Location: Brittany Map
Saint Malo is located on the island in the mouth of Rance River. The name of the town comes from Saint Malo (Maclou) who settled these area in the 6th century with Saint Brendan and Saint Aaron establishing a small secluded monastic community. Home to many French pirates it has a long proud history of autonomy. In 1490 it even proclaimed an independence from basically everyone and established a motto "not French, not Breton, but Malouins". Malouins are residents of Saint Malo.
Churches
Saint-Vincent Cathedral (cathédrale Saint-Vincent),
rue de la Blatrerie . In the 11th century. started in the 18th
century. completed. Unusual in that the rear part of the church is
one floor lower. Severely damaged in August 1944, the reconstruction
was completed in 1972. The graves of captains Jacques Cartier (1557)
and René Duguay-Trouin (reburied here in 1973) are in side chapels.
Notre-Dame-des-Grèves (église Notre-Dame-des-Grèves de Saint-Malo),
3 Rue Jules Ferry. Planned as part of the suburb of Rocabey, which
was growing from the 1860s, and consecrated in 1872, but due to lack
of money, the church in the neo-Gothic style was completed only in
the 1930s. On the forecourt is the war memorial of the village.
Fortress
Castle of Saint-Malo (Le Château)
Tour
Quic-en-Groigne. The tower is located in the left wing of the
castle.
Fort national . built in 1689 to protect Saint Malo, this
fortress, located on a tidal island, offers a unique view of the
historic city walls.
Tomb of Chateaubriand (Tombeau de
Chateaubriand; on the offshore island of Grand Bé.) .
Le Petit
Bétttt (fort du Petit Bé) . Vauban fortress built in 1695.
Monument
Jacques Cartier Statue. Located in Rothéneuf.infobedit
Surcouf Statue
Museum
Grand Aquarium . more than 1200
fresh and warm water animals.
Buses to the stop of the same name:
1, 10, 11, 12.
Jacques Cartier (Musée Jacques Cartier), Manoir de
Limoëlou, Rue David Macdonald Stewart (Bus 4, 6: Rothéneuf centre.
From the Jacques Cartier statue, turn right at a good 400 m). Guided
tours (subject to reservation) only in French, but German info
brochure. Open: Mon.-Sat. 10.00-12.00, 14.30-18.00; shorter October
to May.
By plane
The nearest airports are in Dinard and Rennes.
By
train
The Saint-Malo Train Station is about 1 km from the walled old
town (intramuros). The bus station is located directly in front of the
train station. The old Town can also be reached in about 20 minutes on
foot along Avenue Luis Martin, heading west.
TGV from
Paris-Montparnasse to Saint Malo (about 3h)
TGV and TER (regional
train) from Rennes (about 50 minutes travel time). Depending on the time
of day, up to 2 trains per hour.
By bus
Long-distance buses go
to Rennes, from there by train.
On the street
Motorway A11,
exit Paris, then N 137; A84
Cheap parking to visit the historic
old town "ville close": Paul Féval. Located at the Hippodrome.
Signposted on the main roads as "P+R". From there, shuttle bus
("Navette") every quarter of an hour (during the day) to the entrance of
the ville close: Esplanade Saint Vincent. Bus destination "intra muros".
Parking fee incl. Shuttle bus fee: € 3.30 (as of August 2018)
By
boat
Naye Ferry Terminal (Ferry port)
Daily trips between
Saint Malo and Portsmouth, Poole, Jersey and Guernsey.
From April in
the summer months, the compagnie Corsaire bus departs from Dinard
approximately every 40 minutes, return fare: € 8.20, in July/Aug. 8,80 €
(2022), a good 10 minutes driving time. The branch is Intra Muros at the
southern end of Rue Dinan, reachable by buses 8 and 11.
Call Taxi (24 hrs): Allo Taxi Tel: 02 99 81 30 30
Busses
Saint-Malo has a well-developed low-cost bus system with Malo Agglo
Transports (MAT). It reaches as far east as Cancale. The central bus
station is located at the railway station. The bus stop "Intra Muros" is
located directly at the entrance of the old Town at the tourist office.
