Camping le Moulin de la Salle

Days out with the kids your main concern? Start with a trip to the Zoo des Sables-d’Olonnes (15 minutes’ drive), where endangered cheetahs and red pandas are housed in spacious enclosures mirroring their natural habitats. The enchanting Museum du Coquillage (five minutes) should fascinate most youngsters with its collection of seashells, fragile corals and stuffed sharks. There are more aquatic beasts (these ones very much alive) from rays to colourful clown fish to be seen at the Aquarium de Vendée (20 minutes), and the whole family can learn about the life of bees and the honey-making process at the interactive Folie de Finfarine (25 minutes). And that’s all before you’ve even set foot on a Vendée beach. You can go rock pooling with the kids and watch spectacular sunsets at Sauveterre Beach (10 minutes), or get the kids up on a surfboard off Plage des Dunes (15 minutes). Les Sables-d’Olonne’s Grande Plage (10 minutes) is a popular spot with lots of facilities and a choice of restaurants and cafés along its seafront promenade.