©Thibault Poriel - Saint-Servan - Saint-Malo

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 city’s history: La Cité d’Alet.From the Corniche d’Alet, we can discover the entire harbor: the bay of Saint-Malo, the estuary of the Rance, the Corsair City, the seaside city of Dinard and the entire coastline up to Cap Fréhel.At the gates of the Rance, the peninsula of the Cité d’Alet was the site of the first agglomeration. It is on this site that the first inhabitants settled before the transfer of the episcopal seat in 1145 on 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 from the 4th century.

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

Explore the origins of Saint-Malo

in La Cité d'Alet

Saint Peter's Cathedral

Let’s start our exploration on the Place Saint-Pierre, where the remains of the 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 of the 10th century. Some of the remains found date back to an earlier church of the 9th century, but the site also revealed the remains of a Gallo-Roman building of the 4th century as well as important archaeological material.

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

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

@smbmsm Cathédrale De La Cité D'alet Saint Servan

The Solidor Tower

Let’s take the small cornice of the city of Alet which opens the way to beautiful panoramas. Our eyes are drawn to the imposing Tour Solidor which dominates the estuary of the Rance. Located on an ancient Gallo-Roman site, this triple keep allowed to control the navigation on the Rance. The tower is linked by a small stone bridge to the entrance bastion which has two turrets in its northern part. The tower is connected by a small stone bridge to the entrance bastion, which has two turrets in its northern part. At low tide, you can see the remains of a stone causeway that led to the Gallo-Roman port, as the sea level was then lower than today. Let’s admire in the distance, some of the must-sees of the Saint-Servan district: the Sainte-Croix church, the Ar Zenith, the Anse Solidor and the Bizeux virgin, which rises on its rock to protect sailors

Path of the City of Alet

Let’s continue our way from the rope factory, below the Port Saint-Père. Located in front of Dinard, framed by the Solidor Tower and the Alet peninsula, this small beach at low tide and resting place for the multicolored dinghies is the Servanese starting point for the exploration of our coasts. At the end of the hold, at the foot of the Solidor Tower, the replica of the cross erected by Jacques Cartier in Gaspé, Canada, and the tide gauge dating from 1848, which measures the height of the tides, stands along the cornice.

@alamoureux Port Des Bas Sablons Saint Servan

@alamoureux Anse Solidor Vierge De Bizeux Saint Servan

The Blockhaus

Balade dans la Cité d'Alet - Saint-Servan Saint-Malo

At the top of the peninsula, the fort of the Cité d’Alet, built in 1759 then modernized by the Todt organization in 1942, includes in its inner courtyard a blockhouse fitted out as a museum (Mémorial 39/45, permanent exhibition on the Second World War in the Malouine region).

Sablons Cove

Let’s go down on the ledge, above the Bas-Sablons cove, the last vestige of the surrounding wall which surrounded the old city of Alet before the 13th century, then to the different 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 bombings of 1944.The port of Bas-Sablons, a Servanese marina, extends to the dike of Bas-Sablons, where a stroll is revealed and can lead us to the old Saint-Servan and the Intra-Muros.let’s finish our exploration with a view of the whole bay of Saint-Malo, the Intra-Muros is remarkable.

Digue des Bas-sablons - Saint-Servan - Saint-Malo

Port De Plaisance Des Sablons St Malo Alexandre Lamoureux 9345

Follow the guide!

The Sablons, the City of Alet and the Port Solidor

At the gates of the Rance, the peninsula of the City of Alet was the site of the first town. Between the vestiges of the ancient Gallo-Roman city, the Vauban fortifications or the Memorial 39/45, a blockhouse converted into a museum, this walk in the old town district is an invitation to discover this place steeped in history.