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Off to France on the ferry tomorrow and we've got a day in St Malo. We'll have the car. What's worth seeing?
I plan on buying cheese/booze. I imagine wine will be very cheap. Is there anything else I should be looking out for? I'm keen on Belgian beer so I'll probably pick some of that up too if it's a good price.
Any advice on where to go/eat/buy appreciated.
Thanks
It was the launch city for La Nouvelle France back few centuries.
We learnt this song in French school growing up:
I'd say HTH, except that I really do. If you're at all interested in history, you might give a thought to the idea of those brave men and women getting aboard the wooden ships and setting sail across the Atlantic.
Without, of course, neglecting the Belgian beer.
🙂
St Malo is best explored on foot. Around the city walls and in the streets inside. Perhaps a stroll around the inner basin in the harbour. Depending upon the tide you can get onto the beaches too. Make sure you get a decent lunch, seafood obviously and/or some gallete (savoury crepes) and cider.
Can't say I've seen much Belgian Beer on sale there.
Have fun, I've spent many happy times there after arriving on the annual yacht race run from Cowes for the July 14 weekend.
Galettes & cidre for lunch!
8)
Not sure what wines you like but some ideas for cheap and decent quality
Dry white - Touraime (we paid €3.10 a bottle for the wine for my daughters wedding) from Loire so fairly local
Muscadet - super dry good with fish
Cremont - cheap fizz, from Borgogne or Alsacse for a drier champagne style, other regions for sweeter. Also a Blanc de Blanc - in supermarkets for €5 and great for Christmas
Good solid red - Cotes du Rhone (Guigal is good and should be €8 a bottle, other producers cheaper)
Chinon is a red from Loire area and not seen so much in UK
There will be lots of cheap Bordeux - €3-4 a bottle
Nice place to visit and best done on foot at said before, plenty of bars and eateries situated in the city walls.
There is a very interesting bar(La Java) full of puppets and all sorts of tat all over the interior, another one has a pulpit inside(think it was called Apothecary?).
Beaches are nowt special , spent a day and half there the other year for a TDF stage.
jambalaya - Member
Dry white - Touraime (we paid €3.10 a bottle for the wine for my daughters wedding) from Loire so fairly local
I take it geography isn't top of your list!
Touraine Loire to St Malo is like Cornwall to Birmingham
Last went to St Malo about 10 years ago. We met Segolene Royal in a pub. She played pool with my daughter. Following a very frosty ferry journey the next day the missus informed me I was dribbling...
@MrO 😀 my French geography is pretty good actually. Lived in Paris for over a year and back there for a few months now. Kept my boat in Brittany for 2 years and have raced up and down the North and South coast extensively. The Loire is the closest major wine region to St Malo and in French geographical terms given the size of the country is pretty close. Brittany is better known for Cider and dairy products plus of course the seafood.
@suburban that's a top story 😀
I can't say I agree with her politics but she is very easy on the eye
St Malo is Fab.
Park up outside the city walls (cheap - 1 euro per hour) and walk in.
lots of interesting shops and nice restaurants.
The little train which does tourist tours is actually quite good, especially if you've got kids with you.
Beach is great if the tide is out.. St Malo has the highest tides in Europe, we've seen waves crashing over the road when it is really stormy.
jambalaya - Member@MrO my French geography is pretty good actually. Lived in Paris for over a year and back there for a few months now. Kept my boat in Brittany for 2 years and have raced up and down the North and South coast extensively. The Loire is the closest major wine region to St Malo and in French geographical terms given the size of the country is pretty close. Brittany is better known for Cider and dairy products plus of course the seafood.
Yes I know about Loire (lived just outside Mazieres-de-Toiraine) & I know about Brittany (lived in Carhaix Plouguer) but its still around 270k from the Touraine region to St Malo
You are right about the Breton cider though 🙂
You'll get some Belgian beer in the supermarkets but it'll be the bigger brands. That said, there are about 90 different ones in my local supermarket so choosing can be a bit of a long job so maybe less choice is better.
The big supermarkets are your best bet for cheap wine or good wine which is cheaper than you'd pay in the UK. It's entirely possible to get a bottle of wine for under 1e or a bottle of wine which would cost you 50 quid in the UK for under 30e. Just need to decide which end of the market you're shooting at.
As for food, definitely galettes with a jug of DRY Breton cider
The cite d'alet area is nice up on the hill by the marina. You can see where the German fortifications got mullered by the invading allied army. Pretty spectacular and a nice walk.
There are some lovely bars around the coastline there on the south side of the little headland and some great restaurants and lovely French streets and buildings. There's a really lovely shopping street up there where all the locals shop etc very upmarket.
Its a great city and walls and ramparts are amazing. Bit touristy in the main entrances to the walled city though. There's a good underground car park right by the main entrance to the walled city that we used before the pop you on our camper.
Cancale is nice as well just 20 mins to the east of st Malo for seafood.