Saint-Malo is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany on the English Channel coast.

The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. The city changed into a popular tourist centre, with a ferry terminal serving the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, as well as the Southern English settlements of Portsmouth, Hampshire and Poole, Dorset.

The famous transatlantic single-handed yacht race, Route du Rhum, which takes place every four years in November, is between Saint Malo and Point-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe.

History

Saint-Malo is the setting of Marie de France’s poem „Laüstic,“ an 11th-century love story. The city had a tradition of asserting its autonomy in dealings with the French authorities and even with the local Breton authorities. From 1590 to 1593, Saint-Malo declared itself to be an independent republic, taking the motto „not French, not Breton, but Malouin.“

Saint-Malo became notorious as the home of the corsairs, French privateers and sometimes pirates. In the 19th century, this „piratical“ notoriety was portrayed in Jean Richepin’s play Le flibustier and in César Cui’s eponymous opera. The corsairs of Saint-Malo not only forced English ships passing up the Channel to pay tribute but also brought wealth from further afield. Jacques Cartier lived in, and sailed from, Saint-Malo to the Saint Lawrence River, visiting the villages of Stadacona and Hochelaga that would later become the sites of present-day Quebec City and Montreal respectively. As the first European to encounter these sites and learning the local word „Kanata“ (meaning a group of houses), Cartier is credited as the discoverer of Canada.

Inhabitants of Saint-Malo are called Malouins in French. From this came the Spanish name for the Islas Malvinas, the archipelago known in English as the Falkland Islands. Bougainville, who founded the archipelago’s first settlement, named the islands after the inhabitants of Saint-Malo, the point of departure for his ships and colonists.

In 1758, the Raid on Saint-Malo saw a British expedition land, intending to capture the town. However, the British made no attempt on Saint-Malo and instead occupied the nearby town of Saint-Servan, where they destroyed 30 privateers before departing.

Education

Schools

Schools include:

• 13 public preschools (écoles maternelles)
• 11 public elementary schools
• 8 private preschools and elementary schools
• 4 public collège : Chateaubriand, Duguay-Trouin, Robert Surcouf, and Charcot
• 3 private junior high schools: Choisy Jeanne d’Arc, Moka, and Sacré-Cœur
• 3 public senior high schools: Lycee Maupertuis, Lycee Jacques Cartier, Professional Maritime Lycee Les Rimains
• 2 private senior high schools: Lycee Institution Saint Malo-La Providence and Les Rimains

Higher education

• Institute of Technology of Saint-Malo
• A nurse school,
• A maritime school

Transport

Saint-Malo has a terminal for ferry services with daily departures to Portsmouth operated by Brittany Ferries and services on most days Poole in England via the Channel Islands operated by Condor Ferries. It also has a railway station, Gare de Saint-Malo, offering direct TGV service to Rennes, Paris and several regional destinations. There is a bus service provided by Keolis. The town is served by the Dinard–Pleurtuit–Saint-Malo Airport around 5 kilometres (3 miles) to the south.

Sites of interest

Now inseparably attached to the mainland, Saint-Malo is the most visited place in Brittany. Sites of interest include:

The Solidor Tower

The Solidor Tower in Saint-Servan is a 14th-century building that holds a collection tracing the history of voyages around Cape Horn. Many scale models, nautical instruments and objects made by the sailors during their crossing or brought back from foreign ports invoke thoughts of travel aboard extraordinary tall ships at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

Other sites:

• The walled city (La Ville Intra-Muros)
• The château of Saint-Malo, part of which is now the town museum.
• The tomb of the writer Chateaubriand on the Ile du Grand Bé
• The Petit Bé
• The Cathedral of St. Vincent (Saint-Malo Cathedral)
• The Privateer’s House („La Demeure de Corsaire“), a ship-owner’s town house built in 1725, shows objects from the history of privateering, weaponry and ship models.
• The Great Aquarium Saint-Malo, one of the major aquaria in France.
• The labyrinthe du Corsaire, (an attraction park in Saint Malo)
• The Pointe de la Varde, Natural Park.
• The City of Alet, in front of Saint Malo Intra Muros.
• Fort National
• Fort de la Conchée