Five days without a car, out of season. Plan each day around the tides: the same beach looks completely different four hours later.
| Day | Where | What we did |
|---|---|---|
| Day1 | St-Malo | Direct train from Paris, under 3 hours. Cheese and butter at Maison du Beurre Bordier, croissants at the bakery, crêpes with a sea view at Le Corps de Garde. The natural pool of Bon-Secours and the walk to Grand Bé at low tide, the ramparts, waves crashing at the lighthouse, and dinner at Fidelis. |
| Day2 | Dinard | A 10-minute boat ride from the ticket office. Lunch by the beach at Le Cartagène, then the coastal walk. Rain, then a rainbow: Brittany weather. |
| Day3 | St-Malo | A slow day. A swim in the Bon-Secours pool and a jump from the diving board, the long beach at low tide, kouign-amann, sunset, and a seafood platter from the fishmonger for dinner. |
| Day4 | Cancale | A full day by e-bike along the coast. Lunch on oysters at Au Pied d'Cheval, the oyster market, Mont-Saint-Michel on the horizon, and back to St-Malo by the coast. |
| Day5 | St-Malo | Crêpes at the Atelier de la Crêpe, Saint-Servan, with the Cité d'Alet and the Solidor tower, the St-Malo distillery, kouign-amann to take home, and a last night dancing at Le Dock. |
We stayed with friends, so no hotel to recommend this time. Staying inside the walls or in Saint-Servan puts everything on foot.
Stays in St-Malo→Once a month, Noah and I write about where we've been, the people we met along the way and where we're heading next. New guides land in your inbox first. No spam, ever.
What we learned, sometimes the wet way.
Grand Bé and the long beach walks are only possible at low tide, and the sea comes back fast. We missed the passage once: always check before you go.
They say the weather changes fast in Brittany, and it's true. We got soaked in Dinard, then got a rainbow.
Our favourite thing to do if you have a flat: order a seafood platter at Poissonnerie Guinemer. They open, scale and prepare everything, ready to eat.
We rented e-bikes for 37€ the day. Email the rental shop ahead and they can deliver the bikes to you. Off season, e-bikes may be all that's left.
The boat to Dinard takes 10 minutes and leaves from the ticket office, with other trips along the coast too.
Vacuum-packed kouign-amann keep for a month: 11.50€ at this shop opposite the cathedral. Perfect to take home.
An easy trip without a car. With one, you could add Mont-Saint-Michel, Dinan or Rennes.
Being on the coast means amazing seafood, and Brittany means butter in everything.
Explore the other neighbourhoods. In the Saint-Servan neighbourhood, we loved the Cité d'Alet and the Solidor tower, where locals dig for clams at low tide. And yes, St-Malo has its own distillery, with a seaweed gin.
We had an amazing week. St-Malo is an amazing place, and you should definitely go. It's easy by train, the food is incredible, and the tides make every walk different.
Stay at least three days, but you can easily do more. The day by bike to Cancale was a highlight: it's gorgeous everywhere along the coast. With a car, there's plenty more around, from Mont-Saint-Michel to Dinan and Rennes.
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