www.saint-malo-tourisme.co.uk.  Distinct from the French, and even the Bretons, the native inhabitants of Saint-Malo are Malouins. Their corsair-adventurer forefathers roamed far and wide from this granite-walled island citadel: Jacques Cartier landed in Canada in 1534; Malouin settlers named the Malvinas or Falkland Islands off Argentina; and during the 17th-18thC, Duguay-Trouin and Surcouf legitimately terrorized Channel shipping on the authority of the French king.

Bordered by the sprawling modern city, and flanked by the resorts of Saint-Servan and Paramé, the ancient citadel or Ville Close (follow signs for intra muros) is one of the most popular tourist sites in Brittany. More than 80 per cent of its buildings and ramparts were destroyed during the Second World War, but painstaking reconstruction has restored the shadowy warren of cobbled streets complete with their 16th-18thC houses. The press of human traffic at the height of the summer season can become unpleasantly claustrophobic, but the ramparts provide a breather with a bird’s eye view of the roof-tops to one side, and the Channel to the other.

There is access to the ramparts from the Porte Saint-Vincent, near the Château which houses the Musée d’Histoire in the Great Keep. Steps wind up past displays detailing local history from slave trading and seafaring to piracy and the Nazi occupation. From the watchtow-er, there is a superb 360-degree panorama, and you can see the lle du Grand Bé just offshore, where the 19thC writer Chateaubriand is buried. A stroll across the causeway to the island is a favourite outing, but check the tides or you may get stranded.

In the heart of the Ville Close, the 11 th-18thC Cathédrale de Saint-Vincent boasts some fine stained glass and Jacques Cartier’s tomb. Beyond the ramparts, you can head south to Saint-Servan, where the 14thC Tour Solidor guards the Ranee estuary and sells tickets to a sail ship museum. Or visit state-of-the-art attraction Le Grand Aquarium, avenue du Général Patton.

Across the estuary, the 19thC resort of Dinard flaunts a handful of grand old hotels (see above). It can be reached by road via the world’s largest tidal barrier, or there are frequent boat services. Boats also depart for trips up the Ranee to the fortified town of Dinan, described in Inland Brittany.