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Travel guide
Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to September
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Welcome
Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast, in a few days
Saint-Malo is best seen from its ramparts, a 1,754-metre wall walk above the beaches. Across the water, Dinard protects more than 400 villas, and around them lie the oysters of Cancale, the pink cliffs of Cap Fréhel and Fort la Latte on its headland.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The walled city and ramparts free · about 1 hA full circuit of the walled city on a 1,754-metre wall walk, past nine gates, above Bon-Secours beach and its seawater pool.
- Afternoon · Grand Bé free · about 1 hAt low tide, a causeway leads to this fortified islet where Chateaubriand, born in Saint-Malo, lies beneath a plain granite cross facing the open sea.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Printania€140 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Pointe du Moulinet and Plage de l'Écluse free · 2 to 3 hDinard's main sandy beach, with striped huts, a seawater pool and the casino, and at its western end the widest view on the coast.
- Afternoon · Promenade du Clair de Lune, Dinard free · about 1 hA 1930s seafront path along the Rance estuary under palm trees, below villas built by the British and Americans who launched the resort.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel de la Vallée€140 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Grand Aquarium Saint-Malo · about 2 hTen themed zones from cold deep seas to the tropics, a simulated dive in the Nautibus capsule, and touch pools where children can stroke rays.
- Afternoon · Cancale and Pointe du Grouin free · half a dayFrom the port of La Houle, look across the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel and its oyster beds, then eat oysters by the dozen on the steps.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel San Pedro€120 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Fort la Latte · about 1 hA castle on a headland above the sea, built from the 1340s and entered over two drawbridges, with a keep looking out to Cap Fréhel.
- Afternoon · Cap Fréhel free · about 1 h 30Pink sandstone cliffs over 70 metres high above heather moorland, with a 1950 lighthouse you can climb beside an older tower from 1702.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Printania€140 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €110 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/saint-malo
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.