Le Domaine de Bellevue

Time to hit the seaside… a half-hour drive will take you to Saint Gilles Croix de Vie for a splendid sandy beach and watersports including windsurfing, surfing and scuba diving (novices welcome, as instruction is on hand). Boat trips to Yeu island from the harbour are popular, as are days spent zooming down the waterslides of the Atlantic Toboggan waterpark, just north of the town. More activity? You may like to try jetskiing, banana boating or mountain biking at Planete Racing (five minutes’ drive), or maybe pedalling your way along the 10-kilometre vélorail track at Commequiers (10 minutes). Perhaps a canoe trip through the Route du Sel salt marshes (20 minutes) will be to your taste, or the adrenaline-packed antics including treetop trails, water jumps and paintballing at the Indian Forest adventure park (40 minutes)...? Cram a little culture in with a visit to the Renaissance château in Apremont (10 minutes’ drive), or give in to your wild streak by setting off to Planète Sauvage safari park (40 minutes). Even if history never did it for you at school, the spectacular shows at Puy du Fou theme park (an hour) are well worth the trip.