"My few hours in Saint Malo" Saint-Malo by Carmanah

Saint-Malo Travel Guide: 228 reviews and 744 photos

I was 14 years old when I first set eyes upon Saint Malo. I was with my French Immersion class and we had just spent the previous nights in the nearby city of Fougères, staying with local families. When I told my host family, les Renards, that our class was going to Saint Malo next, they said that it was lovely and that we were very lucky, and that Saint Malo is a place where they'd often go on for little vacations. Apparently it's considered the most-visited place in la Bretagne!

Fortunately for us, the weather in Saint Malo was absolutely spectacular! It was a hot, October afternoon when we arrived, and despite being autumn, it felt like summer. People were hanging out at the beach and it truly felt like we were on vacation. Unfortunately we didn't spend much time there, as we were staying at a hotel in nearby Deauville. We did manage to walk around the walls before exploring the city within. I don't recall visiting any museums or attractions other than the Jacques Cartier statue.

Saint Malo is a beautful walled city situated in north-western France overlooking the Atlantic ocean. Much like la Bretagne region in general, Saint Malo has special ties to my home country of Canada because it was the home of Jacques Cartier. And it was here in 1534 that Cartier sailed across the Atlantic ocean in hopes of discovering a passage to India. Instead, he found himself navigating up the St-Lawrence River and claimed the territory (present day Québec City and Montréal) for France. He was the first European in this area to do so. This act initiated the beginning of French culture in North America in a place that would down the road be named Québec.

  • Last visit to Saint-Malo: Oct 1994
  • Intro Updated Oct 17, 2006
  • Add to Trip Planner (?)
  • Report Abuse

Reviews (3)

Travelogues (1)

Comments (3)

  • craic's Profile Photo
    Oct 16, 2007 at 7:25 PM

    so that cartier is the guy who tok french to canada - fascinating

  • rexvaughan's Profile Photo
    Jun 20, 2005 at 1:12 PM

    Nice travelogue. I am glad that even at only 14 you enjoyed this wonderful little old city. We were there last year and loved it. BTW, I am a bit older than 14. ;-)

  • pfsmalo's Profile Photo
    May 29, 2005 at 10:43 AM

    you could have described St. Malo as a port, as what you have detailed as the canals of St. malo is actually the basin for unloading cargos. You can see the cranes in the background.please don't take this as a criticism as your page is very well laid out.

Carmanah

“You only live once!”

Online Now

Female

Top 1,000 Travel Writer
Member Rank:
0 0 4 4 4
Forum Rank:
0 0 5 1 2

Badges & Stats in Saint-Malo

  • 3 Reviews
  • 16 Photos
  • 0 Forum posts
  • 3 Comments
  • 2,672PageViews

Have you been to Saint-Malo?

  Share Your Travels  

Travel Interests

See All Travel Interests (5)

Latest Saint-Malo hotel reviews

Hotel de France et de Chateaubriand
85 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 27, 2013
Jean-bart
1 Review & Opinion
Residence Reine Marine
13 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Nov 5, 2012
Mercure Front De Mer Hotel
50 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 12, 2013
Les Acacias
4 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Aug 13, 2011
Kyriad Saint-Malo Plage
31 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 21, 2013
Ibis St Malo La Madeleine Hotel
67 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 14, 2013
Hotel Port-Malo
4 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Aug 6, 2012
Hotel Restaurant Les Chiens Du Guet
4 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 4, 2013
Hotel Anne de Bretagne Saint-Malo
25 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 26, 2013
Hotel Le Nautilus
128 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Mar 15, 2013
Hotel Antheus
15 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Oct 6, 2011
Best Western Hotel Central
1 Review & Opinion
La Rance Hotel Saint-Malo
92 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 29, 2013
Hotel De L'Univers
81 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013