Camping Les Sorinières

Surfers flock to the France's Atlantic coast and whether you’re a pro or a novice wav=-rider, you’ll find numerous hire shops and tuition centres in seaside spots like Sables d’Olonne and Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (half an hour and 50 minutes). There’s also a throng of equestrian centres, offering you the opportunity to gallop along the wide sandy beaches or trek through the inner wetlands, while the flat coastal roads and cooling sea breezes make it tempting turf for cyclists too. If you’re interested in exploring the landscape in more detail, Saint-Denis-du-Payré is home to an excellent wetlands centre, where you can take guided walks or make your own way along stilted trails to spot herons, teal and sponbills. For wildlife of a somewhat wilder kind, the fab oceanside zoo at Sables d’Olonne houses 40-odd endangered species including monkeys, penguins and lions, while the multi-coloured array of underwater life at Aquarium de Vendée near Talmont-Saint-Hilaire seems like it belongs to another planet altogether. Further afield, but easily doable for a day trip or two, the white sandy beaches, elegant fishing villages and forested bike trails of Île de Ré are around an hour and a half’s drive away.