"The oldest one of Saint-Malo"

The Great Gate was part of the medieval wall, it was reached by boat, and it is the oldest gate of Saint Malo. It is protected by two big round towers with machicolations, which were restored at the end of the 16th century. Before 1793, they were topped by a central belfry with a clock, and before the current wharves were built, it was preceded by a “demilune” where the Merchants exchange took place. Down below, in the port, all the merchant ships were moored.

Above the gate, facing the town, a blockhouse shelters a copy of a 15th-century statue of the Virgin, the original statue was installed in the cathedral. From the rampart walk, there is a perspective view of the Grand’ Rue and the steeple of Saint Vincent’s Cathedral. It is in the Grand’Rue that the first devastating fire of the town started in 1661.