Vendee-Holiday - Local Information

The Vendee lies between the Côte d'Argent and Brittany but with a character all of its own. The Atlantic Coast stretches 140 km, full of fine white sandy beaches with an amazing 210 days sunshine per year, a record rivaling that of the south of France. Its a coast of pretty fishing ports like Pornic, St. Gilles Croix de Vie and Les Sables d'Olonne, just the places to try the many delicious seafood dishes of the region like mussels in white wine. Today these little fishing villages have become bustling resorts with all manner of amenities. Inland do visit the Marais Poitevin, known as the Green Venice, its many canals covered in algae and where the punt is the best way to get around.

 

The Vendée was reclaimed land and  is therefore  full of flat areas, riddled with creeks, vast beaches and sand dunes inviting you to relax. In the dusk, fine pleasure ports transform into lively, welcoming stopovers with a variety of museums, gardens, festivals, folklore pageants and magnificent evening shows.

The region is covered with working salt marshes, oyster beds, potato fields, vineyards and provides a wealth of seafood.

The Vendée offers colourful beauty and a variety of countryside from farmlands to the local marshes , from forests, the sea and villages with their colourful markets selling the local speciality "Brioche Vendéene" (a type of bread with a sweet taste).

The  seaside provides plenty of scope for fun, ample space on the gently sloping beaches where you can cool off, or picnic in the surrounding woods which sweep down to the beaches.

St. Jean de Monts

The long flat beach of fine sand is one of the finest in France - over 8kms long and a paradise for children! It is good for windsurfing, jet skis, and most importantly, pleasant swimming. The new town by the sea with its esplanade and cafés, is separated from the old town by wooded dunes and a vast forest of pine trees.

St. Hilaire de Riez

St Hilaire de Riez beaches spread from the Plage des Demoiselles beach to that of the Baie de Sion, nine beaches are spread over 12 kilometres in a long line of fine sand with sand dunes. Connected by a cycle trail that crosses the maritime pine and hardwood forest, they have eleven security posts.

In July and August, a wide variety of sports activities are available. You can enjoy beach volley ball, sand yachting, beach football or jogging. At the end of the afternoon and in the evening a variety of shows - concerts, street theatre - take over. The most famous of them, an impressive musical fireworks display that takes place at the end of July over the ocean attracts several tens of thousands of spectators per year

There are even orgainised car tours : several tourist circuits show the visitor the coast's hinterland with several circuits punctuated with interesting stopovers like the Bourrine du Bois Jucquaud and the marshlands. The brochure presenting these circuits is available from the Tourist Office.
 

St. Gilles Croix de Vie

Flanking a busy fishing port and facing each other on opposite banks of the River Vie, the oceanside resorts of St Gilles and Croix de Vie combine to be a destination with character. The quayside is an excellent strolling ground to watch the boats sail or see the catch unloaded, and there’s a lovely stretch of sandy beach along with a collection of little coves.

Challans

Challans not only has 2 hypermarkets but it is the capital of this little area and organises their famous fair "Autrefois Challans" on four Thursdays during the summer, where all the locals dress up in regional costumes from the early 20th century and relive all the local crafts and trades.

Apremont

Noirmoutier

The picturesque island of Noirmoutier has two accesses: the bridge or the Gois which is passable at low tide. On the island there are some rocky creeks and sandy beaches.  In the village called Noirmoutier there is a castle with an 11th century dungeon, and museums of traditions and a naval museum too. The aquarium and sealion show at Sealand is also well worth a visit if you can drag the kids away from the water park at Oceanile. There are many pretty traditional white houses. Along with the oyster farms this is the main activity on the island. However there are also 8 sailing centres on the island to keep you active and miles of cycle circuits.

Le Gois is famous in France as it is a submersible road allowing access to Noirmoutier only during the low tide, then the high tide rushes in. On the island Noirmoutier, a day out can include a visit to Sealand, which is an aquarium with over 200 species; a visit to Oceanile swimming pool complex and water slides; a walk through the Bois de la Chaise or a cycle ride on one of the especaially designed cycle paths.

Notre Dame de Monts

The renovated windmill which now houses the wind garden is a very interesting visit.  The national forest was planted in 1848 and is made up of parasol pines and maritime pines and oaks. There are many marked routes that have descriptions actually by the trees and bushes explaining the trees and wildlife to be seen nearby.

There are working windmills close by and also, the ecomuseum called Daviaud, situated in natural parkland which shows the traditional peasant cottages and farms, the confluence of fresh and salted marshes, and where you can discover the Natural and Human History in the Vendee Breton marshes.

The island of Yeu

L'Ile d'Yeu is 17 kilometres from the coast and is a very pretty island to visit. It is more like a Brittany rocky coastline, with cliffs, creeks, and sandy coves. There are many pretty white cottages with blue shutters and multi-coloured boats at the capital Port Joinville. As it is only 23 sq metres it is easily visited by bike or by hiking. The boatride takes approx 45 mins and you can get a boat from St Gilles, Fromentine or Noirmoutier. For history lovers there is an interesting 16th century castle, with its ruins dropping into the Atlantic ocean!

Les Sables

With a fortress, a marina, a museum, a good variety of eateries and a spendid beach this is the Vendée’s most significant seaside resort and oozes with a holiday atmosphere. A causeway to the north puts the marshy Ile de Noirmoutier within reach at low tide.

Le Tanchet Beyond the far end of Les Sables beach is another favourite with surfers, as well as with sunbathers. If you're looking for something else to do, there is an excellent zoo just here, near the Casino des Pins. Small, but beautifully laid out among shrub-lined terraces and with plenty of shade, it is ideal for children. You can buy bags of food to feed the animals. Small monkeys swing freely through the trees, before staging lightning raids on the zoo's litter-bins for picnic left-overs. If you're here on a wild day, don't miss the dramatic wave spouts thrown up at the Puits d'Enfer ("Hell's Well") in the cliffs along here.

La Chaume A pretty fishing village at the tip of the peninsula opposite Les Sables-d'Olonne, La Chaume is full of narrow winding streets lined with low-whitewashed houses (and some pretty hideous late-20th-century waterfront developments). As well as one or two tiny beaches among the rocks, is a wide, sandy beach called the Paracou, just to the north of La Chaume - another great surfing spot. The old abbey of St-Nicolas, on the point, has been recently restored, and holds occasional art exhibitions. Lots of good restaurants line the quayside, and a little passenger ferry plies across the harbour mouth to Les Sables. La Chaume is the home of Port Olona, the marina from which the notorious Vendée-Globe Challenge, a single-handed non-stop round-the-world yacht race, sets out every four years. The next one is due to start in November 2004, and if you are in the area over the preceding few weeks, you can wander along the pontoons and wish the contestants luck as they make their final preparations.

Brétignolles-sur-Mer

A cheery little town, with plenty of beach equipment and toys on sale as well as waffle ("gaufre") and ice-cream shops, and consistently awarded the "pavillon bleu", or Blue Flag, for the quality of its waters. The large beach actually includes quite a few stones, making it a good spot for anyone looking for interestingly-shaped ones to paint, or make into jewellery. To the south are some mini cliffs, then another beach - La Normandalière - , which offers serious rock-pooling at low tide, that now has a bar as well as a large inland pool for swimming etc where the water is guaranteed to be significantly warmer than that of the sea, and a good car park.