Exploring Saint-Malo and Surrounding Area

Summer had passed and Autumn was truly upon us as we slowly ventured towards home through Brittany in Northern France. The historic port city of St Malo seemed like a nice a place to stop for a few days before our ferry back to blighty, as it offers plenty to see and do in the region.

Before I tell you what we got up to, let’s just say that Autumn brought with it some nice weather, combined with something a little bit more challenging!

Saint-Malo

We had an afternoon in Saint-Malo a few years ago, but it was baking hot, crammed full of people and turned into an eating expedition with our in-laws! This time, we were on our own, it was a lot cooler, mix of sun and drizzle and less busy, which gave us the opportunity to do a bit more exploring.

Within the commune of Saint-Malo sits the old town and port which are surrounded by rampart walls, originally built in the 12^th century, improved in the 17^th/18^th century, flattened by American bombers during WW2, and then rebuilt to the same design post war. We really enjoyed walking around them, taking in the views of the old town, the port and the beautiful sandy beach. The latter is protected by full size tree trunks, sunk partially into the sand, which I think are quite funky and provided me with some arty pictures, when we went to investigate.

The old town itself is full of restaurants, mainly set into the rampart walls, each with its waiters wearing distinctive uniforms, which adds a very colourful vibe to the place.

Whilst many see Saint-Malo as a bit of a tourist trap and a staging point for the Brittany ferry, we loved wandering around the narrow streets and alleyways, shops, bars and cafes, because, around every corner, lies something just a bit different from the last with a bonus of delicious cakes and ice-creams!

Saint-Suilac

This is one of the “Les Pleux Beaux Villages de France” (the most beautiful villages of France) so it was a must see for us. Just a few miles inland on the estuary that lies between Saint-Malo and Dinard, it certainly appears to live up to its reputation. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t match it, so it was a rather wet and murky visit for us, and we probably didn’t see it in its best light.

However, the village is full of old stone buildings, with narrow streets winding gently down the hill to the estuary where there is a nice sandy beach, backed by some beautiful homes and a quay at one end. Parking is available on the quay, but getting down to it isn’t easy and I would suggest using the free aire/parking at the top of the hill, if you are in a van.

Les Corbieres

The drizzle turned into high winds when we popped into Les Corbieres, which is a pretty crescent shaped beach located just round the corner from Saint-Malo harbour. Holding on to our hats we strolled around the bay enjoying the eye-catching flower beds containing my favourite flowers (dahlias).

The bay is topped off by the dramatic 14^th century Solidor tower at one end, which historically has been a keep, a prison and most recently a museum.

Cancale

Our hosts told us about this place and boy were we glad we followed their advice. It lies on the eastern side of the Saint-Malo peninsula, with a long sweeping beach, a harbour at one end and is famed for the oysters it sells. It’s another pretty village, but larger and slightly more commercialised as a seaside place than Saint-Suillac. We arrived to driving rain and hopped from one shop to another, passing time until the restaurants opened. Whenever we shop on holiday the hubby moans about ‘tat’ shops and having better things to do, but somehow, he had an epiphany on this soggy day and spent ages choosing gifts for the grandchildren, I can’t think why!

When the restaurants finally opened, we chose a nice dry indoor one that gave us the seafood extravaganza we’d come for. However, we were also entranced by the oyster market on the harbour walls, where they were selling them (along with a glass of wine) at a very reasonable price to hordes of holiday makers who were happy to sit in the rain, munch their salty goodness and then return the shells to the sea.

One interesting fact we learnt in Cancale. Up until the late 1800’s most Europeans only ate European flat oysters (huitres plates), but overfishing, pollution and infestation significantly depleted stocks and the hardier Pacific Rock oyster had to be imported and grown on European shores to make up the short fall. It now makes up most of the world’s consumption, but in the Saint-Malo region the flat oysters are still grown in the River Belon and are known as Belons. I tried some and can confirm, they are equally as tasty.

