As  you leave Brittany in a southerly direction and drive along the Atlantic coast, not only does the architecture change, but the scenery does as well.   We begin by crossing the Loire at Saint-Nazaire in the département of the Loire-Atlantique, a bustling region of industry and shipping.  It isn't long before we cross into the coastal Vendée -- a land of wetlands, bocages, islands and an endless devotion to nature and wildlife.    We are entering a region rich with marshes (marais) along the Atlantic, known also in France as the Bay of Biscay or Golfe de Gascogne.  Here one finds sparkling salt marshes transformed into oyster beds, sand dunes, great stretches of clean beaches and sheep or cattle grazing in the meadows.

We recommend driving south on the D213 through Pornic, a once fortified town and now a popular resort,  as far as Bourgneuf along the Baie de Bourgneuf.  Follow the signs along the D758 to Beauvoir-sur-Mer and Île de Noirmoutier.    From Beauvoir there is a road, Passage du Gois, to reach the Île only during low tide (the D948), but if you want to play it safe, drive further on the D22 direction la Barre de Monts.  You can reach the Île easily from here. 

The approach to the island is over a bridge and along a fairly narrow spit of land before you reach the larger part of the island.  Highlights are the town of Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile which has an incredible ancient church built in 677 on the site of an abbey built three years earlier (Église St-Philbert) across from an imposing fortress, and the smaller town of Bois de la Chaise where you can dine or enjoy the Baie beach.  The island is most famous for growing potatoes and harvesting sea salt.  Do purchase salt when possible anywhere along the Atlantic from Brittany to the Poitou.  Very nice for cooking when you return home!
From the mainland end of the bridge, you can take a ferry to the rocky and windswept L'Ile-d'Yeu to visit its lighthouse or La Citadelle de Pierre - Levée.  Plan to get around by bicycle as the roads are too narrow for cars.  There are some nice beaches facing the mainland, but the other side of the island is steep and rocky.

Return to the mainland and follow the D38 southward to St-Jean-de-Monts.  This is a town we remember being rather small and unassuming in the early '90s -- but in the 21st century it has become an amazing beach resort.  Apartment buildings and shops line the street along the coast divided from the water by a very nice promenade.  The beach is very broad with lovely sand and warm surf --  a popular vacation spot for obvious reasons.  St-Jean-de-Monts is nearly in the center of the Forêt de Pays de Monts, a pine forest that stretches from the bridge leading to Noirmoutier southward to beachfront Croix, some twenty-five kilometers.

Down the coast is Les Sables-d'Olonne, a large seaside resort on the Côte de la Lumière (Coast of Light) with a beach that is nearly 2 miles long.  Summer festivals bring out the locals, said to be the descendants of the Moors driven from Spain,  in folk costumes. The town offers a museum dedicated to the Vendéen Wars, the Musée de l'Abbaye Ste-Croix founded in the 17th century by Benedictine monks and now a museum of contemporary art as well as prehistory, and the Église Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port built in 1646 by Richelieu.  Dining choices are many in Les Sables, but if you are looking for a restaurant with one Michelin star (2002) it is Beau Rivage at 1, boulevard de Lattre de Tassigny, by the corniche.  One of their specialties is fois gras poêle with langoustines, and they serve Vendéen wines, both red and white.

An interesting detour would be to the Observatoire d'Oiseaux de l'île-d'Olonne, an observatory offering visitors telescopes to see the birds in the Chanteloup Hunting Reserve.

The Poitou-Charentes

If you want to see the largest marshes in France, leave Les Sables on the D949 direction Luçon -- you will be in the heart of the Marais Poitevin.  There are many opportunities to stay at chambres d'hôtes in this peaceful land of canals or you can continue southward to nearby La Rochelle in the département of the Charente-Maritime -- a well-loved fortified port city.  Once there, you will understand why artists, writers and tourists alike are drawn to it and why it is the third most visited city in France!   The site of religious conflict in the 1600s -- on one occasion Cardinal Richelieu against Jean Guiton -- La Rochelle has a rich and interesting thousand years of history. 

Walkers will especially appreciate La Rochelle's old town which is paradise for pedestrians.   Houses there, the oldest in half-timbering with slate overhangs,  were built with two entrances --   one on the street and one on a lane parallel -- and most had interior courtyards.  A maze of cobbled streets and archways,  hidden alleys and vaulted secret passages all create the atmosphere of which Guy de Maupassant wrote, "...the setting for a conspiracy, a captivating backdrop for the wars of bygone days. . . "  The entrance to the old port is 'guarded' by two famous towers, Tour de la Chaine and Tour St-Nicolas -- the pair have become symbolic of the city.  A third tower, Tour de Lanterne, is to the west of Tour de la Chaine and has a distinct conical roof.  For those inclined to seek out the very best in dining, the restaurant Richard Coutanceau,  on plage de la Concurrence at the entrance to the old port,  possesses two Michelin stars.  Their phone number is 05.46.41.48.19.  Two dining establishments with somewhat lower tariffs but well recommended are Les Flots at 1, rue Chaine (05.46.41.06.08) and Au Vieux Port at 4, place Chaine (05.46.41.06.08).  As you can imagine, most of the restaurants specialize in food from the sea, fresh local produce and primarily local wines.

