When to go to Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast?
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Best time: May to September
At a glance
Why go to Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast?
The Emerald Coast covers a few dozen kilometres of shoreline between the Pointe du Grouin and Cap Fréhel, and it packs in the most built-up and the wildest of northern Brittany. At its centre, two towns face each other across the Rance estuary: Saint-Malo, the walled corsair city, and Dinard, a seaside resort born in the 19th century on the initiative of English and American families, whose turreted villas still overlook the sea.
The tides set the pace for everything. The tidal range, among the greatest in Europe, uncovers kilometres of foreshore at low water, opens the way to the Grand Bé and Fort National, and reveals the oyster beds of Cancale; at high water during spring tides, the waves break over the Sillon sea wall. Planning your days with a tide table is the first thing to do on arrival.
The destination suits every pace: a long weekend is enough for the walled city, Dinard and Cancale, while a week lets you follow the GR34 from end to end, climb to Cap Fréhel and push on to Dinan. Families will find sheltered beaches and seawater pools, couples the villas and seafood restaurants, and walkers one of the finest coastal paths in France.
Map of Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Intra-muros and ramparts
- Grand Bé
- Promenade du Clair de Lune
- Pointe du Moulinet
- Cancale and Pointe du Grouin
- Cap Fréhel
How much does a trip to Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast cost?
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €55-80 per day | camping or a simple hotel out of season, galettes and oysters at the Cancale market, free ramparts, Grand Bé, beaches and coastal path, boat-bus to Dinard. |
| Comfort | €110-160 per day | three-star hotel on the Sillon or in Dinard, one seafood restaurant a day, Fort la Latte, the Grand Aquarium and the Cap Fréhel lighthouse. |
| Premium | €250 and up per day | seafront palace hotel in Dinard or a boutique hotel in the walled city, thalassotherapy, Cancale's top restaurants, a boat trip to the islands. |
Accommodation prices almost double in July and August and at weekends in May. June and September offer the best balance of weather, crowds and prices.
Is Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast safe?
The main cause of accidents on the Emerald Coast is the tide: the sea rises fast over very flat foreshores, and the islets of the Grand Bé, Fort National and the Île des Ebihens can be cut off within a few dozen minutes. Check the tide table and obey the signs. During spring tides with a westerly wind, waves break over the Sillon sea wall: keep away from the parapet. On the GR34, the cliffs of Cap Fréhel and the Pointe du Grouin crumble, so stay on the path. The currents of the Rance and the Pointe du Grouin are dangerous for swimming and unsupervised kayaking. Finally, in summer the walled city draws big crowds: watch your belongings in the shopping streets.
What to see and do in Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast
- Intra-muros and the ramparts
- Grand Bé
- Promenade du Clair de Lune, Dinard
- Pointe du Moulinet and Écluse beach
- Cancale and the Pointe du Grouin
- Cap Fréhel
- Fort la Latte
- Grand Aquarium Saint-Malo
Intra-muros and the ramparts
The walled city grew on a former rocky islet joined to the mainland by a sand spit, and its walls were begun in the mid-12th century. Their current appearance dates mainly from the work of the engineer Siméon Garangeau, between 1708 and 1742, who replaced the medieval towers with bastions designed for cannon, such as Saint-Louis and Saint-Philippe. The whole circuit runs for 1,754 metres, rises to 16 metres and has nine gates; it has been a listed historic monument since 1886. In August 1944, the fighting of the Liberation destroyed most of the inner town, but the ramparts held, and the reconstruction restored the granite façades, slate roofs and tall chimneys of the shipowners' mansions. As you walk round, you pass above Bon-Secours beach and its seawater pool, refilled at every tide, in front of the statues of famous Malouins, then above the port. Inside, the Cathedral of Saint-Vincent, Rue Porcon-de-la-Barbinais and Rue de Dinan, the crêperies of Rue Jacques-Cartier and the Cour de la Houssaye fill half a day.
Grand Bé
The Grand Bé is the islet facing Bon-Secours beach, linked to the shore by a causeway of about 500 metres that can be crossed at low tide. Fortified in the 16th century and enlarged by Vauban in 1689, it carried a German battery during the last war, taken by the Americans on 16 August 1944. People climb up mainly for the grave of François-René de Chateaubriand, born in Saint-Malo in 1768, who chose this spot facing the open sea: his body was buried here in July 1848 under a simple cross with no inscription, as he had requested. The plateau also holds the ruins of a 14th-century chapel. The view from the top is one of the finest on the coast, taking in the walled city, the Rance estuary, Dinard, the island of Cézembre and Fort National. The crossing is only possible for a few hours around low water: the sea comes back fast and surrounds the islet, and a warning system has alerted walkers since 2011. A tip: go in the late afternoon on a day with a late low tide to watch the sun set behind Dinard.
