The Vendée

New from Bradt is the thoroughly updated second edition of The Vendée, the only English-language guidebook to focus on this part of Pays de la Loire. Also covered in this guide to an increasingly popular French region are Nantes, Pornic, La Rochelle and the Île de Ré. Written by Angela Bird, who for almost 50 years has owned a home in the region, and award-winning travel writer Murray Stewart, and updated by adventurer Ed Cooper, Bradt s guidebook offers comprehensive coverage of a beguiling area, detailing everything from family holidays to walks, cycling, local cuisine and history. The Vendée offers all the benefits of a destination that is well established with both French and British visitors, with easy access and short drive times via UK ferries adding to its appeal. Popular with campers and self-caterers, the Vendée s sunny climate and 140 km of sandy beaches, plus its tree-lined canals and open marshland, make for a diverse outdoor playground. Bradt s The Vendée includes suggestions for walks and the best places for birdwatching. This goes hand in hand with a new regional policy of promoting recreation premised on nature and wellbeing. Thanks to the authors rich personal history with the area, the guide also reveals the quirks and themes which give the Vendée its own distinct character, as well as straying just beyond the area s boundaries to incorporate La Rochelle and Nantes, both entry points for those arriving by air and both offering urban distractions for the occasional rainy day. Although the region has no true cities, or even large towns, the guide includes details of the many local museums which provide easily accessible insights into the bloody history of an area which has, at times, been central to the evolution of modern-day France. New elements in this edition of Bradt s The Vendée include expanded coverage of architecture, the Vendée sections of a 1, 300-km Atlantic cycle route (La Vélodysée), France s most dazzling son-et-lumière show and new restaurant listings that reflect the region s growing reputation for wine, collection of Michelin-starred eateries and long history as a paradise for seafood-lovers.

Introduction

PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION

Chapter 1 Background Information

Geography, Climate, Natural history, History, Government and politics , Economy, People, Language,

Religion, Education, Culture, Sport

Chapter 2 Practical Information

When to visit, Highlights, Suggested itineraries, Tourist information, Tour operators, Red tape, Getting there and away, Health, Safety, Women travellers, Travelling with a disability, LGBTQIA+ travellers, Travelling with kids, What to take, Money and budgeting, Getting around, Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Public

holidays, Shopping, Arts and entertainment, Sports and activities, Opening times, Media and communications, Cultural etiquette, Travelling positively

PART TWO THE VENDÉE

Chapter 3 Northwest Vendée and the Islands

Bouin, Beauvoir-sur-Mer, Île de Noirmoutier, La Barre-de-Monts and Fromentine, Bois-de-Céné, La Garnache,

Challans, Sallertaine, Notre-Dame-de-Monts, St-Jean-de-Monts, Soullans, Commequiers, St-Hilaire-de-Riez, St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, Île d’Yeu

Chapter 4 La Roche-sur-Yon, Les Sables-d’Olonne and the Bas-Bocage

La Roche-sur-Yon, Nesmy, Chaillé-sousles-Ormeaux, Le Poiré-sur-Vie, Aizenay, St-Étienne-du-Bois, Beaulieu-sous-la-Roche, La Mothe-Achard, Apremont, Coëx, St-Révérend, Brétignolles-sur-Mer, Brem-sur-Mer, Les Sables-d’Olonne area, Talmont-St-Hilaire , Jard-sur-Mer, Avrillé, Moutiers-les-Mauxfaits

Chapter 5 Southern Vendée: The Marais Poitevin

The southern coast, Inland: Luçon and the dry marshes, La Venise Verte: ‘Green Venice’, The Marais Poitevin beyond the Vendée

Chapter 6 Pouzauges, Fontenay-le-Comte and the Haut-Bocage

St-Michel-Mont-Mercure, Pouzauges, St-Prouant, Mouilleron-en-Pareds, Bazogesen-Pareds, Chantonnay, La Châtaigneraie, Vouvant, Mervent, Faymoreau, Fontenayle-Comte, Nieul-sur-l’Autise

Chapter 7 Clisson, Les Herbiers and the Vendée Wars

Clisson (Loire-Atlantique), Tiffauges, Mortagne-sur-Sevre, St-Laurent-sur-Sevre, Mallievre, Les Épesses, La Gaubretiere, Les Herbiers, Montaigu, Chavagnes-en-Paillers, Les Brouzils, Rocheserviere, Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne, Les Essarts, Mouchamps

PART THREE NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE VENDÉE

Chapter 8 La Rochelle and the Île de Ré

La Rochelle, Île de Ré

Chapter 9 Nantes, Pays de Retz and the Loire Estuary

Nantes, The Pays de Retz, Northwards across the estuary, From the ocean back to Nantes: the Loire’s south bank

Appendix 1 Language

Appendix 2 Further Information

Index