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Travel guide
The Vendée
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to September
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Welcome
The Vendée, in a few days
The Vendée has 250 km of coast, two islands, a marsh you travel by boat and a show park that draws more than two million visitors a year. You cross the Passage du Gois at low tide to reach Noirmoutier between refuge beacons, and take the ferry to the coves of the Île d'Yeu.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Puy du Fou · a full dayA park of full-scale shows rather than rides: gladiators in a 6,000-seat arena, Vikings rising from the water, hundreds of birds of prey overhead.
- Afternoon · Vouvant free · about 1 h 30The Vendée's only village among France's most beautiful, on a bend of the Mère, with the 13th-century Mélusine tower and a finely carved Romanesque church.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Les Prateaux€150 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Marais Poitevin by boat · about 1 h 30Glide by flat-bottomed boat through the Green Venice, a maze of canals dug by medieval monks, under pollarded ash trees with herons for company.
- Afternoon · Maillezais Abbey · about 1 hAn abbey on a former island in the marsh, made a cathedral in the 14th century, where Rabelais stayed in the 1520s.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Atlantic Hôtel & Spa€160 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Les Sables-d'Olonne free · half a dayA 3 km curve of beach along the Remblai promenade and a working fishing port; every four years in November, the Vendée Globe starts here.
- Afternoon · Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie free · about 1 h 30A sardine port at the mouth of the Vie, where the catch still lands from May to October, with the Vélodyssée cycle route nearby.
🛏️ Where to sleep · La Villa Gallo-Romaine€180 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Passage du Gois and Noirmoutier free · half a dayA 4.1 km causeway that floods at every high tide; drive or cycle it in a window of about three hours around low tide.
- Afternoon · Île d'Yeu · a full dayAn island 17 km offshore, sandy in the north, granite in the south, with the Vieux-Château on its rock and the port of La Meule.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Calme des Pins€130 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €103 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/vendee
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.