Full Description
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 France's most dazzling son-et-lumière show and new restaurant listings that reflect the region's growing reputation for wine and Michelin-starred eateries, as well as its long history as a paradise for seafood-lovers.
Contents
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
