Saint-Malo Intra-Muros

Who this place suits

With family

10/10

As a couple

10/10

With friends

9/10

Solo

9/10

With a dog

6/10

Reduced mobility

6/10

These scores are calculated from what the page records: official rating, facilities, difficulty, duration and location. They are a guide, not a substitute for contacting the venue, especially about accessibility.

About

Saint-Malo Intra-Muros is 1,754 metres of granite ramparts that completely enclose a town, set on a rock at the mouth of the Rance, facing the open sea. The walk along the ramparts is about two kilometres long, it is free, and it remains the best way to understand the place: in an hour you see everything, the town packed tightly in on itself, the beaches at the foot of the walls, the islets, the forts out at sea, Dinard on the other side of the estuary. Listed as a historic monument on 12 July 1886, these ramparts are not all medieval. A few old sections survive, notably the Petits Murs between the Bidouane tower and the Hollande bastion, but most of today’s outline comes from the major works of the 17th and 18th centuries, carried out by the engineer Siméon Garangeau within the defensive system designed by Vauban. Between 1708 and 1742, the walled town grew from about sixteen to twenty-four hectares, because it had become too rich to fit inside its walls. That wealth has a name: privateering. A privateer is not a pirate, and the distinction is legal, not moral. A pirate acts on his own account, outside the law; a privateer receives from his government a letter of marque authorising him, in wartime, to attack enemy ships, his prizes then having to be declared and judged before being sold. Saint-Malo became one of France’s great privateering ports, and three names sum it up, whose statues stand along the ramparts: Jacques Cartier, who explored the gulf and the river Saint Lawrence for François I from 1534, René Duguay-Trouin, who would take Rio de Janeiro in 1711, and Robert Surcouf, the most famous, who captured the Kent in 1800 in the Bay of Bengal. But reducing Saint-Malo to its privateers would distort its history. The town’s fortune came just as much from long-distance trade, with Spain, the Americas, Africa, the Indies and China, and above all from cod fishing on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, which sent thousands of sailors to sea for centuries. Shipowners built with this money: tall granite houses, packed tightly because space was short behind the walls, and malouinières, country houses where they could breathe. The Saint-Philippe bastion still lines up a few of them, facing the sea. It helps to know what you are looking at. In August 1944, during the fighting of the Liberation, Intra-Muros was bombed and ravaged by fire: of 865 buildings, only 182 survived, so about 80% of the buildings were destroyed or badly damaged. The ramparts held, and that is what saved the town’s outline. The reconstruction, led from 1948 to 1960 under the direction of Louis Arretche, first fixed that outline and the four sea fronts, then reorganised the interior more freely: modern structures, some widened streets, post-war comfort, behind granite façades and slate roofs. You often read that Saint-Malo was rebuilt exactly as it was: that is wrong, barely fifteen or so buildings were. What you visit is an old town combined with a remarkable heritage of the Reconstruction, and knowing that makes the walk more interesting, not less. Then there is the sea, which governs everything. The tidal range can approach thirteen metres, among the largest in western Europe, and the landscape is transformed within a few hours. At low tide you can walk to the Grand Bé, where Chateaubriand chose to rest facing the open sea under a nameless slab, and to Fort National, built in 1689 by Garangeau to plans by Vauban. At high tide, these same islets are rocks surrounded by water and the waves strike the walls. This is the only truly serious constraint of the visit: these crossings close, quickly, and no photo is worth being caught by the tide.

What you will see

• A free 1,754-metre walk round the ramparts, which encircle the whole walled town
• Fortifications listed since 1886, medieval in places, mostly the work of Vauban and Garangeau
• The Bidouane tower and the Hollande bastion, the two finest viewpoints over the town
• The Grand Bé and Chateaubriand’s nameless tomb, reachable on foot at low tide
• Fort National out at sea, built in 1689 by Garangeau to plans by Vauban
• Bon-Secours beach and its 1937 seawater pool, whose diving board has become an icon

Practical information

Address

Intra-Muros, 35400 Saint-Malo

Public transport

Saint-Malo station is served by TGV from Paris via Rennes, about 2 km from Intra-Muros, a 25 to 30 minute walk or a few minutes by bus. Ferry link to Dinard depending on the season.

Parking

Saint-Vincent underground car park at the foot of Intra-Muros, 481 spaces, very convenient but quickly full at weekends and during events. Paul Féval park-and-ride at the entrance to the town, around 3.30 € a day for a car and 7.50 € for a motorhome, the ticket allowing several people to take the bus link to Intra-Muros. Many paid car parks around the docks. Free on-street parking for those entitled to it. Prices and arrangements to be rechecked.

Pets

The outer walk and the ramparts are very easy with a dog on a lead. Access to monuments and forts varies, and beaches are regulated: animals are banned from Bon-Secours from April to September under the current tourist regulations.

Accessibility

A large part of the rampart walk is accessible, with three ramps serving different sections and an adapted route of about 800 m, or 1.6 km there and back, with little climbing. The full circuit is not entirely accessible: steps, changes of level and historic passages. The cathedral has an entrance from rue de la Blatrerie, opening onto the transept and nave. A Hippocampe beach wheelchair is available at Bon-Secours depending on the season. The Grand Bé and the Petit Bé are not wheelchair accessible, and Fort National has uneven ground.

Best time

May, June and September for the best balance between weather and crowds. Early morning or after 6pm for peace and quiet. Winter for storms and spring tides, with many places closed.

Frequently asked questions

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