Paris1972-Versailles2003

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 couple pictures not yet in the blog!  Therefore, here is my take on curiosities of Saint Malo, part III !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

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: 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! Again, hope you enjoy this post on curiosities of Saint Malo, part III !!! as I

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