Camping Les Vallons de l'Océan

Medieval towns, beaut beaches and old and famed salt marshes are the lie of the land around here, along with a good range of local biking and hiking trails and wildlife watching around the coast and the Guérande peninsula. Have a potter around Pornic first, for those seafood restaurants and its old port; next up should be Guérande, for more restaurants, fifteenth-century walls and the Collegiate Church of Saint Aubin. For eating alfresco in town, the cafés and restaurants around the church are top picks. If you're interested in how the Guérande peninsula became a salt scavenging spot, the salt marsh museum in Batz-sur-Mer tells its salty tale, and if you want to buy samples, the marsh workers sell coarse salt and sea salt flakes around the peninsula from June to September. Another famed destination in the region is the island of Noirmoutier, with twelfth-century castle, old port, Friday market, and sailing, fishing and windsurfing in its waters. Plenty of cycle and walking paths meander around the island too, so hire a bike to take around the Chaise forest, or pick up some info from the local tourist office about where best to islandly go.