Le Logis de l'Aubonnière

If you want to carry on feeling historical, it’s an hour’s drive to the theme park of Puy du Fou, where live shows and exhibits bring Vikings, jousting knights, rioting revolutionaries and Roman gladiators to life. If wildlife’s more your thing, the complex includes a trail-filled nature reserve you can wander alongside fallow deer, eagles and wolves. Real waves are within easy reach: it’s around half an hour to the beaches of La Tranche-sur-Mer and 40 minutes to Jard and Longueville, all with wide sands, big dunes and watersports aplenty. If you’re interested in exploring the waters inland, head half an hour to Talmont-Saint-Hilaire to canoe and kayak the Payré river; or an hour to the leisure park at Mervent for river stuff plus hiking and mountain biking. Nature abounds in this area where rivers meet with sea in marshes and wetlands: the national nature reserve of Saint-Denis-du-Payré (25 minutes) is a top spot to spot godwits, lapwings and peregrines while Esnandes, an hour away is a hub for exploring the bay of Aiguillon’s diverse coastal ecosystem.