Fort du Grand Bé & Petit Bé, Saint-Malo

Castle near Saint-Malo

Saint Malo Grand Bé and Petit Bé
Saint Malo Grand Bé and Petit Bé
CC BY-SA 1.0 / rail fox

Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé are two of Saint-Malo's most memorable “only here” experiences, because the sea controls your schedule. From the beaches beneath the ramparts, you can walk across the sand at low tide to Grand Bé, a rocky tidal islet that feels instantly removed from the city even though it sits just offshore, and it rewards the effort with big, open views over the walls, the bay, and the changing waterline.

From there, Fort du Petit Bé takes the story further. This fully restored Vauban-era fort sits beyond Grand Bé and opens via guided visits when conditions allow, turning a simple tidal walk into one of the top sights in Saint-Malo and a standout addition to a walking tour of Saint-Malo when you want your history with sea air, horizons, and a little bit of real-world timing.

History and Significance of the Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé

Grand Bé became part of Saint-Malo's coastal defense landscape in the 17th century, chosen for its natural advantage as a rocky platform just outside the walls. Its position helped extend the city's protective “ring” seaward, reinforcing the idea that Saint-Malo's security depended as much on controlling approaches by water as on fortifying gates and bastions.

Today, Grand Bé is widely associated with François-René de Chateaubriand, whose tomb sits on the island in a deliberately spare, windswept setting. It adds a reflective, almost literary counterpoint to the military purpose of the islet, and it changes the tone of the visit from “fortifications only” to something more personal and atmospheric.

Fort du Petit Bé, built as part of the same defensive logic, is the more complete military time capsule. Designed to strengthen the bay's layered artillery coverage, it reflects Vauban's emphasis on geometry, visibility, and overlapping fields of fire, and its restoration and guided interpretation make it one of the clearest places around Saint-Malo to understand how coastal defense actually functioned day to day.

Things to See and Do in the Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé

On Grand Bé, the main pleasure is the walk and the views. The island feels surprisingly wild and quiet for something so close to the ramparts, and it's at its best when you slow down, follow the footpaths, and let the landscape do the work: granite underfoot, seabirds overhead, and the walled city framed like a fortress postcard across the water.

Chateaubriand's tomb is the emotional anchor on Grand Bé. It's an intentionally simple memorial in an exposed setting, and even if you arrive knowing little about him, the location alone makes it memorable, especially when the tide is changing and the island feels temporarily cut off from the everyday city rhythm.

At Fort du Petit Bé, the guided visit shifts the focus to architecture and strategy. You'll see how the fort was laid out to house troops, store equipment, and command views of the bay, with interpretation that helps you read details you might otherwise walk past. The fort's position also delivers some of the most panoramic viewpoints in the area, with Saint-Malo, Dinard, and the wider coastline all visible on a clear day.

How to Get to the Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé

Both sites are reached from Saint-Malo's seafront by planning around low tide, typically starting from the beaches beneath the ramparts. The nearest airports are Dinard-Pleurtuit-Saint-Malo (DNR) and Rennes-Saint-Jacques (RNS). For the best deals and a seamless booking experience, check out these flights to Saint-Malo on Booking.com.

If you arrive by rail, Saint-Malo station connects well via Rennes, and from the station you can reach the Intra-Muros seafront by local bus, taxi, or an easy walk if you are travelling light. You can use SNCF Connect to check schedules, compare routes, and purchase tickets for National (SNCF ) and regional trains (TER). For a more streamlined experience, we recommend using Omio, which allows you to easily compare prices, schedules, and book tickets for both National and Regional travel across all of Europe, all in one place. From the walled city, head to the beach access points, then use the day’s tide timetable to choose a safe crossing window.

Local buses are useful if you want to reposition between the seafront and other parts of Saint-Malo without backtracking on foot, especially in peak season when the old town is busy.

If you are driving, park outside the tight Intra-Muros streets and approach on foot from the seafront, which keeps the tide-timed part of the visit simple and stress-free. If you are looking to rent a car in France I recommend having a look at Discover Cars, first, as they compare prices and review multiple car rental agencies for you.

