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39-45 MEMORIAL

Fort de la Cité d’Alet

Complex of blockhouses in the fort of Cité d’Alet, Saint-Malo, with the museum entrance. © TCY / fr.wikipedia

Built in 1994 by Saint-Malo city council for the 50th anniversary of liberation, the memorial is installed in the German anti-aircraft defences built from 1942 onwards, in the grounds of the 18th-century fort of Cité d’Alet.

In an area of just over 500 m2, split between three levels and ten rooms, visitors are plunged into those dark years of Saint-Malo’s history. Photos, mannequins, weaponry and reconstructed scenes recreate the atmosphere of the period, based on the following themes:

 

  • The invasion of 1940
  • How the port was used
  • Building the bunkers
  • Cité d’Alet (one of the most fortified sites on the Atlantic Wall)
  • The battle for liberation
  • The island of Cézembre (one of the most heavily bombed sites of the Second World War)

 

The bunker itself has been restored to its original state. Tours (guided only) begin at set times and last one hour. Tours are followed at certain times by the screening of an archive film (45 mins), which charts the different stages of the battle for liberation, then shows the reconstruction of the old city, 80% destroyed in the fighting.

 

From June to September, themed tours are offered:

- “History” tour: Almost entirely in the bunker. Evokes the period 1940-44 in Saint-Malo. With film screening.

- “Discovery of the fortifications” tour: 75% outside, 25% in the bunker. Evokes the construction of the 18th-century and Second World War fortifications found on the site. Evokes the everyday lives of soldiers in those fortifications. No film screening.

The two tours are complementary.

 

Dias-MEMORIAL-39-45

Heavy machine-gun position in its original bunker.
Only reconstruction of its kind in France - A loophole in the corridors of the bunker.
- The radio and telephone transmission room.
- US transmission post.
Credit: © Mémorial 39-45

 

Sources : ©MÉMORIAL 39-45
 

2019 PRICES

 

 

39-45 Memorial

Pass for

themed tours

39-45 Memorial

(June to September)

Adults

Groups of over 10 adults (per person)

Schoolchildren, students*

Families (2 adults + 2 or more children)*

Members of the armed forces, school parties (Saint-Malo only), jobseekers, people in receipt of Income Support

€ 6

€ 4

€ 3

€ 15

Free

 

€ 9

 

€ 4

€ 20

Free

 

 

Weekly opening hours

 

 

Tour start times

 

April, May, October

Closed on Mondays

 

 

June, September

Closed on Mondays

 

 

July, August

Daily

 

 

39-45 Memorial

Guided tours only (1 hour). Please arrive 20 minutes early.

 

Maximum 25 people at a time.

Groups by arrangement in the morning.

 

* Tours with film screening (45 mins extra):

“The Battle of Saint-Malo”

 

 

2.30 pm*

3.15 pm

4.30 pm*

 

 

 

 

Annual closing on 3/11

 

History” tour

2.30 pm*
3.15 pm

4.30 pm*

 

Discovery of the fortifications” tour

10.30 am, Thursday to Sunday

 

 

History” tour

10.15 am*
2 pm*
3 pm*

4 pm*

 

Discovery of the fortifications” tour

11 am
5 pm

Closed on 1 May and 1 November.

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    Practical information

    Address

    Allée Gaston Buy 35400
    Saint-Malo
    +33 (0)2 99 82 41 74

    Prices

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    Office de Tourisme Communautaire Saint-Malo/Baie du Mont St Michel
    Esplanade Saint-Vincent
    35400 Saint-Malo
    Tel.: +33 (0)825 13 52 00