St Malo ... Bastille Day

[kidnapped]

I am proposing to be in St Malo for Bastille Day, Mon 14th July. Is this a 'fun' thing to do? Should I arrive early, Frid/Sat to avoid rush? Is there anything we should not miss whilst there ... restaurants,pubs,walks etc? Or should I go somewhere else? Two couples, yacht 45'o/all, 2m draft.

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[Gunfleet]

Last year I was in Dinan, the year before St Malo. There is usually a firework display on the greve in front of the the casino/porte St Vincent. It's called the Sillon. The groove. What's bizarre is that St Malo is one of the centres of resistance to the revolution - hundreds of Bretons were decapitated on a guillotine set up on the Sillon. Everyone now seems to have forgotten it, except in some of the nearby villages (I used to live in one) where les bonnets rouges had a certain reputation! Good luck. You'll have a great time. If you can take the ground - bearing in mind the St Malo basin will be closed - you might look over at Dinard for a berth.

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[rich]

only closed in august.

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[GeorgeP]

I prefer the old basin under the city walls. (I also heard it is shut in August.) The other marina is a bit far, but I think has a sill rather than a lock.

Have you been before/how well do you know St Malo? There is quite a bit of history there. It is worth walking around the walls early on. Apparently the Allies bombed the place to pieces in 1944 and it is mostly rebuilt. There are some German fortifications just to the south that are worth a visit. When you see the state of the metal pillboxes think of what it must have been like back then!

Beaches are good (at least my kids think so), the outer forts are interesting. The tour was in French and mostly about how they beat off the English. Moulles and galletes are the local thing to eat. Dinard is worth a trip. Take the ferry just to the north of the lock gates if you don't want to mess around on the other side.

I also recommend the Rance if you want to lie to anchor in peace. Dinan is beautiful, but maximum sea draft is <1.5m, and air draft 16m (I think) in the canal. There is a marina near the top where you can leave your yacht if you want to go the last bit by land.

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[kidnapped]

Thanks to all who replied .... sounds OK to me. I'm hoping 'closed August' does mean August!
Any further info. greatly received

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[Gunfleet]

Oh dear. I'll have to read my posts carefully in future. Crapaud!

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