Promenade du Clair de Lune, Dinard
Dinard was a fishing village when British and American families built their first summer homes here in the mid-19th century. The resort grew at breakneck speed until the Belle Époque, and the town now protects more than 400 villas from that period, often perched on rocks above the beaches. The Promenade du Clair de Lune, laid out in the 1930s, follows the shore of the Rance estuary between Prieuré beach and the Bec de la Vallée landing stage. You walk right at the water's edge, beneath palm trees and Mediterranean plants that thrive in a climate softened by the sea, with the silhouette of Saint-Malo opposite. The boat-bus that shuttles to the walled city docks at the end of the promenade, so you can combine the two towns without a car. Carry on to Écluse beach, then climb into the streets of villas around the Pointe de la Malouine, home to some of the resort's grandest residences.
Pointe du Moulinet and Écluse beach
Écluse beach, also called the Grande Plage, fills Dinard's main cove between the Pointe de la Malouine and the Pointe du Moulinet. It brings together everything that makes up the resort's image: pale sand, striped beach huts, a seawater pool, the casino and seafront hotels, against a backdrop of neo-Gothic and Norman-style villas. The Pointe du Moulinet, west of the beach, is the town's best lookout: the view sweeps from Saint-Malo to the island of Cézembre and as far as Cap Fréhel. From here, the customs officers' path heads to Saint-Énogat and Saint-Lunaire, skirting the villa gardens above the coves. Every year Dinard hosts the British film festival, open since 2024 to Irish cinema, whose trophy is the Golden Hitchcock, and a bronze statue of the director, unveiled in 2009, keeps watch at the entrance to the beach. To make the most of the place, come early in the morning in summer, when the beach is still empty, or late in the day for the low light on the villas.
Cancale and the Pointe du Grouin
Cancale is the oyster capital of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. The upper town, around the church, overlooks the port of La Houle, where old fishermen's houses and seafood restaurants line the quay. At low tide, the oyster beds draw dark rectangles on the foreshore, and the oyster farmers' tractors head out across the sand. At the end of the port, producers sell oysters opened by the dozen, to be eaten facing the bay. The GR34 then follows the coast north, via Port-Mer beach, to the Pointe du Grouin, a headland of heath and rock that marks the entrance to the bay. Offshore, the Île des Landes is a bird reserve where cormorants and gulls nest, and on a clear day the view reaches Mont-Saint-Michel, Granville and the Chausey Islands. The site is also the starting point for fine sea-kayaking trips, to be arranged with an instructor as the currents are strong.
Cap Fréhel
Cap Fréhel closes the Emerald Coast to the west with pink sandstone cliffs over 70 metres high, their colour coming from the iron oxide in the cement that binds the sand grains. The site, awarded Grand Site de France status in 2019 together with Cap d'Erquy, covers more than 300 hectares of heathland being restored through extensive grazing. The lighthouse, built from 1946 to 1950 after its predecessor was destroyed in 1944, stands almost 33 metres tall, and its gallery, reached by 145 steps from April to October, offers a panorama over the whole Emerald Coast. Beside it stands the Vauban tower, the cape's first lighthouse, lit in 1702. Below the cape, the Fauconnière rocks host a colony of guillemots that accounts for most of the French population, along with cormorants, razorbills and kittiwakes, which can be watched from a viewpoint. The site is very busy in summer: come early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the setting sun sets the cliffs aglow.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Three days are enough for Saint-Malo, Dinard and Cancale. Allow five days to add Cap Fréhel, Fort la Latte and a day's hiking on the GR34, and a week to push on to Dinan, the Rance valley or Mont-Saint-Michel.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of France
weekend (2 days)
Day 1: arrive by TGV in Saint-Malo, walk the ramparts, lunch in the walled city, the Grand Bé at low tide, seafood dinner near the Porte Saint-Vincent. Day 2: boat-bus to Dinard in the morning, the Promenade du Clair de Lune, Écluse beach and the Pointe du Moulinet, the path to Saint-Lunaire, back to Saint-Malo late in the day.
