Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo is a small walled coastal town in Brittany, France.

Understand

Today, Saint-Malo is the result of the union of three towns: Paramé, Saint-Servan and Saint-Malo.

Get in

By Train

About 1 and half hour from Rennes. It takes about 2 hours with TGV from Paris (Gare de Montparnasse) to Rennes.

Get around

Saint-Malo has a good bus system, but unfortunately it doesn't run late in the evening.

See

• The walled city (La Ville Intra-Muros)
• The Château
• The walled city view from the "Memorial 39-45"

Do

• Bathing in the channel.

• Watch the impressive tide.

• Walk (or jog) along the beach.

• Walk around the walls of the walled city.

• Visit the Festival des Folklores du Monde (World Folklores), which

takes place at the beginning of July. There are dance and music performances from around the world. You can also dance when Celtic Breton bands play music in the main square of Paramé district.

Buy

Eat

In Saint-Malo, there ere a lot of regional specialities that you can taste. Be careful: in the walled city, most things are extremely expensive.

• Kouing Aman: this is a delicious Breton cake made with butter and sugar. There are also other delicious pastries, but naming all of them would be very long.
• Breton Pancakes: the world renowned "crêpes" are worth trying!
• Mussels: fished in the place and available in any restaurants.
• Oysters: the best are from Cancale, a village near to Saint-Malo. In France, they are eaten raw.

Drink

Brittany is not a renowned region for its wine. Otherwise, there are other specialities:

• Breton beer
• Cider
• Calvados: apple brandy

Sleep

• Le Centre Patrick Varangot, youth hostel, near from the beach, 30-40 minutes by foot from the walled city

37 avenue du R.P. Umbricht B.P. 108 35407 SAINT MALO cedex Tél. 02 99 40 29 80 - Fax : 02 99 40 29 02 E-mail : info@centrevarangot.com site internet : www.centrevarangot.com

Get out

• Visit nearby Mont Saint-Michel - a monastery and town built on a tiny outcrop of rock in the sand, which is cut off from the mainland at high tide. It is one of France's major tourist destinations, and as such gets very busy in high season. Check the times of the tides before you visit!