Cancale (; ; Gallo: ''Cauncall'') is a commune in the

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...

department in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in northwestern France. It is known as the birthplace of Saint

Jeanne Jugan Jeanne Jugan (25 October 1792 – 29 August 1879), religious name ''Mary of the Cross'', was a French religious sister who became known for the dedication of her life to the neediest of the elderly poor. Her service resulted in the establishment ...

Population

Inhabitants of Cancale are called ''Cancalais'' in French.

Geography

Location

Cancale is located at the western end of the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, on the coasts of Ille-et-Vilaine (Côte d'Émeraude), fifteen kilometers east of

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

. The bay of Cancale is delimited by the ''pointe des Roches Noires'' in the south and the ''pointe des Crolles'' in the north.

Tourism

Cancale lies along the coast to the east of

. It is a picturesque fishing port popular with visitors, many of whom are drawn by its reputation as the "

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

capital" of Brittany. Though a small town, it is well served by a large number of restaurants, many specialising in seafood. When not eating one can sit and watch the bustle of this busy little town with many stalls selling crustaceans of all types. The oyster market (marché aux huîtres) at the harbour at the end of Quai de l'Administrateur en Chef Thomas offers a wide variety of local oysters at producer prices. At low tide part of the vast oyster beds can visited. There is a pleasant coastal path which permits a circular walk from the town to the

Pointe du Grouin The rocky finger of the Pointe du Grouin points out and protects the entrance into the bay of Mont Saint-Michel. On this headland, a Grande Randonnée footpath runs around hugging the cliff face and there is a circular walk starting out from Can ...

with views across the bay towards

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is i ...

Eugène Feyen Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek language, Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

featured Cancale in his works: ''Fishing for Oysters at Cancale'' and ''Low tide at Canca
Harbour
'

Oysters

History has it that

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

had his

s brought to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

from Cancale. Centuries later, the farming of oysters is still a major activity in the port and there are oyster beds covering about 7.3 square kilometres easily seen from the pier at the harbour. These beds harvest about 25,000 tons of oysters each year. France Oyster Harvest bordercropped

International relations

Cancale is twinned with: *

Arnstein Arnstein () is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The town lies on the banks of the river Wern and is roughly 20 km from Schwe ...

, Germany (since 7 September 1988) * Saint Clement, Jersey (since 2010) Historically, its position made it vulnerable to English attack during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. In 1758 an English army under the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was a British army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he ...

landed here for the purpose of attacking Saint-Malo, and pillaged the town. It was again bombarded by the English in 1779.

Climate

References

External links

Official website

Cancale
Information and images
Cultural Heritage
{{authority control Communes of Ille-et-Vilaine Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast Ports and harbours of the English Channel