St Malo or elsewhere? Anyone know northern France / Brittany

[FindingyourFeet]

Can anyone please help me?

We are looking to go to northern France for our holiday. I envisage sitting outside, eating at bistros overlooking the sea. My husband suggested St Malo, but I’m worried that none of the restaurants overlook the sea and are all inside the city walls. Is this correct?

12 years ago we went to St Pierre Quiberon, and I seem to remember a little port (I can’t see it on Google maps, so am perhaps misremembering where I’m thinking of). That’s the vibe I want.

Basically, can anyone recommend a nice place for us to base ourselves? I don’t necessarily want big (I think my husband does), I want authentically Breton with a choice of eating places. It’ll be me, dh and our 18 year old son.

Thank you.

St Malo is gorgeous, there are definitely places near the sea, nor just intra-muros ( in the city walls). We stayed there and also Concarneau which is very pretty too.

Lovely coast all along and around past Roscoff. Perros Guirec (not sure about spelling) is a favourite French seaside resort. Lots of restaurants along the coast and all the beaches appear to be sandy. Probably very crowded until 3rd weekend in August as the French are on holiday up to then. After that a lot quieter.

Hurrah @Dobeebeedah - we are going the last week of August. Thanks for your answer.

@OnlyGreenClothes that’s good to hear, thanks. Off to look at Concarneau.

Loved St Malo. The sea pool is dreamy!

also liked Fouesnant

@beachbeach that does look amazing …. Coming round to St Malo, thanks.

Honestly, I wouldn't be out off St Malo just because most of the restaurants don't have a sea view! There are so many beautiful towns, villages and ports in that neck of the woods that you could have easily have trips out.

Personally I'd just base myself and eat where I liked the look of, and sit by the sea for a cafe creme or a Kir a couple of times a day 😀

St Malo is great.

I came on to say Concarneau and also Quimper…..beautiful…enjoy x

I really like St. Malo, I’ve been twice. Further along the coast is St. Cast, another lovely place with an amazing beach.

St Malo was one of my favourite French holidays. There’s a lovely feel to the intra muros.

Roscoff is lovely too

I enjoyed a visit to St Malo but not sure I would have wanted to stay there.
Have a look at Dinard. Nice coastal town. Other nice coastal places to visit nearby too. There are also some restaurants overlooking the sea.
Will you have a car? Inland, I recommend a visit to Dinan.

I second Dinan you can have a meal overlooking a beautiful river. They do a 2 or 3 hour river cruises which is lovely also. Dinard is a lovely beach with a seawater pool refreshed by the tide with lots of little seaside shops and there is often parking too. Close to Dinan is a maze called Labyrinth du Corsair that is great and has lots of surprises in the middle. Carantec is a lovely seaside beach and you can eat in cafe/restaurant overlooking the beach. The beach also has a volleyball net and there is a diving platform in the sea. There are paddle boards to hire as well. I took 3 teen boys and they love it there. Also with a car Morlaix is 20 minutes away from Carantec and well worth a visit. There is a high viaduct they can climb up over, gorgeous old medieval houses, a port, with flower displays most of the way around, you can walk the 2km with a cafe half way around. They do nice Italian ice creams and several nice restaurants there too. There is also an excellent tourist information with free WiFi that gives out free maps and leaflets on attractions and do bike hire too as they have several green routes (old railway lines) you can cycle along. I have a holiday home in Morlaix. A truly stunning beach is about 30 minutes away, close to Plestin Les Greves, called Plage des Curés. It is a cove that is not very well known but has large granite rocks on beach, lovely sand and crystal clear water. You have to go down quite steep slope. There is a toilet at the top and parking but sometimes there are no more than 20 people on the beach. I went in July for 12 days. It is the sort of cove they have on postcards.

2 of the lovely beaches. Plage des Curee and Carantec.

I love St Malo and Intro Muros. There are some absolutely fab restaurants there.
if you walk along Chau Du Sillon which is the road that runs alongside the beach there are some restaurants not sure how good they are.
If you haven’t booked a hotel I highly recommend L’Oceania. We have stayed there a number of times, the last time in November. Huge upgrade to the rooms. Ours was fabulous with the bed facing the sea and a good sized balcony. It is outside Intro Muros on Chau Du Sillon and just a five minute walk away.
Concale is just a short drive away and is renowned for its seafood restaurants.
Dinard is lovely and Dinan is a must visit.
There are plenty of places to visit in the surrounding area. Mont St Michel is about a 45 minute drive or alternatively I believe there is a bus.
Are you travelling with Brittany Ferries if so be wary of the food pass. We used it in November and were misinformed about how you could use it. Hopefully staff are now more au fait with it.
Have a great time, I’m hoping ton return again in November and December when Brittany Ferries have some amazing deals.

Thanks all so much! I'm conflicted now between St Malo and Concarneau. St Malo is easier to reach for us.

Off to research but very grateful to you all.

I’d second all of this. If you get a balcony sea view hotel on chau du Sillon the views are incredible (we stayed at Le Nouveau Monde in a superior sea view room and it was stunning. We had room service a few times but also enjoyed going out and trying the fab restaurants and then coming back to enjoy the view after dark (still lots going on!). It also feels very safe with the police training college nearby.

We’ve also done Dinan and it was great for a day or two, but lacked the atmosphere and variation of St Malo. St Malo is the only sea town we’ve visited more than twice (at least 4-5 times) as we love it so much.

@CantHaveTooMuchChocolate thanks so much. Still not booked but looking to book today. I’m sold on St Malo now.

We are off to Dinan, staying here: https://www.closducedre.com/en/
It's a small boutique hotel, with a handful of rooms and one self contained apartment. Dinan is a pretty town.

I also recommend staying in Dinard, as you can get a boat across to St Malo, and enjoy wandering around for the day. Dinard has some lovely places to stay and eat, with great views.

Dinard is beautiful and we've just been to the granite coast too - also love st malo

concarneau is a lot further and a lot bigger in my opinion-

Perros-Guirec is fab

I loooove St Malo and Dinard- both have some great restaurants. Have a great trip!

This is the sort of intel I am on MN for!

OP St Malo is lovely but your son might need some activities. I have stayed at the Sandaya near Perros Guirrec. There are swimming pools, bikes routes, slides, a walkable little beach with a cafe/restaurant and kayak hire nearby. There is one of those climbing sites with zip wires nearby too.