Saint-Malo - a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany

The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. It is on this one, surrounded by the islets of Grand Bé, Petit Bé and Fort National accessible at low tide, coupled with those of Harbour, Cézembre and Conchée in the bay studded with multiple rocks, that the he hermit Aaron welcomed a monk from what would later become Wales: Maclow, Malo or Maclou (the spelling varies), the future Saint-Malo. In the 12th century, Bishop Jean de Châtillon transferred the episcopal seat there, giving the city its first ramparts. Called at the time “Saint-Malo-de-l’Île“, the city experienced its first boom.