The lovely port city of Saint Malo is a popular tourist destination and one of the jewels of the Brittany coast. In , Saint Malo Beach was named the nicest beach in France. Here we give you an overview of the history of this charming town and some things to do and see in Saint Malo if you plan to spend a day there. If you'd like to visit Saint Malo, why not take a look at our Brittany self-drive tours? A stop in St Malo can also be included in our self guided tours of Normandy.
Before we give our recommendations on the best things to see and do in St Malo, it will help to know a bit about the city's history. Saint Malo's position on a rock at the mouth of the Rance estuary has offered the city an excellent natural defence against invaders since pre-Roman times.
Interestingly, the walled city of Saint Malo was in fact named after a Welsh monk and a disciple of St Brendan called Maclovius. At that time, Brittany was known as Armorica, and many Celts moved there to escape the unrest in Roman Britain across the English Channel.
From the 16th century onwards, Saint Malo became an important port area due to its strategic position on the French coast. It was a convenient stop-off point for commercial ships that were heading south from the North Sea and England and it was also popular with corsairs and explorers. Corsairs, also known as French privateers, who were essentially state-approved pirates who had the permission of the French government to engage in war against foreign ships to attempt to commandeer them and take them as prizes.
As well as forcing English ships on the Channel to pay a tribute to them, the corsairs of St Malo would bring home riches from far and wide. At this time, piracy was very common and many became rich from their chosen way of life at high sea. The English and Dutch merchant navy would have been prepared for violent encounters with the St Malo corsairs. On 20th April , he embarked upon a voyage of discovery towards new lands. A painting of Jacques Cartier landing in Hochelaga in now modern-day Quebec.
