Florian Pépellin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne take their name from their position between the sea and former salt marshes, on a coast shaped by an active fishing port and one of the finest sandy beaches on the Atlantic coast, a regular curve more than three kilometres long.
The Remblai, a seafront lined with Belle Époque villas, invites a stroll facing the ocean, while the district of La Chaume, a former fishing village of narrow lanes, has kept a more down-to-earth atmosphere around its lighthouse and the Arundel tower.
The starting point of the Vendée Globe, the solo, non-stop, unassisted round-the-world sailing race, the town lives every four years to the rhythm of this great nautical event. Its fishing port, one of the most important on the Atlantic coast, completes a strong maritime identity.