Practical Tips on Visiting the Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé

  • Entrance fee: Grand Bé: Free. Fort du Petit Bé: Guided tour €5; reduced €3; under 7 free.
  • Opening hours: Grand Bé: Daily: Low-tide access only (use the 3-hour window: 1 hour 30 minutes before–1 hour 30 minutes after the day's low-tide time). Fort du Petit Bé: Daily: 11:00–18:00 (guided visits, weather & tide permitting).
  • Official website: https://www.petit-be.com/
  • Best time to visit: Plan for a calm-weather, low-tide window so you can walk out and back without rushing, and try to avoid the most crowded mid-afternoon tide slots in summer.
  • How long to spend: Allow time for the crossing plus unhurried exploring; if you add the Petit Bé tour, it becomes a proper half-day outing rather than a quick stop.
  • Accessibility: Expect sand, uneven rock, and steps in places, which can be challenging for limited mobility, strollers, and anyone uncomfortable with unstable surfaces.
  • Facilities: Bring water and wear shoes that handle wet sand and rock, because facilities on the islets are limited compared with Intra-Muros.

Where to Stay Close to the Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé

For a culture-heavy itinerary, base yourself Intra-Muros so you can reach the ramparts and tide crossings early and return easily for evenings; if your trip is more about beach walks and sea views, staying along Le Sillon gives you a calmer rhythm while keeping the old town close by foot. For a well-located Intra-Muros base that makes early tide timing easy, consider Hôtel Cartier. If you want to sleep inside the walls with the seafront access points close, Hôtel des Marins is a convenient choice. For a seafront stay that suits beach-and-tide days, Hôtel & Spa Oceania Saint-Malo puts you directly on the promenade.

Is the Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé Worth Visiting?

Yes, if you want Saint-Malo to feel like a living coastal fortress rather than a scenic old town. The tide-timed walk creates a sense of journey, and the payoff is a rare set of viewpoints where you see the walls, beaches, and bay as one connected defensive landscape.

It is especially worthwhile if you enjoy places that mix atmosphere with context. Grand Bé gives you the windswept, reflective side of Saint-Malo, while Petit Bé adds the structured military story through a guided visit that makes the fort's design and purpose easy to grasp.

What Other Travellers Say...

Reviews Summary

4.7 (1,530)

Grand Bé is a rocky tidal island off Saint-Malo reachable on foot at low tide from Bon-Secours beach; visitors praise the walk and the spectacular views back to the walled city, note crystal-clear water at high tide, and find the remains of an old fort and the grave of writer Chateaubriand on the island—photographers particularly enjoy the vistas, and timing your visit around the tide is essential.

Michael Stone
a year ago
"Fascinating place to visit. Beautiful views back to Sant Malo. Great walk."
Andrei Bencsik
8 years ago
"Awesome view ! The road is hidden half the day, for us it became possible to go there a bit after 18h00. After a bit of a walk and a small sandstormwe were greeted with an unforgettable view. Snapped some really cool photos, should be fun for photography enthusiasts!..."
Adrian Sawyer
3 months ago
"Good hotel located in the heart of the walled city of St Malo. Stylish decor, in all areas, public areas, rooms and hallways, seperates this fromcomparably priced hotels. High end restaurant and Spa facilities available. Limited parking is available for those brave enough to tackle the maze of cobbled streets. Recommend booking parking in advance especially if your vehicle can't fit in the underground parking...."

For Different Travelers

Families with Kids

This can be a fantastic family adventure because the low-tide crossing feels like a real expedition, and the “island you can only reach at certain times” idea tends to land well with kids. The key is keeping the plan simple, building in snack breaks, and treating the return crossing as non-negotiable timing rather than something to squeeze in later.

If your children are very young or you are managing pushchairs, focus on Grand Bé first and decide about Petit Bé based on energy and conditions. A single successful crossing with time to explore is better than pushing for both and ending up rushed.

Couples & Romantic Getaways

For couples, Grand Bé is at its most romantic in softer light, when the city looks golden from offshore and the tide adds drama to the scene. It feels private even when Saint-Malo is busy, simply because the landscape is open and the experience is paced by nature, not crowds.

Petit Bé adds a different kind of appeal: shared curiosity and a guided story that makes the place feel purposeful rather than just pretty. Done well, this is an outing that feels like a highlight of the trip rather than another “tick box” stop.

Budget Travelers

Grand Bé is a high-impact, low-cost experience, because the core of it is the walk and the views. If you want to keep spending minimal, treat the fort visit as optional and focus on the atmosphere, the tomb, and the coastline perspective you simply cannot get from the walls alone.

If you do pay for the Petit Bé tour, it can still feel good value because you are getting guided context in a site that is otherwise just an impressive silhouette from the shore. Either way, a picnic and a long tide-timed walk make this one of Saint-Malo’s best budget-friendly half-days.

History Buffs

History-focused travellers will appreciate how clearly these islets illustrate Saint-Malo’s layered defense system, extending protection beyond the ramparts into the bay. Petit Bé is the more “readable” military site, where you can connect architectural choices directly to strategic purpose.

