#Tour Solidor

[merpmonde]

Saint Servan and the Solidor Tower

On the right-hand side of the Rance river, just before the fortified city of Saint Malo on the estuary, is the smaller town of Saint Servan. In fact, it technically isn't a town anymore, it was absorbed by Saint Malo in the 1960s. But for most of history, there was a stark contrast between the two, as Saint Malo fiercely proclaimed its autonomy several times. Hence the Solidor Tower.

Consisting of three tightly-bunched round towers and their connections, the Solidor was built in the 14th century by the Dukes of Brittany as a means to control the Rance estuary, against the rebellious Saint Malo if needed.

Like other fortresses, such as the Bastille in Paris or the towers at La Rochelle (another time maybe), its strategic value soon dwindled, and it seemed best-suited to serve as a prison or as storage during the late 18th-early 19th centuries. It has been an officially classified monument since 1886, and had housed a maritime-themed museum since 1970, though this appears to be in limbo and I can't find the tower's current function.

A walk along the coast on the West side of Saint Servan will reveal a bit more history: an old lifeboat station, a small tower in the sea that serves as a tide gauge... further up, a WWII memorial with the remains of concrete bunkers, and further along, a view of Saint Malo. It's a worthwhile detour for people visiting Saint Malo, especially if you're concerned that the city centre will be too crowded. But I think I remember parking here wasn't easy either; on a nice day, the locals who don't want the hassle of "intra-muros" would come here.

[jow99]

St Malo

This morning we caught the bus into town, about a 30 minute trip. First stop was coffee at a tea house called Sanchez. They even have Jose’s favourite dog on the sign!

St Malo old town is a walled city. I was here 38 years, ago off the ferry from the UK on my way down to Perpignan to meet my school friend Alison. It was great to finally return and have time to properly explore.

We visited the cathedral, which was dedicated to a Spanish saint (go figure). It, like a lot of things in St Malo, was partly destroyed during the reclamation of independence in WW2. The cathedral is now a delightful blend of old and new. There’s not much to see from the outside, but I’m so glad we went in. Another surprise was that the body of the guy who discovered Canada is also in this cathedral, Jacoves Cartier.

We walked the ramparts but far more interesting were the forts built on surrounding islands which we’re all designed and overseen by Vauban. You may recall the UNESCO listed tower back in Camaret-sur-Mer that we didn’t get, same dude. I have to say the man was good as these forts and towers are still standing in the most part. The ones here even withstood the same bombing that destroyed part of the cathedral.

Part way through we stopped for a lunch of moules mariniere and frites 😋 Having completed our tour of the ramparts and some of the surrounding forts (this has to be timed with the tides so you can walk out and not get wet), we headed off to Alet and the Solidor tower. So much to see here too. Lots of fortifications dating back to the 1400s through 17-1800s that were then reused by the Germans in WW2. There were even some Gallo-Roman ruins.

Late afternoon we stopped for a cider before a quick shop for some nibbles for tonight (we were still full from lunch) and then caught the bus back to the campground.

It’s been a fantastic day and the weather has behaved. Whilst I wouldn’t say it was hot, for a lot of the day I was in a t-shirt and we sat out for our nibbles dinner, finally retreating inside a bit after 8:30pm.

[lilstjarna]

Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo est un bourg portuaire d'Ille-et-Vilaine en Bretagne qui fut autrefois un véritable bastion de corsaires. La vieille ville est reconnaissable grâce à ses hauts murs en granite et au style typiquement breton de ses ruelles pavées et ses demeures anciennes.

Son charme pittoresque vous séduira au premier regard, n'hésitez donc pas à venir découvrir cette cité maritime où se mêle les histoires des marins, des hommes illustres et des bourgeois malouins.

Comment venir ?

Saint-Malo se situe :

en train : 15min de Dol-de-Bretagne, 25min de Combourg, 1h de Rennes, 2h40 de Paris

en voiture : 20min de Dinard, 20min de Cancale, 30min de Dinan, 30min de Dol-de-Bretagne, 40min de Combourg, 1h de Rennes, 1h10 de Fougères, 1h40 de Laval, 2h25 de Le Mans

en bus : 35min de Cancale, 1h10 de Rennes

Quand et combien de temps ?

