Per wiki “Founded by Gauls in the 1st century BC, the ancient town on the site of Saint-Malo was known as the Roman Reginca or Aletum. By the late 4th century AD, the Saint-Servan district was the site of a major Saxon Shore promontory fort that protected the Rance estuary from seaborne raiders from beyond the frontiers.
The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Allies heavily bombarded Saint-Malo, which was garrisoned by German troops.”
Arriving into the train station it was a quick ride to
airbnb on the bus. Bought a 10 pack
of bus trips for 12 dollars. With that I can visit several small towns and
areas.
Curious where in USA can we do anything across multiple
towns for $12 dollars??? Yes… the impression
is that Europe is expensive… Sure!
Anyway after checking into my airbnb I go out to the beach
area… which is hopping… 2 minute walk!
Early night cause it’s been a long day from Rennes to
Versailles to Saint malo.
Next day is my free day to explore Saint Malo and other areas
time permitting. I walk straight into
the Walled city… 30 minute walk or so but wow… the homes in the area I walk
look like museums.
Some of the bigger homes turned into boutique hotels or flats. Gorgeous architecture.
As I get closer the view of the Walled city looks amazing.
Entering the Walled city is like walking back in time! The City is hopping! Lots of restaurants and small shops. Live musicians! Cobble streets.
And to think the Americans/allies bombed the city in WWII…
so a lot of it was reconstructed.
Since I’m based here for 3 more nights I decide to venture
out.
My list had:
Cancale
Dinan
Dinard
St Servan
Mount st michel
BTW this whole region is called Bretagne or Brittany in
English.
So let’s hop on the bus…. (Thank you google maps for your
help)
St Servan is a short bus ride…. Cute little town but not
much going on… hmmm walk around a bit… then heading to Cancale. Hop in the bus! Arriving into town center there is a little
outdoor market!
Cute little town square but not much to do….
So let’s head
to beach area of Cancale. Wow what a
beautiful area … lots of restaurants, live music…. Great vibe here! Bus back to Saint Malo for dinner!
Dinan and Dinard are left to see from my list… Google tells me Dinan is a bit difficult to get to, and quite frankly I wanted a relaxing day anyway. Tourist information says no taxis to Dinad but for 4 euros I can take a water taxi… sounds evenbetter. I meet this couple of the boat from North Carolina and Sweden. They live in Geneva Switzerland now….. nice conversing with them.
Dinard is beautiful with amazing views of the sea! Beautiful town to just walk around and take
in the beauty.
Chill evening in Saint Malo. Found a great little Italian
grocery shop that you can also eat at. I have been looking for good cheese ravioli for weeks now! Found it… immediately I decide that dinner
will be here again tomorrow! But this
time extra pesto and side of tomato sauce!
BOOM!!! Greatness!
Final few pictures from the Ferris Wheel and walk back to Airbnb!
General thoughts about this region of France.
Very little English so Google translate is a must! But the people are super friendly despite the
language issue! These are NOT people
from Paris who seem to come off rude to tourists. Totally different feeling and atmosphere!
Other general Observations
I never saw children on any electronic devices even in
restaurants. Very interesting contrast
to the US. Very family oriented people who
just seem happy! I realize it’s a affluent
area but I can say all service people were extremely Friendly and happy so I
think it’s something. One server went
above and beyond to find something in the kitchen for me. Again no English but we communicated using
google translate.
Beaches were very
busy with kids parents grand parents even!
All enjoying together. As far as
safety goes, similar to the UK kids seem to roam around alone at a young age… only
saw 3 people begging on 1 day… my guess would be mentally ill as well. Which is common all over the world.
The best part is you can get around so easily and
inexpensively. You can see some great
hidden gems in a matter of a 30 minute ride on a bus for $1.20
Food…WELL it’s France what can I say not the best as far
as any flavor goes! They love their
sweets, crepes. Croissants etc… I mainly stuck to Italian and even that didn’t
have much flavor… except for that ravioli at https://odivino.fr/
10 seat café… but the food is super fresh and flavorful.
So that’s it about this area! Would not mind coming back during a full/new
moon and seeing the Normandy side.
Looks like you had a good time. Lots of good information for others that might think of visiting. How was the weather while you were there?
Beautiful
Warm and sunny