Cancale

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Administration
Commune of Cancale The fishing port of Cancale
Location
Longitude	01° 49' 35" W
Latitude	48° 40' 46" N
Country	France
Region	Bretagne
Department	Ille-et-Vilaine
Arrondissement	Saint-Malo
Canton	Cancale
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Malo
Mayor	Maurice Jannin
Statistics
Altitude	0 m– (avg. 45 m)
Land area¹	13 km²
Population² (1999)	5,203
- Density (1999)	413/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	35049/ 35260
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Harvesting oysters in Cancale

Cancale is a commune of the Ille-et-Vilaine département, in France.

[edit] Tourism

Cancale lies along the coast to the east of Saint-Malo. It is a picturesque fishing village 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.

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.

[edit] Oysters

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.