Camping Le Sable D'Or

Days at the beach await: the sands of La Tranche sur Mer stretch out for 13 kilometres, for days of beach basking, sandcastle building or getting active with kitesurfing and windsurfing. Kids' clubs, miniature golf, the L'Auniscéane waterpark, and lively summer entertainment are also in town; ask for details at the Tranche sur Mer tourist office by the church in the main square. Bike hire and cycle trails through Vendée forest are a couple of kilometres away, including the marked path of the Sentier de la Casse aux Lièvres of two and a half kilometres, and the Sentier du Bout des Cabanes of just over three. If you'd rather remain water-based, a big lake with a sailing school and lessons is just to the north of La Tranche sur Mer. Small swashbucklers will like a day at the L'Île aux Pirates amusement park, five kilometres from the site, while mini zoologists and animal fans can zip along to the famed Zoo des Sables d'Olonne (35 minutes' drive), home to monkeys, lions and a few dozen other species.