Bon-Secours swimming pool

The natural seawater pool below you is one of the defining images of Bon-Secours Beach. Filled by the sea and hugely popular with bathers, its story begins in the 1930s. Between the two world wars, seaside tourism boomed across Europe, and Saint-Malo was no exception. If you look at old postcards, you’ll quickly notice that the beaches were much busier than they are today. To be fair, changing cabins and deckchairs hired out by the bathing offices took up rather more space than a modern beach towel. Here on Bon-Secours Beach, the bathing office was run by a man named René Lesaunier. Full of ideas and energy, he was always inventing new ways to please his customers. He gave swimming lessons and even offered freshwater showers connected to the town’s water supply. But René’s biggest challenge was the tide. Tired of seeing his clients head off to neighboring beaches whenever the sea retreated too far, he decided to build a pool so there would always be somewhere to swim at Bon-Secours. People thought he was mad—but René Lesaunier was anything but mad. He was stubborn, imaginative, and persistent, and the pool that survived the century to reach us today proves it. Now inseparable from the Saint-Malo landscape, it recalls the golden age of sea bathing and seaside holidays. And as a bonus, it’s an excellent spot to photograph the sunset, with Dinard as a backdrop. Come back this evening and you’ll thank me later. But for now, stay on the ramparts a little longer—there’s still plenty more to see.