St. Malo

Super motorhome parking in St. Malo and near the old port. A very nice, understanding young English geezer said he was just about to move his truck. Our van fitted in nicely. This is not an aire, but Faxters know about it so it's well used. If stayed over it would count as wild camping.
Above is the very swish Le Châteaubriand restaurant near Grande Porte. At the end of Place Châteaubriand is the hôtel de ville.

There's a story that when Napoleon was planning for the invasion of the British Isles he sent out captains to assess the coastal fortress ordinance. At a staff officer meeting there was a long discussion of gun displacement. At the end Napoleon added almost as an afterthought, "Those two canon round the back of the town hall in St. Malo. What you do with them?" Long silence.

-"My Emperor, we told the mayor to move them to the sea defences to give close range covering fire for the fortress ordinance".

-"Excellent work! Last time I told them to do that the buggers never moved them!" The staff officers went away wondering how he remembered such detail.

Above the market hall.

St. Malo was heavily bombed and there was tough street by street fighting in 1944. The Americans used napalm for the first time here as eye witnessed by the photographer Lee Miller. After the war some parts were immediately rebuilt with available stone. Later, the worst affected by bombing were rebuilt in concrete and then faced with granite. I guess the above are the later.

The fort nationale above was built by Garangeau to Vauban's design.