4-5 days
Day 1: the walled city, the ramparts and the Grand Bé. Day 2: Dinard, its villas and the customs officers' path to Saint-Briac. Day 3: Cancale, oysters at the port of La Houle, a walk to the Pointe du Grouin. Day 4: Cap Fréhel at sunrise, Fort la Latte, Sables-d'Or-les-Pins beach in the afternoon. Day 5: the Grand Aquarium in the morning if it rains, otherwise a stroll along the Sillon and the Rochebonne sea wall, then home.
one week
Days 1 to 3: Saint-Malo, Dinard and Cancale as above. Day 4: Cap Fréhel and Fort la Latte, overnight around Saint-Cast-le-Guildo. Day 5: Dinan and its half-timbered houses, then down the Rance by boat or bike to Dinard. Day 6: Mont-Saint-Michel, an hour's drive away, setting off early. Day 7: a last morning on Sillon beach, the Saint-Servan market, then home.
Getting there and getting around
The direct TGV links Paris-Montparnasse to Saint-Malo in about 2h15, with a few trains a day; the others go via Rennes, from where a TER regional train reaches Saint-Malo in under an hour. Dinard-Pleurtuit airport mainly receives flights to and from the United Kingdom. By car, allow about 4 hours from Paris via Rennes.
Between Saint-Malo and Dinard, the boat-bus crosses the estuary in about ten minutes, much faster than the road, which goes via the Rance tidal barrage. Saint-Malo's bus network serves Cancale and the park-and-ride car parks; Dinard and Saint-Lunaire have their own lines.
For Cap Fréhel and Fort la Latte, a car is the simplest option, about 45 minutes from Dinard. Cycling works well along the Sillon and around Dinard, but the coastal roads are narrow and busy in August.
Where to stay in Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast?
Budget: a few simple hotels in the walled city and near Saint-Malo station, as well as rooms in Dinard set back from the seafront, stay under €100 outside July and August. The campsites at Saint-Lunaire, Saint-Briac and Cancale are an option in summer, often just steps from a beach.
Comfort: the three-star hotels on the Sillon, facing Saint-Malo's main beach, and those in Dinard around Écluse beach offer sea-view rooms for €120-180 in season. The walled city has boutique hotels in shipowners' houses, pricier in summer.
Our pick: a room in one of Dinard's grand hotels facing the bay, or in one of Saint-Malo's beachfront hotels, to watch the sea rise from your bed during spring tides. The villas turned guesthouses in Dinard and Saint-Lunaire offer the same view at gentler prices.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast?
Cancale oysters first, cupped or flat, bought at the La Houle port market and eaten on the spot, then bouchot mussels from the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, served marinière or with cream in every restaurant on the coast.
Buckwheat galettes and wheat crêpes are found on every street corner in the walled city; look for crêperies that use local buckwheat. Salted butter and salted-butter caramel go with everything, as does the kouign-amann from the bakeries of Saint-Servan and Dinard.
For produce, the markets of Saint-Servan, Paramé and Dinard bring together coastal market gardeners and fishermen. Cider and chouchen are drunk as aperitifs, and the seafood platters at the brasseries by the Porte Saint-Vincent are shared between two.
Entry requirements
Schengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast
When should you go to Saint-Malo?
From May to September for swimming and long evenings, with June and September to avoid the crowds. The equinoctial spring tides, in March and September, draw onlookers who come to watch the waves break over the Sillon sea wall.
Can you visit Saint-Malo and Dinard without a car?
Yes. The TGV arrives in Saint-Malo, the walled city is explored on foot, and the boat-bus reaches Dinard in about ten minutes. Buses serve Cancale and Saint-Lunaire. Only Cap Fréhel and Fort la Latte call for a car or a bike.
How do you get to the Grand Bé?
On foot, from Bon-Secours beach, along a causeway uncovered at low tide. Check the time of low water and come back before the sea covers the crossing; it takes about ten minutes.
Where can you swim around Saint-Malo?
The Sillon's long main beach, Bon-Secours beach and its seawater pool, Écluse and Prieuré beaches in Dinard, and the beaches of Saint-Lunaire and Saint-Briac. The water rarely reaches 20°C, even in August.
How many days should you spend on the Emerald Coast?
Three days for Saint-Malo, Dinard and Cancale, five to add Cap Fréhel and Fort la Latte, a week for Dinan, the Rance and Mont-Saint-Michel.
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