Plage du Pâquis

Dinard is a resort on the western bank of the Rance estuary, opposite Saint-Malo, and its string of small sandy beaches is one of its best features. The beaches lie in sheltered coves between rocky headlands, and each has its own character. The best known is the Plage de l'Écluse, the main beach of the town, a broad crescent with striped bathing tents, backed by the promenade, the casino and the grand hotels. The Plage du Pâquis is one of the quieter beaches of the same seafront, and it belongs to the same walk along the shore, with the same fine sand, rocks at either end and views across the bay to the walls of Saint-Malo. Few details of this particular beach are documented, so the best way to see it is to follow the seafront promenade and look in on each cove.

The sea at Dinard is among the most spectacular in Europe because of the tides. The range between low and high water in this part of the Channel can reach twelve metres or more in the largest spring tides, one of the highest in the world, and the beaches change entirely in the course of a day. At low tide the water retreats a long way, leaving rocks, pools and expanses of sand, and at high tide it comes right up to the sea wall. Swimmers need to pay attention to the tide tables and the flags, and the currents can be strong around the points. A heated seawater swimming pool on the seafront provides an alternative on cold days.

The walk along the coast is the pleasure of the place. The Promenade du Clair de Lune, the moonlight walk, runs along the shore from the Plage de l'Écluse toward the Pointe du Moulinet, with views of Saint-Malo, the islands and the estuary, and the paths continue around the headlands. Along the way you pass the large Belle Époque villas for which Dinard is famous, built from the 1870s onward for English and American families who made the town a fashionable resort, with towers, balconies and gardens running down to the sea. The town still has a British flavour, with an Anglican church and an annual British film festival. The Casino and the Église Saint-Sauveur are close to the beach, and the Quai des Indes, with its restaurants, lies on the harbour side.

The beach is free and open to everyone. In July and August it is crowded, and the early morning or the evening are quieter. A walk along the seafront from beach to beach takes about an hour. From the town centre, a small passenger boat crosses the estuary to Saint-Malo in a few minutes, and the island of Cézembre can be reached by boat. Mont-Saint-Michel is about an hour's drive away.

The beach suits families, walkers and anyone who enjoys a classic seaside resort.