The haunt of pirates for hundreds of years, Saint-Malo is still defended by its historic ramparts, while the tidal islands next to the city continue to be fortified by 17th century bastions. Walking the walls is a must-do – they’re massive, and have sweeping views of the sea and many islands near shore. The area can be very windy and looks to be quite popular for kite-surfing and other wind sports.

We’ve visited in summer and winter and would recommend both – it’s really a dramatic setting, with excellent food. The summer crowds are intense, but for the most part it didn’t really bother me. The central road is packed with specialty stores and boutiques, including the wonderful smelling **L’Epicerie Roellinger focused on spices, peppers and herbs from around the world, created by Olivier Roellinger (of Chateau Richeux). Outside the walls, we really enjoyed swimming in the pool created in the surprisingly warm ocean.

Lodging

• *Hôtel France et Chateaubriand Saint-Malo is one of the nicer hotels in town, a historic property right next to the city walls. It’s not exactly bad, but it’s tired, with a lot of exterior noise, small rooms. Breakfast is fine. I wouldn’t exactly not recommend it, but I’d stay somewhere else next time.
• We wouldn’t stay at Le Grand Bé (looks like a prison). There are a lot of 2 star smaller places with checkered reviews. I think Airbnb or Gites.fr may be the way to go – just book really early.
• We also wouldn’t stay at one of the many hotels that line the Grande Plage to the north of town. It’s not bad – there are a lot of options – it would just be a very different experience without the historic character of the city around you. The distances into town can get fairly significant (up to an hour walk), and much of the beach area is only available at lower tide. There are good dining options though, see below.

Dining

• **AR INIZ – Hôtel restaurant: this was excellent, seafood centric and fresh. Some of the best gazpacho I’ve ever had – it was so delicious Galen ordered his own for dessert. We enjoyed the long walk from Saint Malo and the sunset journey back, worth making the trip.
• **Bistro Autour du Beurre was very, very good. The meal starts with an assortment of 8 flavors of butter for your bread, and continues in rich fashion.
• **Comptoir Breizh Café Saint-Malo: a rather famous destination for crêpes. They were good, lots of creative seasonal ingredients, and the setting is formalish, rather hip.
• **La fourchette à droite was a tasty, more off-the-beaten-track option: family run, with just a few tables and a slim menu. Reserve well in advance.
• In tourist-town style, there are a lot of pubs and cafes for drinking. We sat in the sun at the rather dirty Charly’s Bar, and were quite impressed with the charmingly authentic Irish Pub **Le Saint Patrick. It’s a warren of levels and has lots of cute places to discover.

Dinan

Rick Steves raves about Dinan: it is indeed impressive, though not where I’d choose to stay. It makes for a very nice half-day. We drove (you can ferry there from Saint-Malo, which I’m sure is charming, but the 15 mile canal cruise takes 2.5 hours, vs a 35 minute drive). The attraction is the town itself, beautifully preserved after escaping the bombs of World War II. There are two areas that feel very distinct – the walls and interior, with half-timbered houses and lots of tourist-trinket shops, and the old riverfront harbor, which has a rather delightful English canal front vibe. 

We had a delightfully delicious lunch at **Colibri, with a very serious young waitress and pleasant views.

Dinard

Across from Saint-Malo, on the left bank of the Rance, Dinard is a rather elegant spa town. It’s lined with turn-of-the-century mansions, and features a really excellent promenade along the waterfront. The town itself is rather small, quaint, and has a good selection of high-end boutiques. The beaches are not as appealing as those in Saint-Malo, with a lot more wind and longer, shallower areas. The western shore areas are popular with kite-surfers and wind-surfers.

Very different in feel, it’s a nice companion stop to Saint-Malo. Take the ferry – in the summer, they run every 10 minutes. We’ve not found anything to “do” exactly, but walking around is fun. I wouldn’t stay here necessarily, but Galen would consider it for a higher end lodging experience: particularly the 5 star hotels facing the bay: Castelbrac Hôtel & Spa, and Le Grand Hôtel Dinard.

We had a great lunch at the **Oyster Club – a seafood stall with picnic tables (they don’t take reservations). As the name conveys, this is an oyster-heavy menu. Everything was very fresh, well prepared, and seasonal. 

Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes

20 minutes from Saint-Malo, ***Chateau Richeux is a fine dining destination, with the option of staying in separate, modern cabins or the main chateau. The food focuses on fish & seafood, with much of the produce grown on the property itself. It’s a beautiful spot with distant views of Mont Saint-Michel – I definitely recommend it.

The spa is quite something (and not included with the price of stay) – a stone and wood complex of pools, a hamman, and sauna with great views and indoor/outdoor swimming.