Page 91 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

ST-M AL O  89

beaches, the Plage du Sillon } Carved Rocks
and Plage Roche bonne, stretch Chemin des Rochers-Sculptés. From
for 4 km (2 miles). the walled city of St-Malo, take the
track in the direction of Rothéneuf.
Rothéneuf Tel (02) 99 56 23 95. Open Jun–Sep:
Northeast of Paramé, via the D201. daily; Oct–May: Thu–Tue. &
A long-distance footpath Between 1870 and 1895, the
(GR34) follows the coast to Abbé Fourré, a partly para lysed
Rothéneuf from Pointe de la country priest, produced a
Varde, from where the view masterpiece of naive art, carving
stretches from the Baie de about 300 figures – a fantastic
St-Malo right round to Cap assemblage of grima cing
Notre-Dame-des-Flots, an oratory on the Fréhel (see p113). This is a quiet monsters, animals and humans –
cliffs near Rothéneuf village with two beaches, one out of the granite rockface.
of which lines a cove. From here, a path leads to the
round Cape Horn in the 19th and Oratoire Notre-Dame-des-Flots,
20th centuries. Items on display  Grand Aquarium in a converted coastguard’s
include navi gational instruments, La Ville-Jouan, Avenue du Général- house. The simplicity of this
models of ships, sails, sperm Patton. Tel (02) 99 21 19 00. chapel, on the cliff edge, gives
whales’ teeth and canoe paddles Open daily. Closed Jan, 2 weeks the spot a special atmosphere.
from New Caledonia. The tower, in Nov. &
which is some 30 m (33 ft) high, This fascinating aquarium offers
was built on the orders of Jean V, the opportunity to view almost
Duke of Brittany, between 1364 500 different species of cold-
and 1382. It commands a fine water and warm-water marine
view of the estuary. life. The route through the
aquarium corresponds to that
} Corniche d’Alet taken by the great navigators,
Alet, inhabited by Celts in 80–70 from the North Atlantic to the
BC, was settled before St-Malo Caribbean Sea. With a circular
was founded. Around 270, the tank containing sharks, a tropical One of the figures carved out of the
peninsula was enclosed by walls room, tanks where visitors can living rock by the Abbé Fourré
and then, in about 350, a touch the fish, and the recon-
castellum (small fort) was built struction of the wreck of a E Musée Jacques-Cartier
here, on a site now covered by galleon, the aquarium has much Manoir du Limoëlou. Accessible via
the gardens of the Château to interest people of all ages. Rue David-Mac-Donald-Stewart.
de Solidor. In about 380, Alet Tel (02) 99 40 97 73. Open Jul–Aug:
became the capital of the } Havre du Lupin daily; Sep–Jun: Mon–Sat. 8
Coriosolites, a Gaulish tribe On the road north out of Rothéneuf. The museum is housed in a
inhabiting what is now the Also known as Havre de farmstead built in the 15th and
Côtes d’Armor. In the mid-12th Rothéneuf, this cove is a 16th centuries and enlarged in
century, the see of St-Malo was saltwater lake at high tide the 19th century. It is devoted to
transferred to Alet, causing and an expanse of sand at the explorer Jacques Cartier, who
the city to decline. The walls, low tide. It is connected to the discovered Canada in 1534 and
cathedral and castle were sea by a 300-m (985-ft) wide lived here between 1541 and
razed on the orders of St Louis, channel running between the 1557. There is also an excellent
although a few ruins can still coast and a peninsula, the section illustrating daily life in the
be seen. Presqu’île Benard. region during the 16th century.
The coast walk offers a
breathtaking view of the walled
city, the Île du Petit-Bé and Île du
Grand-Bé, where Chateaubriand
was laid to rest.
Paramé
On the road north out of St-Malo.
Paramé and Rothéneuf
have formed part of St-Malo
since 1967. The coastal
resort of Paramé was
established at the end of
the 19th century, when
developers built the dyke
and holiday villas here. Two The Manoir de Limoëlou, housing the Musée Jacques-Cartier

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