the open sea as he wished, and a fine view of the town.

Fort National

Built at the end of the 17th century to plans by Vauban, this fort on a rock is reached on foot at low tide and mostly open in summer.

Bon-Secours pool

A seawater pool at the foot of the ramparts, refilled at every high tide, with an iconic diving board; free swimming at low tide.

St Vincent's Cathedral

Mixing Romanesque and Gothic, badly damaged in 1944 and then restored, it is lit by contemporary stained-glass windows in intense colours.

Solidor tower

An unusual 14th-century keep made of three joined towers, which once controlled the entrance to the Rance estuary from the Saint-Servan shore.

Grand Aquarium

On the edge of town, it presents the wildlife of the Channel and distant seas; a safe bet on a rainy day with children.

What to see in Saint-Malo, district by district?

Intra-Muros, the walled town

The old town fits inside a quadrangle of ramparts whose wall walk takes about an hour, over nearly 2 km. Inside, the tall granite shipowners' houses look original, but most were rebuilt between the late 1940s and the 1960s after the bombardments of August 1944, reusing the original stones. Avoid summer Saturday afternoons, when the shopping streets are packed. It is one of the most visited fortified towns in France, best discovered early in the morning.

Spring tides and the islets

The tidal range can exceed 12 metres during the strongest tides, around the March and September equinoxes. At low tide, a sandy causeway leads to Grand Bé and a passage opens up to Fort National. These crossings are only possible for a few hours around low water: check the tide tables and the signs posted at the start, as the sea comes back fast and visitors get stranded every year. Coefficients above 100 offer the most impressive show.

Saint-Servan and the Cité d'Alet

Two kilometres south of Intra-Muros, Saint-Servan has kept a small-town feel, with its lanes, the Sablons harbour and the Solidor tower, a 14th-century keep on the Rance estuary. The tip of the Cité d'Alet, site of the Gallo-Roman settlement, offers a loop path of about 45 minutes with views of the ramparts and remains of German fortifications. The district is quieter in the evening and its restaurants are often cheaper than in the walled town.

Paramé and the Sillon beach

The great Sillon beach stretches for about 3 km between Intra-Muros and Paramé, lined by a promenade sea wall and Belle Époque seaside villas. Its wooden breakwaters, planted to break the swell, have become an image of the town. During autumn and winter spring tides, with a westerly wind, waves crash over the sea wall at high water: a popular spectacle, best watched from a distance. On the Paramé side, a seafront thalassotherapy centre carries on the district's seaside tradition.

Around the Rance and the bay

A water bus crosses the estuary to Dinard in about ten minutes, in season. Cancale, about 15 km away, is famous for oysters eaten facing the beds at low tide, and the nearby Pointe du Grouin offers one of the finest panoramas on the Emerald Coast. Mont-Saint-Michel is about fifty minutes away by car. For a weekend, focus on Saint-Malo and Dinard; from three days, add Cancale and the Mont.

Frequently asked questions about Saint-Malo

When should you walk to Grand Bé so as not to get cut off by the tide?
Go in the hours before or after low water, according to the day's tide tables. Signs at the start of the causeway show the latest safe return times. Do not exceed them: the sea covers the passage quickly and rescue teams are called out every summer.
When can you see waves breaking over the Sillon sea wall?
During spring tides, with a coefficient above 100, around high water, especially in autumn and winter with a westerly wind. Watch from behind the sea wall or from the ramparts: walkers are regularly swept away by breaking waves.
Why does Intra-Muros look old when it was rebuilt?
In August 1944, fighting destroyed most of the walled town. The reconstruction, carried out over some twenty years, kept the volumes and granite of the old shipowners' houses, often reusing the original numbered stones, hence the feeling of authenticity.
How do you get to Saint-Malo from Paris without a car?
Direct TGVs link Paris Montparnasse to Saint-Malo in about 2 hr 15 to 2 hr 30. Once there, everything can be done on foot or by bus, and the water bus reaches Dinard. For Cancale or Mont-Saint-Michel, coaches and organised trips leave from the station.
Can you do Mont-Saint-Michel as a day trip from Saint-Malo?
Yes. The Mont is about 55 km away, around fifty minutes by car, then a shuttle links the car park to the rock. Allow half a day on site and arrive early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the midday crowds.
How do you cross from Saint-Malo to Dinard?
In season, the water bus crosses the estuary in about ten minutes from the Cale de Dinan, at the foot of the ramparts. Out of season or by car, the road goes over the Rance tidal power station dam, about twenty minutes.
When does the Route du Rhum start?
The single-handed transatlantic race leaves Saint-Malo every four years, in November, for Guadeloupe. In the days before, the boats are moored in the Vauban basin and the town welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors: book your accommodation very early.
Where can you eat Cancale oysters near Saint-Malo?
At the port of La Houle in Cancale, about twenty minutes by car, producers' stalls sell oysters by the dozen, to eat on the wall facing the beds. Come at low tide to see the oyster tables uncovered in the bay.

Plan your trip to Saint-Malo

Build your day-by-day itinerary and manage budget, bookings and packing in PlanTripNow.
Aperçu de l'application PlanTripNow