Take time to visit yet another large island -- this one is the Île de Ré, probably one of the most popular resort islands attracting French families and just a stone's throw from La Rochelle over an amazing 2 mile long curved toll bridge. Pont-Viaduc.  (The toll is high, and we were unable to confirm the current amount.) With a Mediterranean climate, you will once again find whitewashed houses and great expanses of sandy beach, gardens filled with hollyhocks, the fragrance in the air of rosemary, and lovely small waterfront villages.   Cycling is popular on the island and encouraged for exploring the island and marshlands on over 87 kilometers of bike routes.  Saint-Martin-de-Ré facing the Pertuis Breton bay is a picture postcard village in existence since the Middle Ages.  As we said, the island is Mediterranean in climate, so summer visitors may experience hotter than expected temperatures.

Farther south and inland from the coast on the River Charente is the city of Rochefort, famous for its architecture and the Corderie Royale where hemp ropes were twisted, now a museum.   Rich and ornate façades adorn mansions and its wealth of museums draws visitors year 'round. 

The D733 / D123 from Rochefort in the direction of Marennes will bring you to the Île d'Oléron, the largest of all French islands after Corsica and its oyster capital.  With exceptional sand dunes lining its shores and charming white houses surrounded by flower gardens, the island is a pleasure to visit.  In addition to oyster beds, visitors will discover the somewhat unexpected:  windmills and even vineyards producing distinctive rosé and white wines.  Fish farming is a recent industry, raising trout, eels and clams, while boats leave from La Cotinière for fishing trips,  and fishing of another sort is done on the north coast with 'fish locks' that allow the tide to recede as fisherman wade out to bring in the catch.  On the island's Côte Sauvage (Wild Coast), the locals go spear fishing in the spring and autumn.  The island is very popular with families for all the outdoor activities available and for tourists who enjoy the same as well as visits to the fortress, the bird marshes, the lighthouse and the thelassotherapy center at St-Trojan-les-Bains.

Heading south once again, our destination now is Royan.  This time it is wise to drive along the coast (known as the Côte de Beauté -- and it is!) on the D25 through the Forêt de la Coubre with stops in la Palmyre (and its very popular zoo) and St-Palais-sur-Mer.  You will definitely be off the tourist track and find yourself immersed in the natural beauty of this wooded paradise nestled on the shore.  From St-Palais you will drive right into Royan.  Great restaurants and little arcades with stores of all description line the waterfront street, so do plan a little shopping and either lunch or dinner.   One restaurant in particular with very reasonable prices is Jabotière on Esplanade de Pontaillac (05.46.39.91.29).  A ferry travels between Royan and Pointe de Grave on the Médoc Peninsula, a distance of about 3.7 land miles, and the nearby coastal village of Soulac-sur-Mer.  This is a good thing to know if you are southward bound and seeking a shortcut to wine country or Bordeaux!

Royan is a fine resort praised for its beaches and marinas filled with yachts and fishing boats.  Almost completely reconstructed after World War II due to damage suffered, Royan has been a popular vacation destination since the late 1800s.  Nearby is the le Phare (lighthouse) de Cordouan, a nice boat ride from the town, and one of the oldest in France dating from the 16th century.  Another claim to fame for le Phare is its resident lighthouse keeper -- a rare occupation these days.   If you can manage the 290 steps to the top, the view you will enjoy will be worth the climb.  The boats that ply the six miles from Royan to the lighthouse are operated by Royan Croisières at 05.46.06.42.36.

Inland from Royan are two cities you might want to visit.  The first is Saintes on the River Charentes and rich with Roman history and monuments and known in Roman times as "Mediolanum Santonum". The Arc de Germanicus, a fine Roman arch, now stands on the east bank of the river, having been moved in 1843 from its original location to save it from destruction -- all due to the intervention of the writer, Prosper Merimée.  The remains of the Roman amphitheatre built in the first century AD are worth a visit as well.   Towering over the city, in the midst of Saintes' old town,  is the Cathédrale St-Pierre, built in the fifteenth century on the site of a Romanesque church on the west bank of the river.

The other is Cognac, with tours available at Martell and Hennessy, a charming town to visit, and the River Charentes flowing right down its center.  The countryside around Cognac is very green and rolling for pleasant drives.  Follow the Charente on the D24 for miles between Cognac and Saintes passing by lovely villages while the beauty of the river, looking more like a wide canal, is at your side.  Not far, between Saintes and Rochefort, for those of you interested in château chambres d'hôtes is the charming Château de Crazannes, said to have been the inspiration for the children's story Puss 'n' Boots.  With its medieval origins and a perfectly preserved 11th century Keep, stays at Crazannes take you back in time while providing 21st century amenities. 

