Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [43]
The Musée de la Ferme Marine (Sea Farm Museum) just south of town explains everything you ever wanted to know about farming oysters and has a display of 1,500 different types of shells. | L’Aurore | 35350 | 02–99–89–69–99 | www.ferme-marine.com | €6.80 | Guided 1-hr tours in English, July–mid-Sept., daily at 2.
WHERE TO STAY IN CANCALE
Fodor’s Choice | Château Richeux.
$$$$ | Hélas! The famed Breton gastronomic shrine known as the Maisons de Bricourt shrine is no more—superstar chef Olivier Roellinger hung up his toque because of health problems in 2008. Happily, his family still presides over their beautiful hotel empire, including the castellated 1920s waterfront Château Richeux. Even better, readers rave about Le Coquillage, the hotel’s small bistro, which specializes in local oysters and seafood platters served up in a relaxed, cozy atmosphere. As the only eatery left under the master’s own hand, it provides some consolation (with a menu at €26) for those who’ll miss the now-defunct Maison de Bricourt. The Richeux is built on the ruins of the Du Guesclin family’s 11th-century château, 5 km (3 mi) south of Cancale, and is surrounded by a “Celtic garden.” Request one of the rooms with large bay windows, which have stunning views of Mont-St-Michel. Several miles away are two other, more private hotel options, Les Rimains, four guest rooms set in a very handsome Breton stone house, perched over Cancale’s harbor, along with Gîtes Marins, two airy, almost Cape Cod—style seaside vacation houses fit for several people. Pros: famous cuisine; picturesque setting. Cons: isolated site. | Le Point du Jour, St-Méloir des Ondes | 35350 | 02–99–89–64–76 | www.maisons-de-bricourt.com | 13 rooms | In-room: no a/c, refrigerator, Wi-Fi. In-hotel: restaurant | AE, DC, MC, V | BP.
SHOPPING IN CANCALE
Sublime tastes of Brittany—salted butter caramels, fruity sorbets, rare honeys, and heirloom breads—are sold in upper Cancale at the Roellingers’s Grain de Vanille (12 pl. de la Victoire | 35350 | 02–23–15–12–70). Tables beckon, so why not sit a spell and enjoy a cup of “Mariage” tea and—Brittany in a bite—some cinnamon-orange-flavor malouine cookies? Mr. Roellinger’s newest addition to his culinary empire, Les Entrepôts Épices-Roellinger (1 rue Duguesclin | 35350 | 02–99–89–64–76), is dedicated to the exotic spices he personally searched the world to find. A treasure trove of single spices, along with his signature spice blends—such as Poudre Curry Corsaire, for mussels and shellfish; and Poudre du Vent, for squab or cream sauces—exotic peppers, fleur de sel, and choice vanillas.
ST-MALO
23 km (14 mi) west of Cancale via coastal D201.
Thrust out into the sea, bound to the mainland only by tenuous manmade causeways, romantic St-Malo—”the pirates’ city”—has built a reputation as a breeding ground for phenomenal sailors. Many were fishermen, but St-Malo’s most famous sea dogs were corsairs, pirates paid by the French crown to harass the Limeys across the Channel. Robert Surcouf and Duguay-Trouin were just two of these privateers who helped make this town rich through piratical pillages. Today, the town has plenty of picturesque coastal sights.
Getting Here and Around
The train station (Square Jean-Coquelin) is a 15-minute walk from the walled town—walk straight up Avenue Louis-Martin. Half a dozen trains daily make the 45-mi trip from Rennes to St-Malo (55–80 mins, €16); a TGV express from Paris’s Gare Montparnassse arrives several times a day in Rennes, where you can transfer. Trains also connect St-Malo to Dol (15 mins) and Dinan via Dol (65 mins), but the bus is cheaper and faster. TIV runs buses to Rennes (1¾ hrs), Dinard (40 mins), and Cancale (30 mins). CAT makes the trip to Dinan (35 mins) and Les Courriers Bretons