Connections to Dinard, Saint-Lunaire and Saint-Briac (line 16) are
provided by the bus company BrezhGo. You can also get to Dinard by bus
du mer.
The frequency of lines 1, 2 and 3 is 15 minutes during
the day on weekdays, that of lines 4 to 6 is half an hour and that of
lines 7 and 8 is once an hour. Line numbers 10 to 15 serve the
surrounding villages ("périrbains") on Saturdays and in the evening the
frequency is halved, on Sundays again. Some lines do not run at all.
Only in summer line 9 rattles off all the beaches.
Payment is to
be made with a value card, which is held to the reader at the time of
entry. The single trip (90 min.) costs € 1.35 or € 12.00 when buying a
ten-ticket. If you pay the driver, you will also get one, but in 2022
you will pay a little more for the single trip with € 2. Day tickets (24
hours) are available for €3.90 (€ 5 for the driver). As a group ticket
(up to 5 pers.) these are available at the price of € 12/24 h, or €
20/48 h. Prices (as of: Jun 2022).
Prehistory and Antiquity
The history of Saint-Malo goes back to
the Gallic era: the Coriosolites first occupied the place. Under Roman
influence, the city of Corseul (inland) developed at the expense of the
city of Alet, but Alet remained an important port to the point that at
the end of the 3rd century the Romans chose to fortify it. At that time,
facing Alet, the island of the future Saint-Malo was still uninhabited.
During the withdrawal of the Roman army (January 16, 423), Alet
suffered numerous attacks from the north. It was then that Saint Malo,
coming from what is now Wales, settled on the rock which would take the
name of Saint-Malo rock in 541.
Middle Ages
Alet continues to
develop until the end of the first millennium when, after several
attacks by the Normans, the city is permanently weakened. In the middle
of the 12th century, the episcopal seat of Alet was moved to the rock of
Saint-Malo, but it is not known whether the arrival of the bishop
preceded or followed the first urbanization of Saint-Malo. This event
nevertheless marks the end of the greatness of Alet. From now on, the
strategic position of the port is the object of conflicts between the
dukes of Brittany and the kings of France. Saint-Malo will thus be
temporarily attached to the royal domain from 1395 to 1415, taken over
by the Duke of Brittany in 1415 on the return of the ducal army from the
battle of Agincourt, then again integrated into the royal domain in
1488.
Modern era
On March 11, 1590, Saint-Malo proclaimed its
independence from the kingdom of France and became the Republic of
Saint-Malo. The four-year episode will end on December 5, 1594 with the
conversion to Catholicism of King Henry IV, the city returning at the
end of this period to the fold of the kings of France.
It was
with the discovery of the Americas and the development of trade with the
Indies (first armed slave ship in Saint-Malo in 1669) that Saint-Malo
took off economically and grew considerably bolder. Shipowners became
more numerous and people from this period made the town famous, a fame
whose peak coincided with the South Sea trade, which brought silver from
the Peruvian mines back to Europe. Jacques Cartier discovers and
explores Canada, privateers harass enemy merchant and military navies,
such as Duguay-Trouin, then a little later Surcouf.
Others
distinguished themselves in science, like Maupertuis, or in literature
and politics, like Chateaubriand. Modification of the lifestyle, the
shipowners built beautiful private residences called malouinières.
The rise of Saint-Malo was affected by the French Revolution, which
did not spare it. The most dramatic episode was the shooting in the
dunes of Talard of 60 “counter-revolutionaries” from the Vendée army in
December 1793. The youngest was 16, the oldest 19.
Wandering
fishing, Big Fishing, on the banks of Newfoundland is developing.
Seaside tourism began very early (first bathhouse in 1838) as well as
literary and artistic tourism with the establishment of the
Chateaubriand tomb on the islet of Grand Bé.
Saint-Malo was the
fifth French slave port with the departure of approximately 250
expeditions until 1824. It is estimated that 80,000 the number of slaves
transported by armed ships in Saint-Malo. One of the last shipowners to
practice triangular trade was Robert Surcouf, even though this activity
was banned in 1815.