"The Southern Suburb of St.-Malo" Saint-Servan-sur-Mer by hquittner

In Roman times this was a freestanding settlement named Aleth. It is now named St. Servan and is officially part of St.-Malo. If you are staying there, you can walk here as a distraction from the ramparts and beaches. We stopped here to look at the Rance estaury and to get a glimpse of the Usine Mare-matrice de la Rance (1966). some 3 km to the North. We did this to expand the knowlege base of a 10 yr old grandson who was with us. He was more intersted in looking for Gallo-Roman remains and settled for the ruins of the ancient cathedral and the Tour Solidor (which reportedly has a Roman base). Now 15 years later, he suddenly recall that he has seen this remarkable power station that captures power from the tremendous tides that surge daily and recede in the Rance estuary through the sluices of the dam. (There is a roadway over it connecting the Dinard and St.-Malo shores of the Rance). This is renewable energy at its cleverest!

• Pros:Worth a Short Visit
• Cons:You have to know how to get here
• In a nutshell:We love ancient churches and their ruins