Saint-Malo’s castle

This fortress overlooking the sea was built in several stages, always with the same purpose: to remind rebellious Saint-Malo that the Dukes of Brittany held the reins firmly. At the end of the 14th century, the city was first handed by the duke to the King of France, only to be returned to the new Duke of Brittany. If that sounds odd, remember the duke had just married the king’s daughter. A family matter, in other words. That son-in-law, John V, began building the first fortress, starting with the great keep set against the ramparts. A few decades later, Duke Francis II added the more massive but lower Générale Tower. Then came his daughter, Anne of Brittany, who would become Queen of France twice over in order to maintain peace between Brittany and France. Anne’s main addition was the Quic-en-Groigne Tower, which you can see to the left of the castle. You’ll get a better view of it later from the ramparts. Quic en Groigne roughly means, “Let whoever complains do so—it pleases me,” and that phrase was carved into the tower in response to the people of Saint-Malo, who were furious about its construction. They felt they were being watched by the authorities and wanted absolutely nothing to do with depending on either the Duchy of Brittany or France. And to be fair, they weren’t imagining things, because cannons were aimed toward the town rather than the horizon, sending a very clear message: the duchy was watching them closely and distrusted these rebellious Malouins. The cannons did not stop the townspeople, however, from storming the castle in 1590 to prevent the governor from handing the Catholic city over to supporters of the Protestant King Henry IV. The governor was killed in the uprising. The castle was seized again during the French Revolution. In the 19th century it became a barracks and stayed that way until 1921, when the town bought it and later installed municipal offices and a museum inside. Badly damaged in 1944 during the liberation of Saint-Malo, it was fully restored. Today, the castle can be visited through the brand-new Saint-Malo Maritime History Museum in the Great Keep. It’s the perfect place to discover the city’s seafaring saga: privateers, explorers, storms, and sunken treasure all await. Guided tours are also offered in summer, giving access to private parts of the castle and ramparts that are normally closed to the public. Check with the tourist office for dates and reservations. Now let’s keep going a little farther—the next stop is the house where Chateaubriand was born.