The 15th-century Porte St-Vincent, with a Belle Epoque carrousel just in front of it, is the main entrance to St-Malo Intra-muros. Walk to your right past the restaurant terraces on place Chateaubriand—a portal leads to steps up to the ramparts. Built and rebuilt over several centuries, some parts of these walls date from the 14th century. Weather cooperating, they’re an ideal place to start a walking tour and take in sweeping views of the English Channel and the Fort National.
About halfway round, you’ll see an islet called the Ile du Grand-Bé ; during low tide you can walk to it and visit French Romantic novelist Chateaubriand’s tomb. His last wish was to be buried here, where he’d “hear only the sounds of the wind and the ocean.” Also within sight is the Piscine de Bon-Secours, a 1930s outdoor swimming pool whose three walls catch receding seawater. On warm days you’ll see brave divers leaping from its cement platform.
If it’s too windy, get off the ramparts by descending the ramp that joins rue de la Crosse. Turn left onto rue de la Pie Qui Boit and follow it until you reach rue Broussais. Alternatively, continue along the ramparts (where the view just keeps getting better) until you reach the Porte de Dinan. The street below it, rue de Dinan, becomes rue Broussais. Both routes lead to the place de Pilori back in the center. Head back toward the Porte St-Vincent for the greatest concentration of shopping and dining options.
Beaches
Along the coast, stretches of sand intersperse with rugged outcroppings that suggest fortresses protect Brittany from Atlantic storms. Both the Grande Plage du Sillon and the Plage de Bon Secours, west of the city walls, are very popular. Situated between the two, the Plage de l’Eventail is small and especially rocky. Beach amenities are scarce, but Sillon does have lifeguards on duty in the summertime.
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