You rarely hear anything here about the French region of the Vendee - an area along the Atlantic Coast just south of Brittany - even though it is a very popular French holiday retreat, esp in summer when the broad sandy beaches attract many folks from the Touraine and the Loire Valley - as La Vendee was the closest coastal place to them it became a summer retreat for folks from these areas (in spite of often not really warm summer days).

I've stayed in St Gilles-Croix de Vie several times with my French in-laws and rarely see any other Americans there but mainly French with the odd Scandinavian, German and bien sur Les Anglais.

So if seeking a part of France that is off the beaten path for American and foreign tourists, consider La Vendee.

We're looking for new places to explore in France. What is there to do in this region - what are it's best assets - besides fewer Americans.

Stu Dudley

Well Stu - perhaps that is why so few foreign tourists stumble on La Vendee. But there are some things:

Maybe not technically in the Vendee but on its edge is the Marais Poitevin, France' 2nd largest marsh, known as Venise Vert or Green Venice because of its many languid canals - green due to the color of plants floating on the water - you can rent 'barques' or punts to propel yourself thru the myriad of waterways or there are boat tours as well. It is of special interest to plant lovers - known for its rare plants, etc.
Niort is the main town there.

But really Vendee just offers a rugged coast interspersed with broad sandy beaches. The Sables d'Olonne is a famous resort though it's basically a Front de Mer - high-rise hotels along the beach.

I've stayed in St Gilles-Croix de Vie - a picturesque fishing town and now resort as well but one with character - very old town with still an active fishing village and old pubs, churches, etc. (Also the railhead for the area).

The Ile de Yeu (boats from St Gilles) is interesting - some old remains including a castle but is known mainly for walks along its spectacularly rugged coast.

But really La Vendee is mainly an area to traverse when driving between Brittany and La Rochelle or for folks wishing to do a seaside vacation, the reason the French come here in droves (though it is rarely warm enough in the water to swim IMO - nevertheless many French do).

so no there is not that much to do here (and that's why it's off the beaten path) - things on the beaten path are on it for a good reason.

Poitou Vendee Charentes is the name of the region.

hi stu,

at last, a chance for ME to tell YOU something about France! who'd have thought it? we spent a very nice holiday with our kids in this area and as PQ says, it's very popular with Brits.

although it may be a little outside the official Vendee area according to some maps, a northern highlight is the uber-french theme park at Cholet called "le puy de fou". no idea how we found out about it, but it is what you in the US call a blast. real jousting and cavalry charges, troubadours, a roman amphitheatre where they race chariots and throw the christians to the lions - the whole history of the area is here. plus lovely gardens, animals, restaurants etc.etc.

and in the evening they do it all by sound and light with the help of over 1000 local parrticipants [two and four-legged!] people come from all over france to see this and you have to book tickets [and accommodation near-by] a long time in advance.

from there, you might like to make your way west to les sables d'olonne, which is lovely sea-side report and town, or south to La Rochelle vai Lucon which has the most amazing pollarded trees in the streets and topiary garden, and a great little hotel called the antoine which is so old fashioned that you imagine monsieur maigret sitting in the corner.

finally, la rochelle is a lovely port and has some of the best seafood you'll ever taste.

in between are marshes, little villages, farms, museums...

the best book I found is a very small tome by Angela Bird called "the Vendee - an english family guide" pub. Hecate.

go for it, Stu.

regards, ann

Annhig - The Puy de Fou Son-et-Lumiere is very famous in France as is this Middle Ages 'theme park'

Also back near St Gilles is a wonderful old ruined castles at Commequiers - no entry fee always open so you can walk all around it - often being the only ones there.

hi pal,

yep, the puy de fou is VERY popular with the french - I've never seen so many coaches as there were in the car park for the son et lumiere we went to, but I've never met any other brit who's even heard of it, let alone been.

can I make you an honourary Brit and count you?

regards, ann

PS - do i count you as someone who's heard of it, or someone who's been?

Dear annhig - yes i would love to be an honourary Brit but i think some Brits would object strongly to that.

I have read about it but not visited - though i am kicking myself for not doing so when my French son was younger - i could have commandered the Peugeot and gone there from Sion-sur-l'Ocean where we were staying. But the French when they go to the seaside like to sit in one place and only go to the beach it seems and not to nearby places of interest.

http://www.puydufou.com/uk/

www.vendee-tourisme.com

The Vendee trip was one of our favorites. We went to see the Fleur de sel beds. We stayed in La Roche, Les Sable-d'Olonne overlooking the beach.It's the largest seaside resort in the Vendee. The hotel gave me a poster on leaving, Jarden des salines because after that summer, the hotel was going condo. We crossed a magnificent bridge(my favorite after Millau)to The Ile de Re.
Another overnight was in Pornic.
Our favorite stop, again overlooking
the beach, where from our balcony
we watched the circus parade arrive.
We met wonderful French people at dinner who owned a hotel in Bois.
We made a point of staying there
the following year.
Our final stop before Biarritz, was at a romantic hotel at pyla-sur-Mur,
La Coniche.

pyla - must be near the famous Dun de Pylat - Europe's biggest sand dune looming right over the sea hundreds of feet below. right?

it's called the dun de pyla and also pilat at La Teste-de-Buch in the Arachon Bay, south of Pyla.

La Dune de Pyla (or Pilat) is an amazing place! I've never traveled up the coast directly from Bordeaux, so I don't know the Vendée - sounds very nice. I love La Rochelle and the Ile de Ré, and once spent 4 days on the Ile d'Oléron, which wasn't as charming as Ré, but still quite pleasant.

What I really do NOT like is the Atlantic coast between Bordeaux and Bayonne. We couldn't get out of the Biscarosse area fast enough.

The Dun de Pyla yes is an amazing place - even for me having often climbed even higher dunes off Lake Michigan in northern Michigan

I will never forget the day - i was with my about 10 yr old son and it was a hot hot sunny day - we nearly burned our feet on the sand, plunging down from the top towards the sea.

I thought Archachon (sp?) too the town just north of the dune was really nice though i just basically passed thru it - seemed to have character seaside resorts in France now often lack.

Thanks for all the good info. I'll have to see what the Gite & restaurant situation is like there.

I have been gone most of the day, so have not had time to get out my maps & The Atlantic Coast Michelin Green Guide & follow all your suggestions.

Stu Dudley

Every four years the Vendee Globe boat race around the globe yacht race starts in the Venee and it's a very very BIG deal there - really festive atmosphere.


BBC NEWS | Technology | Vendee Globe yachts get under way
Nov 9, 2008 ... The Vendee Globe - the single handed round-the-world yacht race - has ... There are 20 new yachts in this race and Roxy - my boat - is quite ...
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7715766.stm - 54k
News results for vendee globe boat race


Vendée Globe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, ... qualifying passage must have been completed on the same boat to be raced in the Vendée; ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendée_Globe - 121k

I would also recommend a visit to Ile Noirmoutier.

http://www.france-for-visitors.com/a...irmoutier.html

good suggestion,Randy.
There's a wonderful restaurant there,
Le Fleur de Sel. It's a bit of a walk from the port or you could drive. We liked the walk.