Saint-Malo



Saint-Malo is a city in France, a walled port city in Brittany (Bretagne) in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department. The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season. With the suburbs included, the population is about 135,000. The population of the commune more than doubled in 1968 with the merging of three communes: Saint-Malo, Saint-Servan (population 14,963 in 1962), and Paramé (population 8811 in 1962). Inhabitants of Saint-Malo are called Malouins.

HISTORY OF SAINT-MALO
Saint-Malo during the Middle Ages was a fortified island at the mouth of the Rance River, controlling not only the estuary but the open sea beyond. The promontory fort of Aleth, south of the modern centre in what is now the Saint-Servan district, commanded approaches to the Rance even before the Romans, but modern Saint-Malo traces its origins to a monastic settlement founded by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan early in the 6th century. Its name is derived from a man said to have been a follower of Brendan, Saint Maclow.

Saint-Malo had a tradition of asserting its autonomy in dealings with the French authorities and even with the local Breton authorities. From 1490–1493, Saint-Malo declared itself to be an independent republic, taking the motto "not French, not Breton, but Malouins".

Saint-Malo became notorious as the home of the corsairs, French privateers and sometimes pirates. (In the nineteenth century the city's "piratical" notoriety was portrayed in Jean Richepin's play Le flibustier and in César Cui's like-named opera derived therefrom.) 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, who sailed the Saint Lawrence River and visited the sites of Quebec City and Montreal — and is thus credited as the discoverer of Canada, lived in and sailed from Saint-Malo, as did the first colonists to settle the Falklands – hence the islands' French name Îles Malouines, which gave rise to the Spanish name Islas Malvinas.

The commune of Saint-Servan was merged, together with Paramé, and became the commune of Saint-Malo in 1967.

Saint Malo was the site of an Anglo-French summit in 1998 which lead to a significant agreement regarding European defence policy. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac stated that "the [European] Union must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises".

More informations about the History of Saint-Malo on the Saint-Malo !

WHAT TO VISIT ?
More informations about the places to visit in Saint-Malo on the Saint-Malo and/or visit the Official Website of the Office of Tourism.

Free Internet/Wifi Access

 * '''Gare Maritime du Naye

Free Wi-fi spot in the "boat station" outside of the closed city.

http://maps.google.fr/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=fr&geocode=&q=Gare+maritime+du+naye+35400+ST+MALO&sll=48.642735,-2.019403&sspn=0.017921,0.046756&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Gare+Maritime+du+Naye,+35400+Saint-Malo,+Ille-et-Vilaine,+Bretagne&ll=48.642409,-2.025615&spn=0.009138,0.023378&z=17&iwloc=lyrftr:m,0x480e8117935c2bc9:0x1d0ca5d1f46d41c0,48.642501,-2.025615


 * '''Bar la passerelle, aux thermes de Saint malo.

Free wi-fi spot ( a drink here is cosy but expensive)


 * '''Bar Le Cancalais, 1 quai Solidor.

Free wi-fi, just ask for the code at the bar (and a very nice view over the Solidor bay and Dinard!)

Cheap & Nice Places to Eat

 * Cafe de Saint-Malo, just inside Grande Porte. The restaurant here is unspectacular, but what makes this the best deal in Intramuros is the window selling fresh seafood to go. For €5, you can get a dozen large oysters, preshelled, on ice and with a quartered lemon.


 * Petit Crêpier, Rue Ste Barbe, tel. +33-299409319. True to the name, this restaurant is small and has crepes, but their daily selection of seafood galettes is a cut above the pack. €10.

Nightlife

 * '''During the summer (May 1st until the end of September), some bars can stay open until 2:00 am.


 * Bar Le Cunningham, 9 Place Monseigneur Duchesne in Solidor (St Servan), open until 3:00 am and a nice view over Intra-Muros. Drinks quite expensive, and the prices rise after 11:00 pm, but sometimes late in the night there are real parties there.