Dinard

A visit to this part of Brittany wouldn’t be complete without a stop off in Dinard. It lies opposite Saint-Malo on the estuary and is only a 45-minute cycle ride away. Sitting on the gulf stream it has a temperate climate and has been the holiday destination for the rich and famous for centuries. We landed there on a sunny day to find the regional lifesaving games taking place; after watching them race around the beach for an hour so, we opted for a stroll around the coast path.

We really enjoyed the promenade that runs around the headland from Dinard Plage to Plage de Prieure, which is lined with beautiful flower beds and great views of the bay, Saint-Malo and of course, all the magnificent houses of the rich and famous along the cliff tops.

Where We Stayed

We stayed in B&B La Haute Flourie on the outskirts of Saint-Malo, 3 miles from the walled town. This beautiful 400-year-old building is set in its own grounds in a peaceful area and is only a 15-minute walk to the nearest beach “Plage du Rosais”. The hosts Loik and Marie are very welcoming and are also seasoned travellers with their three children, in their VW combi van.

They are big into the environment and especially beekeeping, and this could be seen in the homemade soap, honey and various other bee related products seen throughout our stay. The breakfast breads, croissants and jams were also homemade and delicious, and the accommodation was spot on. If you are ever visiting this area by car, I’d highly recommend using this B&B as your base.

Where We Ate

St Malo: Despite all the marvellous restaurants, we decided to have a day off from filling our faces and to use our available time to explore the walled town instead. Of course, our resolve didn’t last, and we managed to find a little time at the end of our exploring to try a traditional Kouign Amann pastry in Sanchez Artisan Glacier. A very tasty treat!

Cancale: We shared a humungous Fruites de Mer on the quayside at Chez Victor.  We’d had many nice meals during our trip, but this was the piece de resistance. Absolutely delicious and highly recommended.

Dinard: This was our last meal in Brittany on this trip, and we were looking forward to something special in this beautiful town. We ate in l’Aventure Brasserie. The menu looked good, but the least said about the meal, the better. Very disappointed and made me quite ill later on the ferry!

The Ferry Home

I wouldn’t normally include a boring ferry trip home, but I did say at the start we had a few challenges with the weather, and I can’t leave you hanging.  After a lovely day in Dinard we headed over to Caen for the night ferry.  The winds were getting up and the forecast wasn’t great overnight in the channel, but we’re made of hardy stuff and had rough crossings before.  Neither of us generally suffer seasickness; or so I thought!  As soon as we hit the open sea the boat started lurching back and forth, our cabin was near the front and the noise from the crashing waves was horrendous, coupled with feeling like I was levitating above the bed then dropping deep into the mattress every few minutes.  A couple of hours in the mussels I’d had for lunch returned and I spent a good 3 hours in the bathroom!

It transpired we sailed through a Force 8 gale in the channel that night, I hope to never repeat it as I had no sleep whatsoever, but you can’t book the weather.  I’d stupidly cancelled our channel tunnel booking and booked the ferry only two days before when the forecast was good to save us driving an extra 2 hours in France!  You live and learn, and boy did I learn a valuable lesson that night; never eat seafood when you’re heading into rough seas!

Summary

There is so much to do and see in this beautiful part of France, we absolutely adore it and will always sing its praises. Saint-Malo and Dinard are both busy little towns, so whilst they were great to use as a base for this car holiday, we have always headed a little bit further west in our motorhome, as it gets more beachy and less busy and it’s still easy to commute to the busier areas if needed.  Finding the new places to visit on the stay was amazing, and they were so quaint and just as worthy as the bigger towns to visit. We will return hopefully when the weather is more favourable.

Enough waffle from me, if you have been to the area, please drop me a comment on the blog letting me know what you thought of it.  If you enjoy reading my blogs, please like and subscribe to my website so you get notified when the next blog is published.  It’s completely free, I don’t fill your inbox with unwanted spam, and it really means the world to me to know my experience has helped someone else.

Happy Travels