Grande Plage du Sillon, Brittany, France
3 km long, it is the biggest sand beach in Saint-Malo. By following this beach, you can go from Paramé to Intra-Muros. The Sillon beach is made of three beaches: the Grande beach, the Hoguette and the Rochebonne beach.
The Dyke was built in 1883 – 1913 on an ancient sand trail (the Sillon) that used to connect Paramé to the fortified city and represented the only access by land at low tide.
It started as a sand trail covered with higher and higher dunes towards Rochebonne with windmills as sole buildings. The first road was built in 1509, rebuilt and extended numerous times.
The Dyke is 1671 m long and goes along the beach proposing a beautiful walk bordered by various villas built at the end of the 19th century.
All along the Sillon, an alignment of breakwaters protects the dyke against the strength of the waves. Set up at the beginnings of the 19th century after an idea of the engineers Ponts and Chaussées Robinault from Saint-Servan, the oak-tree breakwaters are fixed at a depth equal or bigger than the altitude they have at the surface.
The Sillon beach is enjoyable for swimming and is also a good scene for activities using the wind force of: kite, sand yachting, windsurfing, etc.
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