Piscine de Bon-Secours — Yves Hémar, Saint-Malo

📷 More photos

💡 5 things to know

1. A bathing boss’s ideaRené Lesaunier ran the ‘Bains René’ on the beach. The tourist office says he wanted a pool because at spring tides the sea drew back too far and his regulars went to swim in Dinard’s pool instead. Source Source Source Reported
2. Refilled by every tideAccording to the Brittany tourism site, Lesaunier liked to point out that his pool’s water was renewed twice a day, at each tide, unlike Dinard’s. Source Source Reported
3. Cleaned once a yearAccording to France Télévisions’ programme note for ‘Littoral’, city services empty and clean the pool once a year, and the tide then refills the 10,000 m³ basin. Source Reported
4. 1936 or 1937?The heritage inventory says the pool was inaugurated in summer 1936; the tourist-office pages and Breizh-info say it was built in 1937. We lean to 1936: the inventory is the official record and dates it from historical research. Source Source Source Conflicting
5. One diving board or three?The heritage inventory describes one concrete diving board at the centre of the west wall; Breizh-info says the pool is recognisable by its 3 diving boards. We lean to the inventory: photos from 2007 to 2025 show a single concrete diving tower, with boards at more than one height, which may explain the count of three. Source Source Conflicting

📍 Where it is

🗓️ Sightings

1. 1936

   Pool inaugurated in summer

2. 1995

   Sea concession renewed for thirty years

3. 200726 May

   The pool below the walled city · camera date

4. 20165 Jun

   Featured on France 3’s ‘Littoral’

5. 201910 Aug

   Pool photographed from the ramparts · camera date

6. 20222 Sep

   Breizh-info: the city’s largest sea pool

7. 202310 Oct

   Heritage inventory record published

8. 20259 Sep

   The pool at low tide · camera date

9. 202511 Sep

   The wall and its spillway · camera date

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

✅ The facts

Original title

Piscine de plein-air de Bon-Secours (Inventaire record title) Source Checked

Architect

Yves Hémar (1886–1955), drew the plans Source Source Checked

Promoter

René Lesaunier (1895–1976), owner of the ‘Bains René’ company Source Source Checked

Approved

1935, when Lesaunier obtained its construction from the municipality Source Checked

Opened

Summer 1936 according to the heritage inventory; tourist-office pages and Breizh-info say built in 1937. We lean to 1936 (official record). Source Source Source Conflicting

Basin area

5,520 m² Source Checked

Volume

10,000 m³, according to France Télévisions Source Reported

Material

Concrete: a thick wall on a rectangular plan, open to the east, with a concrete diving board at the centre of the west wall Source Checked

Location

Plage de Bon-Secours, rue de la Crosse, at the foot of the ramparts Source Source Checked

Water

Seawater, filled by the tide Source Source Checked

Owner

The commune of Saint-Malo; the maritime-domain concession to the city was renewed in 1965 and 1995, each time for thirty years Source Checked

Heritage record

Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel (Région Bretagne), record IA35132843, surveyed 2022; the record lists no monument protection Source Checked

Status

In place. Newest dated photograph: 11 September 2025; heritage inventory survey: 2022 Source Source Checked

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Last checked: 10 November 2026 · How we verify art