Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo (UK: , US: , French: [sɛ̃ malo] ; Gallo: Saent-Malô; Breton: Sant-Maloù) is a historic French port commune in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. Originally, the walled city sat on a rocky granite island connected to the mainland only by a natural, narrow sand spit and tidal mudflats called le Sillon. Stonework and a basic road were first established along this sandbar in 1509 to protect the area and create dry access. The original structure was widened, raised, and rebuilt over the centuries — particularly in the 19th century — to form the modern dyke and thoroughfare (La Digue du Sillon) that permanently connects the old town to the rest of the coast. The walled city on the English Channel coast has a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, during World War II, the Allies heavily bombed Saint-Malo. The city became a popular tourist centre, with a ferry terminal serving the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, as well as the Southern English settlements of Portsmouth, Hampshire and Poole, Dorset. The transatlantic single-handed yacht race Route du Rhum, which takes place every four years in November, is between Saint Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe.