Simon & Maria's travel blog

hills, bikes & more

  • CYCLING
  • WALKING
  • WILD CAMPING
  • SIGHTSEEING
  • SPANISH
  • ENGLISH
  • ABOUT

A week in Les Sables d’Olonne (Pays de la Loire, France)

June 22, 2018 by Maria Fernandez

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Map of Les Sables d’Olonne

I’d been looking forward to this trip like crazy. Not so much to the first eight days in Les Sables d’Olonne, but the second week in Brittany.

The first week was supposed to be a quiet affair. Simon would be attending the Speaker and Language Recognition Workshop, and I’d spend the days reading somewhere in the shade.

But, within twenty-four hours of leaving Edinburgh, we’d already rented two bikes for the whole week. So off we went to explore this part of the world before the workshop started.

So much for a quiet holiday.

Arriving at Les Sables d’Olonne

The Airbnb house we’d rented was superb. It had three bedrooms and a nice bathroom upstairs; and a large sitting room, dinning area and a well equipped kitchen downstairs, plus a courtyard where we kept the bikes.

Here it is. It’s the brown stone one on the right, with no fewer than four doors facing the pedestrian street.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Our pretty house, on the right

.
Click to see the photo gallery
.

The long beautiful promenade was just a street away from our house. And soon we discovered that one of the two lanes on the road next to it was a dedicated cycle path that stretched for many miles.

I went on it more times than I dare to admit.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Les Sables d’Olonne promenade

.

We arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne on Friday, after flying direct to Nantes and then taking the train.

There had been on and off train strikes for several weeks throughout France, but luck was on our side and we arrived without hassle.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

A street near our house

.

Most of the old streets around ours were one-way, except for bikes, that is. Bikes can go just about everywhere in Les Sables d’Olonne.

I love these splendiferous surprises.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Our way to the supermarket, exclusively for bikes

.

Les Sables d’Olonne & the sea

The weather forecast for the whole week was spectacular. In fact, after a few days we were praying for some merciful clouds.

And, curiously enough, there were no insects in town, or any of the other places we visited in the two weeks. That was another great surprise.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

A wee bird having a free shower on a hot day

.

While Simon was at the conference I explored the town on my own.

At first I’d planned to take the train down to La Rochelle, but then I realised there were plenty of things to do in Les Sables d’Olonne, not least admiring the hundreds of boats in the port.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Quai René Guiné, near our house

.

On 1 July the Golden Globe Race was due to start from Les Sables d’Olonne. That’s one of the reasons why there were so many fabulous boats everywhere.

The ones on the photo are only a small sample of what we saw.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Boats, and more boats

.

Les Sables d’Olonne & La Chaume

La Chaume is the old district on the other side of the port. The fastest way to get to it is to jump on the shuttle boat called “Passeur”.

It costs only €1.10 and is worth every cent. You can even take your bike on it.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

The “Passeur”, the shuttle to La Chaume

.

To get a panoramic view of Les Sables d’Olonne we went up this 15th century tower.

The narrow, spiral, claustrophobic stair isn’t much fun, but missing the view wasn’t an option. So up we went.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

The Tour d’Arundel

.

On the ground floor of the tower there’s the tiny and most interesting Museum of the Sea. It’s got dozens of boat models, big and small; plus a collection of maps, books, instruments and nets.

We learned a token amount about the region’s fishing history, and we’d learn a bit more about it in Douarnenez, a few days later.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Inside the Musée de la Mer

.

Those cycle paths made Les Sables d’Olonne a truly special place. At times there’d be a traffic jam on the road, and I’d overtake all the cars by leisurely pedalling on the dedicated cycle path.

If you ask me, that is Modernity.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Our never-ending cycle path

.

I spent two weeks with my camera in search of handsome boats. In the end I had so many snaps that most of them are now hiding in my hard drive.

But I couldn’t keep this one just to myself.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

A beautiful boat & La Chaume in the background

.

Around the Prieuré Saint-Nicolas

The Prieuré Saint-Nicolas is on the southern tip of La Chaume, with commanding views of the port and town.

It was first built in the 11th century, and has a long history of pillage, transformation and renovation.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

The priory of Saint Nicolas

.

At the end of the 18th century it became a fort, and seven cannons were installed next to it.

Religion and war. Will they ever go separate ways?

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Cannons outside the priory of Saint Nicolas

.

There are dozens of lighthouses dotted along the French coast. They come in all shapes and sizes.

This was one of the tallest I saw.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

One of many lighthouses in Les Sables d’Olonne

.

You can see why there are so many lighthouses. The stricking rocky coast is a constant danger to boats, and the sea is often a lot rougher than this.

It’s pretty wild in the winter, people told us.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Another lighthouse in the distance

.

Visiting the Notre Dame de Bon Port cathedral

The cathedral was just a few streets away from our house.

It’s an imposing 17th century building, somewhat trapped by the narrow streets, and the perfect place to hide from the heat.

So we paid it a visit.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Notre Dame de Bon Port, the cathedral

.

Six months before, when we were in Japan, temple hopping became our favourite pastime.

