Cancale is a delightful little seaside town at the tip of a peninsula in Brittany, not far from St-Malo (map). It enjoys a beautiful location, and the views of the town as you approach from the south are spectacular.

Numerous small, atmospheric hotels and guesthouses are ranged along the seafront, and others are located just a short distance inland. More...

Cancale is famous for its oyster beds which lie just offshore. Visitors come in throngs to fill its waterfront restaurants and dine on fresh oysters and other seafood. It's a great place for an afternoon outing, or for a lunch break when traveling between St-Malo (15 km/9 miles) and Mont-St-Michel (50km/31 miles).

The most fun way to have your oysters is to buy them fresh from one of the vendors in the small market area near the Fenêtre Jetty, at the end of the main waterfront street. Choose the size and quantity you want (plates hold a dozen), and watch them be opened while you wait. Take your plate over to the sea wall, have a seat, and dig in, dropping the empty shells over the wall. Delicious!

At low tide you'll have a view of the oyster beds. And if you look farther out, you'll see Mont-St-Michel way off in the distance.

Cancale even has an oyster museum, if you're really into your huitres. The upper town, on a hill above the port, has a lovely church and various monuments.

Various sizes of Cancale oysters.

The port is lined with parking lots, which fill up on a beautiful weekend. Find a place to park and then wander down to the jetty and check out the oysters. If you want a sit-down meal, there are restaurants all along the waterfront.

After lunch, consider a short excursion to the nearby Pointe du Grouin, a beautiful panoramic waterfront park just a few kilometers north of Cancale.

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