Ok there is sometimes the course of action to write about some minor point in a town or a great monument. We forget the main thing that takes us there ,the architecture, the history, and the ambiance of the place. Cities are all made of the three and without it there is no soul me think. I did not took photos of all the streets but you get an idea.
I always make a point to walk the cities and towns I visit, even if it takes me a couple trips. You get the idea, go walk and see it all before your eyes. This is about the streets of Saint Malo, in the dept 35 Ille et Vilaine in my lovely Bretagne and my belle France.
The rue Porcon de la Barbinais between place de la croix du fief et place du Pilori bears the name of a captain from Saint Malo made prisioner by the king of Morocco and sent back to king Louis XIV to negotiate the freeing of the Moroccans slaves. On a side apse of Saint Vincent Cathedral it connects to the port via the Grand Rue. Most of the houses here were destroyed during bombings of WWII with a new spiral for the Cathedral built in 1971.
The Rue Thévenard, bears the name of an admiral Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard in the French navy who lived in Saint Malo and is buried in the Panthéon of Paris. The houses here were rebuilt after WWII by 1947. There are arches here built featuring the bishop of St Malo with a whale and a virgin.
The Rue Saint Sauveur; takes its name from the old church gone thru several renovations. The first church was built in the 17C to serve the hospital that was beginning to fall in ruins from 1734. It was replaced by the current church from 1738-1743. The old church was burned down in 1944 and now used as a cultural venue as a chapel. The old hospital was never rebuilt and now in its place there are housings.
The rue d’Asfeld, marked the boundary of the second and third town expansion was named after Claude Bidal who was the Marquis d’Asfeld and inspector general of France’s fortifications. At No 5 called Hôtel d’Asfeld was build from 1724 to 1730 for François Auguste Magon de LaLande one of the directos of Saint Malo’s East Indies Company (see post). It’s the only house with a basement level to be used as storage. At no 1 the house was built with Mexican plasters earned from seafaring along the Pacific ocean which were done for one of the directors of the East Indies Company. At No 7 lived his last years Joseph Trublet de Nermoins or father Trublet member of the Académie Française. At no 10 is the former Hôtel Lemoine which was used as a bank early in the 20C with the coat of arms of Saint Malo and Saint Servan. At No 12 there is an old house from the 17C.
The Rue Saint-Vincent serves the neighborhood built from 1708 to 1710. In 1792, it was named rue des Sans-Culottes. It ended roughly at the place where the Croix du Fief stood , there is a fountain and statue from 1819. At this street there was the Hotel known as Hotel La Mennais. Built from 1712 to 1713. It has undergone numerous transformations; its wall fence with balusters was demolished in 1896; its large gate was rebuilt at the castle of Beauregard, in the Grève de Chasles, in Saint-Servan. There is my parking here Parking Saint-Malo Quai Saint-Vincent P7 – EFFIA. There are also many shops there which are open every day of the week even Sunday!. In addition to traditional souvenir shops or typical Breton clothing stores. The street is a shopper’s paradise!!!
The Rue de Dinan runs from Place du Marché aux Légumes to Porte de Dinan. Originally, the northern part of this street was called rue de la Vicairerie because of the presbytery which was in this part, before 1790. From the Place Brevet of uncertain origin and up to the rue d’Estrées, it bore between this street and the rue de Dinan, the name of rue de Coëtquen, because of the governor of the city in 1715. Under the French revolution it was called rue de l’Egalité and the other two rue de l’Abondance. They were brought together in 1739 under the name of rue de Dinan.
The Rue Jacques Cartier, you will inevitably find your happiness there! Already, we really like the special atmosphere of the place, with all these little restaurants hanging on the ramparts. Jacques Cartier was a navigator, French explorer and writer through his travelogues. Born in 1491 in Saint-Malo, he died there on September 1, 1557. Mandated by the King of France François I, he approached the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1534 and explored the surrounding territory he called Canada (from the Iroquois kanata, village). Author of maps, Cartier, through his “Relations”, is the first European to describe and name these waters, their shores and their inhabitants. He made a second trip in 1535-1536 and a third in 1541-1542.
This Place Chateaubriand square is located just behind the Saint-Vincent gate, the main entrance to Saint Malo intra muros. It brings together many hotels and restaurants including the famous White hotel at number 2, in which Chateaubriand lived from 3 to 8 years. The Malouin writer and his family were dislodged by a fire in 1776 and then returned to settle in the birthplace of François-René, the Hôtel de la Gicquelais located at number 3 rue Chateaubriand. The Historical Monuments assoc have since rebuilt the facade of the White Hotel dating from the 18C. On this square are also the Château de Saint-Malo, the Tour Quic-en-Groigne and the History Museum of the city (until dislodge on a new site and museum by 2022).
At no 14, Rue Broussais there is a superb mansion, with large windows separated by pilasters, with capitals of a different order ,Ionic, composite and Corinthian, also known under the name of Hôtel de la Marzellière or Maison du Dais d ‘Money.
The name of the place des Fréres Lamennais was given in 1968 to the square which previously bore the names of Place Duguay-Trouin and Place de la Grande Commune or de la Réunion. J. –M. Robert de La Mennais was the founder of the Brothers of Christian Instruction of Ploërmel and of the Dames de la Providence of Saint-Brieuc, who had before 1944 a boarding school located on the east side of this square. Brother Robert de La Mennais, who called himself Lamennais, was a reforming philosopher condemned by the Pope because of his very visionary ideas which ended up being recognized.
This square is located on the site of the main garden of the former bishopric, suppressed in 1790. Its buildings, extending from the site of the current Hôtel des Finances to the cathedral, housed the city/town hall, the sub-prefecture and the courts. The south side of the square has retained its old houses, including the rear facades of No. 5 rue du Boyer which bears the vintage of 1714. The post office, dated 1828 and located on the west side of the square The east side of the square is bordered by a reconstructed islet which also gave the plans for what was originally to be the city/town hall, north of the square which finally became the Treasury building. In 1999, during the construction of an underground car park, the remains of a Neolithic site were unearthed in the basement of the square.
Now what you see is all new! The Place des Fréres Lamennais. The main square of Intra-Muros where children’s games sit alongside several public benches in the middle of the trees. Of the 19 trees on this square only 3 were cut, those which were located just in front of the old treasury hotel. This will allow this building to be connected again with the square, as it always has been in the past. The children playground was moved to the center of the square to take advantage of the sun, and the former treasury center was transformed into a 4-star hotel. The Le Grand Bé with 62 rooms on 4 levels with restaurant (100 indoor and 35 outdoor seats), swimming pool in the basement and SPA, outdoor terrace and seminar room. Exactly at 1 Place des Frères F and Jm Lamennais.
The tourist office of Saint Malo in English: https://www.saint-malo-tourisme.co.uk/
The city of Saint Malo tourist office at Esplanade Saint Vincent: https://www.ville-saint-malo.fr/tourisme/
And there you go , hope you take the bite and do walk the Intra Muros or enclosed city of Saint Malo. Lovely place, full of wonderful architecture and history and good chow! See you soon!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
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Paris1972-Versailles2003 