©©Thibault Poriel - Saint-Servan - Saint-Malo|©Thibault Poriel

The City of Alet Let's go back in time to the origins of Saint-Malo

Let's go back in time to the origins of Saint-Malo The City of Alet

This wooded peninsula in the distance, a Malouin haven of peace…
Let’s take the time machine and discover the origins of Saint-Malo, the cradle of the town’s history: La Cité d’Alet.
From the Corniche d’Alet, you can discover the entire harbour: the Bay of Saint-Malo, the Rance estuary, the Cité Corsaire, the seaside town of Dinard and the entire coastline as far as Cap Fréhel.

At the gateway to the Rance,the Cité d’Alet peninsula was the site of the first settlement. It was on this site that the first inhabitants settled before the episcopal see was transferred in 1145 to the current site of Saint-Malo Intra-Muros.
Here stood the Gallo-Roman city of Alet, former capital of the Coriosolites (1st century BC), surrounded by walls as early as the 4th century.

©©Thibault Poriel - Saint-Servan - Saint-Malo|©Thibault Poriel

Exploring the origins of Saint-Malo at La Cité d'Alet

Saint Peter's Cathedral

Let’s begin our exploration in Place Saint-Pierre, where the remains of Saint-Pierre d’Alet cathedral, the oldest Christian place of worship in the region, have been waiting for us for several centuries. We discover the ruins of the apse of the pre-Romanesque building dating from the 10th century. Some of the remains found date back to an earlier 9th-century church, but the site has also revealed the remains of a 4th-century Gallo-Roman building and a wealth of archaeological material.

©@smbmsm Cathédrale De La Cité D'alet 2 Saint Servan|smbmsm

©@smbmsm Cathédrale De La Cité D'alet 1 Saint Servan|smbmsm

©@smbmsm Cathédrale De La Cité D'alet Saint Servan|smbmsm

©@sbourcier Tour Solidor Saint Servan|Alexandre Lamoureux

©@alamoureux Tour Solidor Saint Servan|Alexandre Lamoureux

©@smbmsm Tour Solidor Saint Servan|smbmsm

The Solidor Tower

Let’s take the small cornice of the town of Alet, which opens the way to beautiful panoramic views. Our gaze falls on the imposing Tour Solidor overlooking the Rance estuary. Situated on an ancient Gallo-Roman site, this triple keep was used to control navigation on the Rance. It was the only point of passage between the inland towns and the coast.

The tower is linked by a small stone bridge to the entrance bastion, which has two turrets in its northern section. At low tide, you can spot the remains of a stone causeway that led to the Gallo-Roman port, as the sea level was lower then than it is today.
Admiring in the distance are some of the not-to-be-missed features of the Saint-Servan district: the Sainte-Croix church, the Ar Zenith, the Anse Solidor and the Bizeux virgin, who rises from her rock to protect sailors.

Chemin de la Cité d'Alet

Continuing on our way from the corderie, below us is the Port Saint-Père. Located opposite Dinard, framed by the Tour Solidor and the Alet peninsula, this small beach at low tide and resting place for multicoloured tenders is the Servannais starting point for exploring our coasts. At the end of the slipway, at the foot of the Tour Solidor, is a replica of the cross erected by Jacques Cartier in Gaspé, Canada.

A little thought for our cousins in Quebec.

Then the tide gauge dating from 1848, used to measure the height of the tides, stands along the cornice.

©@alamoureux Anse Solidor Saint Servan|Alexandre Lamoureux

©@alamoureux Port Des Bas Sablons Saint Servan|Alexandre Lamoureux

©@alamoureux Anse Solidor Vierge De Bizeux Saint Servan|Alexandre Lamoureux

The Blockhaus

©Balade dans la Cité d'Alet - Saint-Servan Saint-Malo|©SMBMSM

Continuing along the corniche, we observe the numerous blockhouses of the Cité d’Alet, the only remaining traces of the Second World War.
At the top of the peninsula, the fort of the Cité d’Alet, built in 1759 and then modernised by the Todt organisation in 1942, it includes in its inner courtyard a blockhouse converted into a museum (Mémorial 39/45, permanent exhibition on the Second World War in the Malouine region).

L'anse des Sablons

Let’s go down to the cornice, above the Anse des Bas-Sablons the last vestige of the surrounding wall that surrounded the ancient City of Alet before the 13th century and then to the various points of the metal turrets of the firing posts of the blockhouses built during the Second World War and which still bear the stigmata caused by the 1944 bombardments.

The port of Bas-Sablons, Servan’s marina, stretches as far as the bas sablons dike, where a stroll reveals itself and can lead us to old Saint-Servan and the Intra-Muros.

Finishing our exploration with a view over the whole of Saint-Malo Bay, the Intra-Muros takes remarkable shape.

©Digue des Bas-sablons - Saint-Servan - Saint-Malo|©AlexandreLamoureux

©Port De Plaisance Des Sablons St Malo Alexandre Lamoureux 9345|alexandre lamoureux

Follow the guide! Les Sablons, the Cité d'Alet and Port Solidor

At the gateway to the Rance, the Cité d’Alet peninsula was the site of the first town. Between the remains of the ancient Gallo-Roman town, the Vauban fortifications and the Mémorial 39/45, a bunker converted into a museum, this walk around the old town is an invitation to discover this place steeped in history.