Now in France, like good atheists, we visited just about every church that came our way. I guess it’s better than going to the casinos.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Notre Dame de Bon Port, façade

.

The sea is ever-present in Les Sables d’Olonne, and its cathedral is no exception.

Like many religious buildings we saw on this trip, it’s a reminder of the daily dangers faced by fishermen and sailors.

In case you’re curious, Notre Dame de Bon Port means “Our Lady of a Safe Harbour”.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Inside the cathedral

.

The streets of Les Sables d’Olonne

What I loved most about Les Sables d’Olonne was its maze of narrow streets. Some were hardly wide enough for two bikes.

One thing intrigued me, though: how do they do the removals?

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

The wonderfully named “Rue Zig Zag”

.

When we arrived on 22 June, we were pleasantly surprised by how quiet the place was.

We mentioned it to our landlady, and she said the town would be teeming with tourists in a couple of weeks, when the official holidays started.

By then, though, we’d be back in bonnie Scotland.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

A curious house of many windows

.

But not all the dwellers in Les Sables are quiet.

The seagulls, apart from being daring and bountiful, are impossibly noisy. They seem to spend most of their time calling their friends, fighting, celebrating a catch, or just cawing for heck of it.

Like us humans, I guess.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

An elegant residential street in Les Sables d’Olonne

.

More streets

Going to the supermarket was another one of our favourite pastimes. If you ask me, that fish soup on its own was well worth the visit.

Sometimes we went on the bikes, with our rucksacks, and wearing hats and as much sun cream as we could bear. Other times we walked, and took with us one of those European trolleys you wish you could use in the UK without looking like a granny.

If only Jamie Oliver strolled around London with one of them in hand to make them fashionable.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

One of the commercial streets in Les Sables d’Olonne

.

The French summer light was magic.

When I opened the shutters in the morning, the sun would flood my bedroom with a gentle light, and I’d lay in bed, reading Maigret novels.

From my bed I could see the rooftops, the bright blue sky, and nothing else.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Houses with the typical blue shutters

.

In Les Sables d’Olonne you’re never too far from “L’enfer” (Hell). It even has a street named after it. One so narrow that your bike would get stuck in it if you tried to get in.

In Les Sables d’Olonne, Hell is the only place where you can’t take your bicycle.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

The impossibly narrow “Rue de l’Enfer” (Hell Street)

.

Cycling from Les Sables d’Olonne

One of my solitary rides took me along the coast. I rode for several miles on the wide cycle path, under the blazing sun and with no shade in sight.

After a while, I was half pedalling and half dreaming about eating my lunch under a nice tree. But there were no trees, or so I feared. And, suddenly, the Bois de Saint Jean appeared; a patch of forest with picnic table and bench included.

Sometimes life is like a fairy tale.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Les Sables d’Olonne and its long beach

.

Another ride took me to a sinister place. It was awesome, so I went twice.

The Puits d’Enfer (Pit of Hell) is one of the many spots we saw on this trip where you could easily end up at the bottom of a cliff.

In bright sunshine you can see all the crevices and holes, the rocks at the bottom and the puddles, so there’s not much room left for the imagination.

But, at sunset, the place comes to life. You stand there, above a pitch black void, wondering whether it’s a secret passage to hell.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Puits d’Enfer (Pit of Hell), just outside Les Sables d’Olonne

.

One evening, as the sun was going down, I rode south a few miles, and then turned back to see Les Sables d’Olonne in silhouette. It looked like paradise.

It reminded me of the beautiful Galician sunsets I saw as a child, when we went there on holiday to see the place where mum had been brought up.

.

Les Sables d’Olonne (France) - www.simonking.bike

Sunset over Les Sables d’Olonne

.

Alas, I had no lights on my bike, so I had to race back to the house before it got dark.

That same week we explored another intriguing place: the marshes a few miles north of Les Sables d’Olonne.

.

Our 2018 holiday in France

Cycling to the salt marshes north of Les Sables d’Olonne (Pays de la Loire): 24 June, 2018.

Cycling from Les Sables d’Olonne to Sainte Foy (Pays de la Loire): 28 June, 2018.

Walking around Douarnenez (Brittany): 30 June, 2018.

Day 1 walking on the GR34 (Brittany): 1 July, 2018.

Day 2 walking on the GR34 (Brittany): 2 July, 2018.

Day 3 walking on the GR34 (Brittany): 3 July, 2018.

Day 4 walking on the GR34 (Brittany): 4 July, 2018.

A visit to Quimper (Brittany): 4 & 5 July, 2018.

A tour of Nantes (Pays de la Loire): 5 & 6 July, 2018.

.

.

I took all the photos with the Panasonic.

.

Filed Under: Abroad, Blog, Sightseeing Tagged With: Cycling, Walking

PRIVACY & COOKIES TERMS DISCLOSURE CONTACT

Copyright © Simon & Maria’s Travel Blog · 2024 · www.simonking.bike · All rights reserved
Designed by Maria Fernandez


VISIT OUR OTHER SITES:

LEARN ENGLISH WITH MARIA

LEARN SPANISH WITH MARIA

SPEECH ZONE