 * Le 109, a club/bar at Intra-Muros open until 3:00am, for those who like that kind of place Le-109.com.

Free toilet

 * '''Gare Maritime du Naye (for the map see above)


 * '''Gare maritime de la bourse (near the first one)

COUCHSURFERS
There are about 50 Couchsurfers in Saint-Malo and the area, feel free to contact them by searching them on a couchsurf or by posting some messages on the CS Group of Saint-Malo.

Meetings
There are some meetings organised in Saint-Malo, you can check on the CS Group of Saint-Malo if there is something happened or check on the Regional CS Group of Brittany (Bretagne) to see if there is an event organised in the area.

Coffee or a Drink</FONT>
Here is a list of local couchsurfers who could be ready to show you the city or/and have a drink with you:

How to get to Saint-Malo</FONT>

 * By Car:

You can find a driver or passenger to share the ride and cut on travel cost. In France carpooling is very popular and is called "covoiturage".
 * By Carpooling:

Try Envoiture.fr or Covoiturage.frto get to Saint-Malo.


 * By Train: Saint-Malo's train station is located over a kilometer south of the intramuros area, but it's an easy 20-min walk straight down Avenue Louis Martin. There are a few direct TGV services daily from Paris (Gare de Montparnasse), which take about three hours. Most travellers, however, will end up connecting in Rennes, from where there are hourly commuter services (50 min, €12) to Saint-Malo.


 * By Ferry: From the UK you can arrive from Poole and Weymouth on Condor Ferries. Leaving from Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries. From Jersey & Guernsey you can take HD Ferries. Leaving from Jersey, it takes about 1 hour, Guernsey sailings go via Jersey, or Condor Ferries which offers direct routes from both islands.


 * By Plane : The airport is at Pleurtuit, about 15km from Saint malo. Directions from East Midlands and London (stansted).

Bus</FONT>
Bus départemental

lignes :
 * '''illenoo : http://illenoo-services.fr

17 : Fougères - Saint malo

8 : Rennes - Saint malo

7a : Rennes -Dinard

16 : Saint Briac - Saint malo


 * '''tibus : http://www.tibus.fr

11 : Dinan -Dinard

10 : Dinan - Saint malo

14 : Saint malo - Saint Cast le guildo

Bus urbain et Interurbain ( city bus and around)


 * '''Saint -malo : http://www.ksma.fr


 * '''Dinard : http://www.ville-dinard.fr/pages-vie/transports.html

Bicycles</FONT>
Rando breizh is a websie very interresting about bycicle tracks in brittany. I recommend the "green ways" (voies vertes)!

http://www.randobreizh.com/VeloroutesVoiesVertesBretagne_index.php

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY</FONT>



 * Police Station:

Tel: 17 or 112

Police municipale : 02 23 18 18 18

Commissariat de Police

Adress: 3, place des Frères Lamennais I-M - 35402 Saint-Malo cedex

Tel. 02 99 20 69 40 Fax 02 99 40 70 04

Gendarmerie

Adress: 6, avenue Franklin Roosevelt - 35400 Saint-Malo

Tel: 02 99 40 02 06
 * Baywatch:

Sauvetage en Mer - CROSS

Adress: Centre Régional Opérationnel de Surveillance et de Sauvetage

Tel: 02 98 89 31 31
 * Health Urgency:

Samu 35 : 15 or 112
 * Hospital:

Centre Hospitalier

1, rue de la Marne - 35403 Saint-Malo Cedex

Tel: 02 99 21 21 21
 * Fireman Station:
 * Embassy:
 * Emergency Doctor:

Samu 35 : 15 or 112

LOCAL MEDIA MENTIONS</FONT>
Saint-Malo

INTERESTED LINKS</FONT>
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
 * Regional CS Group: Bretagne (Brittany)
 * Local CS Group: Saint-Malo


 * Saint-Malo on Wikivoyage
 * Saint-Malo on Hitchwiki
 * Saint-Malo on Wikipedia