City of CORSAIRS

City of CORSAIRS Swashbuckling adventure, romantic walks, and delicious Breton fare. Gillian Thornton soaks up the maritime atmosphere of Saint-Malo. With its imposing ramparts and towering waterside properties, few ports pack quite such a picturesque punch as Saint-Malo on Brittany’s north coast. Today the marina is packed with gleaming pleasure craft, but in centuries past, dozens of tall ships jostled for space along the crowded quaysides. Strategically located on the eastern side of the Rance estuary, Saint-Malo was named after a 6th century monk, the early settlement quickly fortified against potential invaders. But it was in the 16th century that the town became famous for its wealthy ship owners or armateurs, its daring privateers, and skilled craftsmen. Within a few decades, Saint-Malo was the busiest seaport in France. Arrive by sea and it’s an easy walk from the harbour to the historic walled town – the Intra Muros – which today combines with the neighbouring communes of Saint-Servan and Paramé to form Grand Saint-Malo, a town of some 50,000 people. Pitch up by car and you’ll find public car parks just outside the ramparts which largely leaves the Intra Muros to pedestrians. Before you head inside the city walls, stop off at the tourist office just outside the town’s main entrance, Porte Saint-Vincent, for an annotated map. The earliest fortified town was an island at high tide, the gate accessed by drawbridge and guarded by a fortress that now serves as the Town Hall. Eagle-eyed visitors might notice that the town flag – an ermine wearing a scarf – is allowed to fly above that of the Republic, thanks to the city’s contribution to the national economy under Napoleon. Step inside the main gate and the painted facades of Place Chateaubriand come in bright contrast to the sober stone around them. Romantic author François-René de Chateaubriand was born in 1768 in a house adjacent to the Hôtel France et Chateaubriand. He died in 1848 after an active political and literary life and rests beneath a simple stone cross on the Ile de Bé just offshore. 78 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 79