The Vendée department is located in the
Western Loire, alongside the Bay of Biscay on the French Atlantic Coast. It is situated south of Nantes and north of La Rochelle. The Vendée (department number 85) is just 2 to 5 hours away from the various Western ferry ports such as Cherbourg, Roscoff, Saint-Malo or Caen. Eurostar, with TGV connections via Lille to Nantes, provides an alternative route all the way to La Roche Sur Yon, the capital, and onto Les Sables d’Olonne, the most chic of the seaside resorts. Direct flights to Nantes and La Rochelle are now available from a wide variety of UK airports. The Vendée is a large department with over 540,000 inhabitants and is home to vast stretches of sandy beaches. It has a microclimate, ensuring 2,500 hours of sunshine with summer temperatures in the high 70s and over.
The main seaside resorts are Saint-Jean-de-Monts, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, Les Sables-d’Olonne, and la Tranche-Sur-Mer, richly endowed with a wide variety of desirable coastal properties. The golden sands of the beaches and bays, together with the vitality of the ocean, favour relaxation and watersports of all kinds.
Against an incomparable backdrop of plains, forests and seascape, the more extreme sports such as jet skiing, parascending, free-fall, ballooning, hang gliding, and even bungee jumping are regularly practised. Experience the thrill of the launch of the Vendee Globe, the round-the-world yacht race from the Sables d’Alonne or the Bois de la Chaise Regatta from the island of Noirmontier accessed by the unique 4km submerged roadway (
le Passage du Gois).
Vendeens have a passion for the Tour de France, and its thrilling routing has influenced so many delightful coastal and inland purpose-built cycle tracks. These cycle tracks bypass coastal villages full of linen-white cottages and stone hamlets. The Vendée is equally a golfer's haven with 18 European standard courses of repute. Don’t miss the fragile beauty of the Marais Breton Vendeen carved and preserved by man and the sea, nor the unique lifestyle of the canal-side villagers in the Marais Poitevin (
la Venise Verte), a magical wilderness of tree-lined, duck-weeded waterways.
The Vendée celebrates its incredible historical heritage in myriad forms, and amongst those not to be missed, there is the prehistoric centre Le Cairn at Saint Hilaire la Foret presenting its neolithic site. The colourful Middle Ages are commemorated by châteaux such as Gilles de Rais at Tiffauges, whilst the symmetry and luxury of the Renaissance impress those who visit Chateau d’Apremont and many more. Le Grand Parc du Puy du Fou spans the centuries for old and young and where the Cinescenie, Puy du Fou, uses the greatest sound and light show in Europe to tell the history of the Vendée.
Inland Vendée, where living is easy and where the stone cottages and stone barns are in abundance, a simple and wholesome cuisine is preserved. Once you have tasted the Mogettes beans topped with butter, accompanied by local ham, beef, or lamb, you will yearn to know more about the Bocage country. Brioche vendéenne is another cause for pride. Sweet and richly flavored with brandy and/or orange water, this treat of bread is savored in large quantities; Prefou, a piece of garlic-rubbed dough eaten hot with butter as an aperitif, is superbly washed down by excellent summer aperitifs such as the gold medal winner Cote de Grand-Lieu, a Muscadet-sur-Lie. The finesse of the Gros-Plant or Gamay should also be compared to the fascination of the Vendée Fiefs, first produced by monks of the Middle Ages. See also the Musée du Vignoble in Le Pallet for a superb presentation on every aspect of Muscadet wine.
Picture the traditional mellow stone houses of the ancient streets of Fontenay, the beautiful riverside village of Vouvant, the medieval walls and the meandering river Mere, and the ruins of Blue Beard’s castle, and raise your glass of Muscadet to the Vendée and its many treasures.
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