Grand Bé complements that with a different kind of significance, linking place and memory through Chateaubriand's tomb in a setting that feels deliberately elemental. Together, they give you both the engineered and the human sides of Saint-Malo's offshore story.

FAQs for Visiting the Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé

Getting There

They sit just offshore from the walled city, reached from the seafront beaches when the tide is low. Grand Bé is the nearer islet, with Petit Bé farther out behind it.
Walk out of Intra-Muros toward the seafront and head to the main beach access points beneath the ramparts. From there, follow the visible low-tide path across the sand when the window is clearly safe.
Your goal is the Intra-Muros seafront, which you can reach by local bus, taxi, or a straightforward walk. Once you are at the beaches below the walls, tide timing becomes the main factor.
Parking is easier outside the walls, then you walk to the seafront rather than trying to drive into Intra-Muros. Driving is worth it if you are day-tripping, but once parked, the experience works best entirely on foot.

Tickets & Entry

Grand Bé is free to access when the tide allows. Fort du Petit Bé typically requires a paid, guided visit if you want to go inside.
In peak summer, booking is a sensible move because access depends on both tide windows and weather. Outside peak season, you may have more flexibility, but you still should not assume a tour will run at a specific moment.
Access is always shaped by tides, and the practical experience changes with daylight, weather, and sea conditions across the year. Summer generally feels easier and more comfortable, while winter visits can be bracing and more weather-dependent.

Visiting Experience

If you are tight on time, prioritise Grand Bé for the walk and the views, then return without pushing the schedule. Adding Petit Bé is best when you have enough buffer to enjoy the tour without watching the clock.
Yes, if the tides align with your day and you want something beyond the ramparts. If the tide window does not work, you can still get excellent views of both islets from the walls and seafront.
Strong wind and rain can make the crossing unpleasant and reduce visibility, which is a big part of the reward. On rough days, it is often better to enjoy the viewpoints from the ramparts and try the crossing another time.

Tours, Context & Itineraries

They are often suggested as optional add-ons, because tide timing makes them impossible to guarantee. If you plan around a tide window, they fit naturally into a day that also includes the ramparts.
Yes, because the fort’s layout and purpose are much easier to understand with explanation than by simply wandering through. The tour also helps you notice details that connect the fort to the wider bay defense system.
Do a tide-timed out-and-back to Grand Bé, then return to the walled city for a ramparts segment and a café break. If you add Petit Bé, plan a longer loop so the tour does not compress your return window.

Photography

Yes, because you get strong compositions of Saint-Malo’s walls from offshore and wide, open bay panoramas. The islets also give you dramatic foreground textures of rock, sand, and shifting waterlines.
Aim for soft light if you can, but tide timing comes first. A low-tide window that overlaps late afternoon often produces the most atmospheric skyline shots back toward Saint-Malo.

Safety & Timing

Only start the crossing when you have a clearly safe window and plenty of time to return, and treat the return as part of the plan rather than an afterthought. If the sea is already close to covering the path, it is better to skip the crossing than gamble.
It can be, as long as an adult leads the timing and keeps the group together on the route. The biggest risk is not “danger” on the island itself, but misjudging the tide or letting the group spread out too far.

Nearby Attractions to the Grand Bé and Fort du Petit Bé

  • Saint-Malo Ramparts: Walk the walls for sweeping bay views and the best perspective on why these offshore forts mattered.
  • Fort National: Another Vauban-era fortress on a tidal islet, offering a different angle back toward the city.
  • Plage de Bon-Secours: A classic beach beneath the walls that is a common starting point for tide-timed coastal walks.
  • Bastion de la Hollande: A broad ramparts viewpoint that frames Grand Bé, Petit Bé, and the open sea in one panorama.
  • Saint-Vincent Cathedral: A calm, historic interior in the heart of Intra-Muros that balances out a wind-and-tide day outdoors.

The Fort du Grand Bé & Petit Bé appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Saint-Malo!

Moira & Andy
Moira & Andy

Hey! We're Moira & Andy. From hiking the Camino to trips around Europe in Bert our campervan — we've been traveling together since retirement in 2020!

Read our full story here

This website uses affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you!

Planning Your Visit

Hours:

Grand Bé: Daily: Low-tide access only (use the 3-hour window: 1 hour 30 minutes before-1 hour 30 minutes after the day’s low-tide time). Fort du Petit Bé: Daily: 11:00-18:00 (guided visits, weather & tide permitting).

Price:

Grand Bé: Free. Fort du Petit Bé: Guided tour €5; reduced €3; under 7 free.

Address: Rue du Grand Bé & Allée de Belle Île, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France
Saint-Malo: 297 km
Official Website

Nearby Attractions

Similar Blogs