May 26, 2025 — In honor of Memorial Day we would like to pay homage to the greatest generation, those brave young men and women that gave their lives for freedom in WW2. What better place than St Malo, France, where almost 81 years ago they fought to expand the European foothold they had just won in nearby Normandy. My wife’s father, Bob Isleib, was a U.S. Army Engineer who arrived here just a few weeks after the battle. It was the most exciting event in his life, one he never forgot.

All the Light We Cannot See

“All the Light We Cannot See”, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel and popular Netflix mini series, takes place during this same battle for St. Malo in the final days of the August 1944 battle. As luck would have it, that is where your editor spent the last few enjoyable days.

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A great bucket list trip

In case you are looking for a great retirement trip, consider visiting this beautiful medieval town in Brittany. It is easy to combine with a tour of the moving DDay battlegrounds that are just to the north.

St. Malo

St Malo is a medieval walled city on the coast guarding a magnificent harbor. Its tall walls have never been breached, although almost all of the city was destroyed during WW II, and subsequently rebuilt. Mari Laure, zero the blind heroine of all the light you cannot see, is holed up here, sending out coded radio signals to the Allies about German activity. The book is fabulous, which many people think is better than the Netflix series. Much of the latter was filmed here, so it is fun to see where the crooked, cobblestones streets and neighborhoods where the action took place.

If you visit

We had an effortless trip to st Malo from a train station right inside charles deGaul airport. The TGV (high speed train) can get you there in just over 3 hours. You can visit surrounding towns via boat, train, or bus. But if you really want to explore the beautiful coastline and interior you might want to consider renting a car. Most of those towns are pedestrian only, but you can park the car just on the outside and walk in. There are any number of cute little hotels and fabulous restaurants to choose from. We stayed at The Nautilus, a small hotel with a supremely helpful host , Aurelie.

The town is so small you can walk from end to end in 20 minutes, or explore its crooked cobblestone streets, walls, and shops for hours. Across the harbor, Dinard is a 20 minute boat ride away, and highly recommended. You can walk to d’Alet, which is where the allies finally knocked out the German fortifications and liberated st Malo. A monument there commemorates the 40 Americans who gave their lives in the battle.

Comments? Have you read “All the Light We Cannot See”, or seen the series? What kind of bucket list trips are in your future? Please comment below .

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