Saint-Malo se visite assez rapidement pour le centre historique, cela peut donc être bonne idée d'expédition depuis Rennes pour une journée. Mais il est également possible de venir sur un grand week-end en agrémentant sa venue d'autres visites de cités bretonnes ou d'activités de bord d'océan.

La cité médiévale étant très touristique privilégiez une venue hors vacances scolaires et jours fériés. L'été la ville est également très visitée, préparez une excursion hors week-ends. Enfin, en hiver Saint-Malo est peu vivante, favorisez donc le printemps ou le début automne.

Quoi voir à Saint-Malo ?

Des sites et monuments historiques : Frégate Corsaire l'Etoile du Roy, Fort national, Remparts, Fort de la Conchée, Iles du grand bé et du petit bé, Maison du Québec, Demeure de corsaire, Manoir de limoelou, Tour Solidor, Cap Fréhel, Malounière de la Chipaudière

Des musées : musée d’histoire de la ville, maison des poètes et des écrivains, musée des terres neuvas, l'aquarium

Du patrimoine religieux : cathédrale Saint-Vincent, chapelle Saint-Aaron, chapelle Saint-Sauveur, couvent de Notre-Dame de la Victoire

Des parcs et jardins : Les Rochers Sculptés, parc des Chênes, Domaine de Briantais, jardin de Bel-Air, jardin des Douves, parc du Nicet, roseraie Sainte-Anne

Quoi voir dans les environs ?

Des villes et villages : Rennes, le Mans, Dinan, Dinard, Dol-de-Bretagne, Fougères, Cancale, Laval, Combourg

Des lieux uniques : Bunker Cité d’Alet, Cimetière de bateaux de Quelmer, Malouinière de la Ville Bague, Château du Bas Miniac

Des espaces naturels : Domaine du Montmarin, parc botanique de Haute Bretagne, parc Saint Guinoux, jardins du Château de la Ballue

crédits photos @lilstjarna

[juxmus]

Season 2 Day 24

La Tour Solidor, Saint-Servan

Minolta XGM, Rokkor 50mm f/1.7, Ilford FP4 125 prérimée

[stingslikeabee]

@5judgements​ found the dancer . chapter 2

The Archadian nights were, as judge magister Ghis had said, truly beautiful. They were different from Bhujerban evenings - decidedly less warm, but the air had a fresh and crisp quality to it that made being outside being a quite pleasant experience. It was a fortunate chance for Melissa to be out and touring the sights - it was a day off her schedule, with the local opera house traditionally closing on every Monday for routine maintenance and repairs.

The woman found herself in the Tsenoble district, home to the famed Draklor Laboratory; as one of the tallest buildings around, it made for an impressive sight even during the night, and she had lingered for a while, merely observing the place as a curious tourist would. She had read about the place prior to embarking to Archadia: research conducted indoors was mostly divided among airship design projects, sundry weapons projects, and magickal endeavors, however there had been a keen interest in magicite research lately.

She would know it - the expeditions of imperial ships to Bhujerba grew more frequent, the Lhusu Mines highly prized locations for the head research at Draklor. No doubt the Marquis was carefully controlling the ownership of the mines as a means to retain the independency of her homeland - after all, mining magicite ore was quite unlike regular mining activities below ground level in Ivalice; skilled labor was necessary, and mostly composed of Bhujerbans - most non-native folk lacked the courage to explore such dangerous caverns where a wrong swing of the tools could open a hole to thousands of meters to the planet below.

Legend had it that no one ever died from a fall from Bhujerba - but the fact remained that no one but locals were willing to test that theory. Merely seizing the mines wouldn’t be enough for the Empire without the extraction of the ore - and therefore the sky city endured as an independent nation, despite the growing alignment with Solidor colors.

