Paris1972-Versailles2003

So here we are in wonderful Saint Malo on a family trip with my boys including our dog Rex. We have to travel short these days sad story already many times told in my blog.

Going to Saint Malo is easy only 2 hrs and 10 mins from my house, and you can do a one day stop over. However, we decided to stay for 2 nights and relax in the ambiance of the intra muros in the corsair city!

This needed a place to sleep. Having walked by this area and enjoy the facade of these hotels by the Hôtel de Ville or city hall I decided to rent the Hôtel de l’Univers very popular in town. It is located at the Place Chateaubriand!

The reservation was done nice and the welcome friendly. Dogs were allowed in the hotel and the bar terrace, not in the restaurant. Ok for us. Upon arrival , the entry was flawless and we climb to the 4th level! The elevator or lift remind me of mine while living in Madrid early 70’s good going down but slow heavy going up , old!  And with a space maximum of Two persons! tight.

We really used it to sleep and shower as we were out all the time from ealry morning to late evenings. See our eating out post.

I have to say the stay was nice overall , except for the small elevator and tight WC or toilet room. The noise was ok for us but for a family is not recommended, noisy bars all around you and you can hear some even yelling taking out all they drank during the day…. Really is for singles or romantic couples only. There is no parking the hotel tells you that right away so we parked at the Q Park Saint Vincent expensive but for two nights it was ok for the convenience just across the porte Saint Vincent and the hotel, rate 34 euros per day. The dog was 10 euros per night extra too ok fees.

A bit on the history as once leaving we found out it was totally renovated.

The wooden bar, built from a 1668 corsair chest, found on a farm near Château-Malo. The L’Univers, is a legendary bar in Saint-Malo. It is also a 64-room hotel, one of the largest in Intra muros which has just been renovated. Both have just reopened.

The facade, the bar, the seminar rooms, the bedrooms and the corridors are all renovated. They reopened July 1 2020! The 64 rooms at the Hôtel de l’Univers ; including 17 family rooms that can accommodate 3 to 6 people ,have had their bathrooms renovated. The hotel is opened since 1850.

This mythical bar of Intra-muros, born in 1923, long housed the first yacht club of the corsair city. It has remained a rallying point for sailors and Saint-Malo residents. The corsair chests that serve as a counter alone take you on a journey through time and the seas of the world.

The official Hôtel de l’Univers webpage; https://www.hotel-univers-saintmalo.com/

The tourist office of Saint Malo on the Hôtel de l’Univers: https://www.saint-malo-tourisme.com/sejourner/ou-dormir/hotels/hotel-de-l-univers-1567024

There you go folks it was central to all our goings and coming very convenient location inside the enclosed city or intra muros of Saint Malo.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

For the record, now let me tell you do not like the new editor of wordpress so bear that in mind. 

And we are back to Saint-Malo in Ille et Vilaine dept 35 of my lovely Bretagne and in my belle France. I have written several posts on this corsair city by the north coast so on this trip will minimise the history of the places as already written on them in my blog. I ,of course, have several posts on the city but this is new text and new photos on a series to be continue. is just some new text and especiall new pictures!

Saint Malo is connected to Rennes and Paris by train direct TGV service from Paris montparnasse in about 3 hours.   You get here by car from Paris on the A13/A84 or A11/A81 to Rennes and then the D137 (voie de la liberté) to Saint Malo. We do it up the D768 to the D700/N164 to D792/D44 to N176 and finally D137 to St Malo, lots of roads but most on straight line taking me about 2hrs and 10mins from home.

The city center/ downtown with the historic city (old Saint-Malo), the city (old Alet) and the port, is formed by a complex coastline, with numerous reefs and marshes immersed in high tide, underwater tombolos, visible at the low tides of vivid waters , by islands or islets, many of which were fortified in the 17-18C such as Cézembre, Fort Harbour, fort de la Conchée, Grande Bé and Le Petit Bé, and the island of the Fort National. Saint-Malo is an active trading port, the second largest trading port in Brittany. It is composed of four basins, the Vauban basin, the Duguay-Trouin basin, the Jacques-Cartier basin and the Bouvet Basin. The port of Saint-Malo on passenger service to or from Great Britain, Ireland, Jersey or guernsey. The avant-port of Saint-Malo has two recent and efficient ferries terminals, the Naye Ferry terminal and then the Bourse terminal. Four lighthouses mark the various access channels: The Grand jardin, the Balue, the Bas-Sablons and Rochebonne.

Saint Malo has a whopping 83 historical monuments and 169 buildings on the inventory of national heritage. The best known are located in the old town or intra-muros (enclosed city).

The tides in the bay of Saint-Malo are amongst the most important in Europe. They are induce by the concentration of waters at the heart of the triangular bay between Bretagne and Cotentin. At maximum, the tidal wave or amplitude between low and high tides could reach 14 meters, or about twice the ordinary tidal range in the Atlantic ocean. It was for this reason, that the barrier of the seamotorised factory was built in the estuary of the Rance along the intra muros of Saint-Malo.

The interesting things to see me think are: Porte Saint-Thomas,  Château de Saint-Malo, Saint-Vincent-de-Zaragoza Cathedral  , former Church of Saint Sauveur;Grand plage or plage du Sillon , and the ramparts of Saint-Malo.

OF course, one of the hightlight here is to do the walking all over the intra muros old city and wandering its back alleys , going to its unique local shops and wonderful restaurant and bars. The city has a huge ambiance and always lively. I remembered first visited back in 2011-12 to visit an old friend from the travel forum VT who lived here. And we have been back ! 

The tourist office of Saint Malo is here: https://www.saint-malo-tourisme.co.uk/

Hope you enjoy it as we did and see my next posts on it on the main things to see as above. One incident we had gastro problems for our dog Rex for the first time but went to the local Veto Les Roses des Vents and it was great , nice, friendly and Rex is back alive again today.Thank you veterinary of St Malo!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!