Grand Bé

Saint-Malo, France

Grand Bé is a tidal island located few hundred metres from the walls of Saint-Malo. At low tide the island can be reached on foot from the nearby Bon-Secours beach. Around 1360, hermits built a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Laurel, then to St Ouen. A redoubt was built in 1555, then replaced by other fortifications in 1652. François-René de Chateaubriand, a French writer native to Saint-Malo, is buried on the island, in a grave facing the sea. Twenty years before his death, he had expressed his desire to be buried on this piece of land facing the sea in order to continue his conversation with the sea.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1652
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in France

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Marijke Decuir (7 years ago)
Well worth waiting for the tides to walk out to this sometimes island
Patrick von Känel (7 years ago)
Very nice walk to the Island. Island itself nothing special but rather the view from there to St.Malo is a must, especially with a nice evening.
Garry Phipps (7 years ago)
The area around (& within) the old walled city is a beautiful place to spend a day
Liza Xx (7 years ago)
It's a majical place to visit. Crystal clear water surrounding the area during high tide. You can walk out to the fort in low tide, although it's not open to the public. The walk itself is spectacular
Erich Schnoeckel (7 years ago)
There should be more beaches like this. We all should keep them clean and tidy. Not smoking will help a lot.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Inverness Castle

Inverness Castle sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness. The red sandstone structure evident today was built in 1836 by architect William Burn. It is built on the site of an 11th-century (c. 1057) defensive structure. Today, it houses Inverness Sheriff Court.

The castle is said to have been built by Máel Coluim III of Scotland, after he had razed to the ground the castle in which Macbeth of Scotland according to much later tradition, murdered Máel Coluim"s father Donnchad I of Scotland, and which stood on a hill around 1 km to the north-east.

The first Inverness Castle was partially destroyed by King Robert I of Scotland and a replacement castle was sacked in the 15th century by the Clan Donald during the Siege of Inverness (1429). The castle was occupied during the Raid on Ross in 1491.

In 1548 another castle with tower was completed by George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly (1514–1562). He was constable of the castle until 1562.