Tightening the shawl around her shoulders given the breeze of the higher neighborhood Melissa was in, the dancer was briefly distracted by the familiar sound of metal clamoring - the rhythmic steps denounced the presence of a judge, and she turned her head to see judge magister Ghis himself nearby - she did not know whether he was exiting the laboratory or coming from the other administrative parts of the city, but she did not think twice before taking the chance to approach him.

Melissa looked different - the revealing and multi-colored costume was nowhere in sight; instead, she was dressed as a regular Bhujerban would, but the additional item over her shoulders offered the warmth that her homeland style lacked due to the more favorable climate despite the proximity to the the skies. “Your Honor?” she called out, picking up the pace to meet him halfway. “Good evening, your excellency - what a fortunate encounter this is; I had assumed Your Honor to be out of the country for a period of time,” she bowed respectfully, and then gazed at Ghis - she had no idea if he was rushing to an appointment or not, “My apologies for deterring you - I merely wanted to say hello and to tell your excellency I have heeded your advice to explore the city at night.”

[d-bovet]

A côté de Saint-Malo : la tour Solidor à Saint-Servan ( Bretagne )

Sant Malo : Ar Peul Solidor (Breizh)

Solidor tower (Brittany)

Solidor turm (die Bretagne)

[malousum]

Tour solidor

[christophecharnay]

Saint Servant et la tour Solidor

Saint Servant et la tour Solidor

[mrlafont]

Gazon fleuri de l’immensément poétique Parc de la Briantais. Juillet 2014. Au loin la tour Solidor.

[cma-prints]

Architecture Pittoresque ou Monuments des xveme. Et xvieme. Siecles: Chateaux De France des XV et XVI Siecles: Pl.13, Tour Solidor a St. Servan (Ille-et-Vilaine), Victor Petit, 1860, Cleveland Museum of Art: Prints

Size: Sheet: 35.9 x 27.6 cm (14 1/8 x 10 7/8 in.); Image: 23 x 14 cm (9 1/16 x 5 1/2 in.) Medium: lithograph with tint stone, from portfolio of 100 lithographs with tint stone

https://clevelandart.org/art/2014.696.14

[laflibustecidre]

Lea entre deux rendez vous @lea_mclt #cidre #saintmalo #bretagne #artisan #cider #craft #applecider #sales #sea #landscape (à Tour Solidor) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6OYz2SClRA/?igshid=6g08ankk0gqw

[travelless]

Tour Solidor (France)

[saintmalowithlove]

⚓ Photo par @remilemenicierphotographies 😉 La superbe tour Solidor de Saint-Servan (vol légal effectué en autogire) #saintmalowithlove #igersbretagne #stmalo #bretagnetourisme #igersfrance #stmalotourisme #bretagne_focus_on #breizh #destinationbretagne #france #jaimelabretagne #bestofbretagne #instagood #photography #labellebretagne #bretagnemylove #fansdebretagne #picoftheday #photooftheday

[nunoxaviermoreira]

Vous êtes seuls . . . (Nina Simone). by Daniel.35690 Le Grand Parc de la Briantais surplombe les bords de la Rance, sur la pointe de la Briantais où est ancrée l'usine marémotrice de la Rance et offre une vue sur la baie Saint-Malo et sa tour Solidor ainsi que sur Dinard. Sa disposition réfléchie en plateaux et en allées ménage des effets de surprise adaptés aux différents points de vue. fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Parc_de_la_Briantais www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YYEeOf9mDs Nina Simone - Vous etes seuls, mais je désire etre avec vous (Audio) Merci Intermarché d'avoir redécouvert Nina Simone fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone Ce(tte) œuvre est mise à disposition selon les termes de la Licence Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. https://flic.kr/p/2j6yXsT

[flebr1]

Le panorama vaut bien la petite escalade de la tour Solidor. La presqu'île qui dessine la cité d'aleth est à nos pieds. Le marégraphe se dresse au dessus d'une mer émeraude. #stmalo #saintmalo #bretagne #britany #photooftheday #iphonography #picoftheday #instagram #instasea https://ift.tt/2NnLQcw August 21, 2019 at 05:19PM

[christophecharnay]

La Tour Solidor de nuit