Paris1972-Versailles2003

And continuing with my saga of beautiful Saint Malo in the Ille et Vilaine dept 35 of my beloved Bretagne and in my belle France. Again, there is so much to see in the city of Corsairs! We love it!!!

Let met tell you now a bit on the markets!!! yes Saint Malo has a wonderful food market and a fish market.

The Halle au Blé is the large market hall of Saint-Malo, like the Halle aux Poissons, on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Saint-Malo residents and tourists will find all the usual market shops there. Outside of Tuesdays and Fridays, it hosts temporary exhibitions.

The Halle au Blé is located at 10 rue des Cordiers, built in 1822, was intended for meat, butter and poultry. In 1892, it was enlarged with a metal structure. The side parts with their granite arcades recall the architecture of the previous hall..

Nowadays, twice a week, on each Tuesday from June 2, 2020 until December 29, 2020 from 8h30 to 13h and on each Friday from June 5, 2020 until December 25, 2020 from 8h30 to 13h..There you will find butcher’s, cheese, fruit and vegetable, fish and even florist stands. This hall also hosts exhibitions. It is a small neighborhood market, quiet and convenient for residents and tourists.

A bit of old history on this area that I like is

The rue de Toussaints, mentioned in 1455, led to the Church of the Toussaints (all Saints) now the location of the halle aux blé, from the bridge which spanned the river. It continued to the south, under the name of rue de la Porte-Toussaint, following a partially preserved route in the southern part of rue de Nemours, and will form part of the urban crossing from the Bordeaux-Saint-Malo road. The framework of the operation of urban renewal of the Jules-Simon block. In this islet, the houses depended on the former convent occupied, between 1614 and 1631, by the Grandes Ursulines and, between 1676 and 1758, by the Dames de la Retraite, who had a chapel built there in 1682. The buildings, acquired by the City Council of Saint Malo, were sold between 1768 and 1770.

Saint-Malo had another so-called Halle aux Poissons or fish market, octagonal in shape, with cast iron pillars. It was destroyed during the bombardments of the city in 1944 (WWII). The one we see dates from 1954 and replaced by this new concrete and slate hall.

I am still interested in architecture and this one has wooden frames, very beautiful with oak battens, shingle supports and chestnut shingles held by copper nails, stylized carved wood fish all around the frame. It is superb. The ridge is lead. The frame, visible from the inside, is beautifully crafted and features carved elements in the shape of stylized fish. It evokes a Breton chapel. The roof , the battens are in oak, the shingle supports are in chesnut as well as the shingles all redone in 2015. All around the building, the beams surmounting the stalls are engraved with an inscription in the form of a humorous quatrain: “The sea carries us. The tide carries us away. The fisherman takes us away. This is where he brings me.”

The tourist office of Saint Malo on the markets: https://www.saint-malo-tourisme.com/a-voir-a-faire/les-marches/marche-intra-muros-1580537

The city of Saint Malo on the markets: https://www.ville-saint-malo.fr/marches/

Hope you enjoy it as we do all over France, the markets are it!! Saint Malo have a nice historical markets that are buzzing with locals and visitors alike. Do come in to visit them.

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

And of course Saint Malo is a corsair city by fame and fact. You cannot come here and do not visit one house at least. WE always stop by if briefly by the most famous one here that of François-Auguste Magon de Lalande.  Let me tell you a bit more on this fellow and the house.

The house was built in 1725 for François – Auguste Magon de la Lande, Ship owner and privateer of the king in Saint-Malo. It is located in the intra muros by the Porte Saint-Louis. In a land spot covering 5 rue d’Asfeld (main entrance), 4 rue de Toulouse and 2 rue Chartres.

It has about 60 rooms of which 30 have their own interior fireplace and 684 square meters of living space, and is the last complete witness of the great Saint Malo residences of the powerful shipowners of the city, characteristic of the houses of Corsairs. . It has a discreet and sober facade despite its high windows, its semicircular steps and its pointed roof topped with monumental chimneys (including the largest in Saint-Malo!). Inside, an imposing wrought iron banister staircase serves the superb rooms decorated with woodwork, marble fireplaces … a beautiful terrace offers a breathtaking view of the port.

François – Auguste Magon de la Lande was a director of the East India Company, Ship owner and privateer under Louis XV, who had this residence built on the 3rd extension of the walled city. He was Lord of Plessis-Bertrand, was a shipowner and privateer corsair and one of the most powerful shipowners in the city of Saint-Malo.

François-Auguste, trained in Cadiz, Spain, took over the family trading house, between 1715 and 1720 they were part of the Compagnie des Indes de Saint-Malo.

It was also in 1724 that François-Auguste built the vast Hôtel Magon de la Lande known as the Hôtel d’Asfeld as above. Miraculously, the mansion on the rue d’Asfeld is the only shipowner hotel that remained intact after the Allied bombings of 1944 (WWII). The house invites you to dive into the era of racing wars and trade routes to the 18C India.

There is also, La Chipaudière! A superb and vast Malouinière mansion ,and its formal gardens built for François-Auguste Magon de Lalande, at Paramé district of Saint Malo. An important 18C shipowner. It has its three successive uneven terraces with ponds and moats, south side, and a large square courtyard with an 18C chapel and 17C outbuildings,on the north side.

The official home webpage of the Corsair house: http://demeure-de-corsaire.com/

The tourist office of Saint Malo on the corsair house: https://www.saint-malo-tourisme.co.uk/explore/local-history/culture-and-heritage/museums/demeure-de-corsaire-hotel-magon-de-la-lande-1567523

And there you go a dandy architecturally and historical mansion right in the intra muros old town section of Saint Malo. Great walks all around it and see the ramparts. Hope you enjoy this seafaring house, we love it.

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