This new title from Bradt is the only English-language guide to focus on
Pays de la Loire: The Vendée and surrounding area including Pornic, La
Rochelle, Île de Ré and Nantes, an increasingly popular part of France.
Written by award-winning travel writer Murray Stewart and Angela Bird,
who for almost 50 years has owned a home in the region, it offers
comprehensive coverage of this beguiling area, with details on
everything from family holidays to walks, cycling, local cuisine and
history. Thanks to the authors' long history with the area, the guide
also reveals the quirks and themes which give the Vendée its own
distinct character, as well as straying just beyond the area's
boundaries to incorporate La Rochelle and Nantes, both entry points for
those arriving by air and both offering urban distractions for the
occasional rainy day. The Vendée offers all the benefits of a
well-established destination, both with French and British visitors,
with easy access times from the UK by ferry adding to its appeal.
Popular with campers and self-caterers, its sunny climate and 140km of
sandy beaches, combined with tree-lined canals and open marshland, make
for a diverse outdoor playground. Bradt's The Vendée and surrounding
area includes information on suggested walks and cycleways and also
summarises the best places for bird-watching. The region has no true
cities, or even large towns, but the guide includes details of the many
local museums which provide easily accessible insight into the bloody
history of an area which has, at times, been central to the evolution of
modern-day France.
