Saint-Malo & Emerald Coast

Brittany's corsair city on the north coast, its old town ringed by granite ramparts; walk out to Grand Bé at low tide, then follow the Emerald Coast to the Belle Époque villas of Dinard across the estuary and the oysters of Cancale.

Saint-Malo stands on the north coast of Brittany, France, at the mouth of the Rance – a former port of privateers and long-distance maritime trade with a population of about 46,000. Centred on Saint-Malo, the stretch of granite coast from Cap Fréhel in the west to the Pointe du Grouin in the east is known as the Côte d'Émeraude (Emerald Coast) for its emerald-green water, linking seaside towns such as Dinard, Saint-Lunaire and Cancale, with the medieval town of Dinan about 25 km to the south. The tidal range here can exceed 13 m, one of the largest in Europe; at low tide you can walk out to tidal islets such as Grand Bé and Fort National, and on spring-tide days huge waves crashing over the sea wall are a spectacle in themselves.

Main areas: first, Saint-Malo's walled old town (Intra-Muros), with a circuit of the ramparts of about 2 km, Saint-Vincent Cathedral and countless crêperies inside, and outside the walls the Plage du Sillon, the Bon-Secours sea pool and the tidal islands; second, the Tour Solidor and the Cité d'Aleth peninsula in the southern district of Saint-Servan; third, Dinard and the Pointe du Décollé across the Rance; fourth, the oyster market and the Pointe du Grouin at Cancale to the east; and fifth, Cap Fréhel and Fort La Latte to the west, plus Dinan and Saint-Suliac in the Rance valley.

The climate is mild but changeable; June–September is best for sea bathing and rampart walks, with July–August the busiest; the spring tides around the spring and autumn equinoxes bring the most spectacular tides; winters are windy and some sights shorten their opening hours. Getting there: direct TGV trains from Paris Montparnasse take about 2 hours 15 minutes; in summer, ferries sail to Portsmouth in England and to the Channel Islands; a ferry of about 10 minutes links the old town with Dinard. The surrounding sights require a car or regional buses. Allow 2–3 days; the trip combines well with Mont-Saint-Michel, about 50 km away. Note: always check the tide tables before walking to the tidal islands, as the causeways are submerged at high tide; most clifftop sections of the coastal path have no railings.

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Where to eat

Itineraries