Cancale

Cancale (Breton: Kankaven; Gallo: Cauncall) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan. Inhabitants of Cancale are called Cancalais in French.

Cancale

Kankaven
Commune
Cancale, Port de la Houle
Coat of arms
Location of Cancale
Cancale
Cancale
Coordinates: 48°40′37″N 1°51′02″W
CountryFrance
RegionBrittany
DepartmentIlle-et-Vilaine
ArrondissementSaint-Malo
CantonSaint-Malo-1
IntercommunalityCA Pays de Saint-Malo
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) Pierre-Yves Mahieu
Area
1
12.6 km2 (4.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
5,121
 • Density410/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
35049 /35260
Elevation0–56 m (0–184 ft)
(avg. 45 m or 148 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Tourism
The Boat Builder's Yard, Cancale, Brittany

Cancale lies along the coast to the east of Saint-Malo. It is a picturesque fishing port popular with visitors, many of whom are drawn by its reputation as the "oyster 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.[2]

There is a pleasant coastal path which permits a circular walk from the town to the Pointe du Grouin with views across the bay towards Mont Saint-Michel.

Eugène Feyen painted Cancale and the inhabitants with the oyster-picking Cancalaises for several decades around 1865–1908. Vincent van Gogh wrote that "Eugène Feyen is one of the few painters who pictures intimate modern life as it is really, and does not turn it into fashion plates".

John Singer Sargent featured Cancale in his work: Fishing for Oysters at Cancale.[3]

Oysters
Oyster farms in springtime

History has it that Louis XIV had his oysters brought to Versailles 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.

Harvesting oysters from the pier at Cancale, 2005

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Cancale is twinned with:

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. "Bienvenue - Marché aux huîtres Cancale". www.marcheauxhuitres-cancale.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  3. Fishing for Oysters at Cancale Archived 2012-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, Googleartproject.
  4. St Clement in Jersey twins with Brittany town
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