Saint-Malo, France

Up in the North-West of France, in the Province of Brittany, we found this awesome coastal city. Fortresses, stone walls, beaches as far as the eye can see, beautiful homes, all the boats and even a few casinos - this place has it all. This is where we spent the first day of 2017!

Just over an hour drive North of Rennes is the fortress city of Saint-Malo. Known as the "walled city', its origins date back to the 1st Century B.C. with cathedrals and chateaus dating back many centuries.

Saint-Malo Tourism!



Our visit here was on a very cold and windy January 1st so we didn't get to explore quite as much as we would have liked. We stopped into one of the many restaurants within the Walled City and enjoyed some great pasta and French wine & hot chocolate before taking on the cold again.

View from above of lunch restaurant

Up the stairs we went to the top of the wall surrounding the city and headed out toward the beach. The beach was beautiful, even on the dreary cold day it was, I could only imagine what it must be like in the warm Summer days. I imagine you would be hard pressed to find a bare patch of sand with locals and tourists alike enjoying the long stretches of sand, salt water and sunshine.

We spent the better part of 3 hours exploring this ancient city, walking in the sand, up and down the old alleyways, along the cobblestone, in and out of the wind and checking out all the cannons along the coastline.

Cannons along the beautiful fortress wall and coastline

Another very cool aspect of the old city was the amount of work and upkeep of the flowers and shrubbery throughout. The city also has multiple spots where the stone jets out into the water as beacons for any incoming ships and travellers. It was very easy to see how this city was once a true fortress.

Panoramic view from the beach toward one side of the Walled City

All in all, it was a beautiful area even on a very frigid day. This was my only visit to the Walled City but Alex was able to get back later in the Spring and absolutely fell in love with it under the sunshine and warmth. She spent a full-day and over 30,000 steps exploring every nook and cranny of Saint-Malo and would go back in a heartbeat!

Hopefully some of these posts can help you decide where your next adventure might take you. We are incredibly lucky to live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world here in Canada, but don't ever let that keep you from experiencing all that the rest of the world has to offer. Now to get the rest of our awesome adventures in France posted!

- KC