Aquitaine

The region of Aquitaine comprising five départements (Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, Gironde, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques) covers a large swath of western France from the Gironde estuary south to the Spanish border.  It envelopes France's Basque and Béarn regions, the popular Dordogne (Périgord) and, of course, an extended Atlantic coastline, and Europe's largest forest -- a forest of pine trees.

The next destination on our tour is Bordeaux, a fine and pleasant city with great parks, shopping, museums and the center of France's most prolific wine-producing areas.  Surrounded by vineyards producing such renowned wines as Pauillac, Côte de Blaye, Côte de Bourg, St-Emilion, Sauternes and Pomerol among dozens of others, and the famed wine estates of Margaux and Mouton Rothschild, Bordeaux is ideally located for those who wish to visit wineries or bike through the vineyards of the Médoc Peninsula.  We will not go into more detail about the city because on our last page is a feature article about Bordeaux which we are sure you will enjoy.

Heading southwest,  we travel to the ocean's edge at Arcachon situated on a protected lagoon, the Basin d'Arcachon, and divided into four areas:  the Summer Resort (along the sea front and popular with tourists), the Autumn Resort (the maritime quarter with fishing boats and trawlers), the Winter Resort (sheltered and pine forested with wide avenues and fine old mansions)  and the Spring Resort (that includes a sports complex and wealthy residences).   Arcachon is at the heart of commercial fishing along the south Atlantic coast of France.  For fine seafood lunches and dinners you might want to try the Patio at 10,  boulevard Plage (05.56.83.02.72), quite reasonably priced, or even less expensive are Les Genêts, 25, boulevard Général Leclerc (05.56.83.40.28) or Bayonne at 9, cours Lamarque (05.56.83.33.82).  All are found in Michelin's Red Guide. 

Arcachon is a very relaxing place for vacationers.  With a quality aquarium depicting local sea life and a museum dedicated to wildlife on the floor above, as well as a museum devoted to boats and ships of all description, one understands the importance of the Atlantic to this small city.  Four and a half miles to the south is the Dune du Pilat, a famous and enormous sand dune -- the highest in Europe -- standing at 374 feet and stretching for 1.5 miles.  But, all around Arcachon and blanketing this amazing coastal region is a pine forest, the Parc Naturel Régional des Landes de Gascogne,  reaching from the edges of Bordeaux to Biarritz and for miles and miles inland -- a region 'naturally rich, but nonetheless fragile" according to its official web site.

Choose one of several routes southward, none of which follow the coastline precisely, until you reach Bayonne at the outskirts of the grand resort of Biarritz.  The drive,  non-stop,  between Bordeaux and Biarritz is estimated at 1.5 hours, although we believe it would be a bit longer than that.  As you cross the River Adour, you will enter glamorous Biarritz which offers everything for the traveler from fine restaurants and accommodations to a casino and wide, sandy beaches.  Biarritz may also be the dining hub of this corner of France, for there are restaurants of quality everywhere.   Two hold one Michelin star:  Café de Paris at 5, place Bellevue (05.59.24.19.53) with its Bistro Bellevue and Les Platanes at 32, avenue Beausoleil (05.59.23.13.68).

Biarritz became a holiday resort in the late 19th century due to Napoléon III and the Empress Eugénie.  The neoclassical Villa Eugénie, the summer palace Napoléon built for his Empress, is now the Hôtel du Palais Biarritz and is called "La Grande Dame of the Gascony Coast".  With Eugénie in residence quite often in Biarritz, Europe's society came in droves to the city.  Villas of great elegance were built all along the seaside, and the rich and famous found Biarritz (as they do today) to be a delightful holiday destination. 

For an enthralling place to stay in Biarritz, you might be interested in Villa le Goëland, one of those stately villas by the sea, which sits on the Plateau d'Atalaye with incredible views of the ocean as well as 180°  panoramic view from Spain up the Landes Coast.  They offer three fine guest rooms, breakfasts on the terraces overlooking the sea and can help you decide from among the wide selection of good restaurants in Biarritz.

Down the coast toward Spain is St-Jean-de-Luz, a seaside town with unique charm and, once again, fine large sandy beaches.  Much newer than Biarritz as a resort, St-Jean-de-Luz was, however, an ancient fishing port.   Its history explains why the city looks fairly new -- the great fire of 1558 caused by attacking Spaniards left but one original house standing.  Called the most Basque town north of the Spanish border, St-Jean-de-Luz is bustling with activity, has an excellent port district and such attractions as Maison Louis XIV after the King who married Maria Theresa of Spain here June 9, 1660.  There are two churches, Église St-Vincent built in the 16th century and Église St-Jean-Baptiste, the most noteworthy Basque church in France, founded in the 15th century and the site of Louis XIV's marriage and the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrénées three days before the wedding.

Nearly at the Spanish border, we have traveled some six hundred kilometers -- about 375 miles -- to experience the salt air, seaside villages and towns, fresh caught seafood and wide reaches of sandy beaches receiving the warm breaking surf of the Gulf Stream.   This is Atlantic France.  We hope you have enjoyed this sojourn and that you will make a point to discover many of these destinations one day soon on your own!

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