Coastal Road Trip from Les Sables d'Olonne to Nantes, France

Do some early morning surfing, swimming, or a relaxing stroll along a lovely beach with some world war 2 bunkers. A short drive from Les Sables d'Olonne center the natural beaches of Sauveterre is much nicer than the tourist beaches in town.

Although crepes and cider are originally from Brittany, both taste great after the beach. We sat down at the terrace looking on the port of Sables d'Olonne and enjoyed some savoury crepes, brut cider and coffee. Good food and friendly service.

Walk off the crepes by continuing around the port to the main beach. Les Sables-d'Olonne is a touristy seaside town but actually has some nice architecture and the beach is spectacular even when packed. Les Sables-d'Olonne is also where the Vendee Globe sailing race begins and ends.

Drive over to the other side of the port to connect eventually to the Route de la Mer (Coastal Road). The idea here is to take your time and enjoy the sights and to stop for photos, snacks or a walk at any of the charming little seaside villages.

If you want you can continue on the back roads but we decided to make a bit of time.

A place where we had to stop and take a couple photos because this perfectly designed and distributed vineyard with stone farmhouses and barns was just too nice to simply pass by.

Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie seems to be another fairly touristy town so we stopped just south near a residential area called Le Longeais and stretched the legs on the dunes and checked out the beach. A canal which connects to the estuary of the Vie river passes through this area and people were canoeing, something we will hopefully do on the next visit.

We avoided the traffic that was centered around the town and took the road around the outskirts to continue north towards Saint Jean de Monts

Great views from the bridge! If things work out right you have calculated the arrival at the island at low tide so you can cross back over to the mainland via Le Gois otherwise you have to come back over the bridge.

We were sure that the scent of flowers that overwhelmed the car and the entire area for kilometers was lavender but apparently the island is known for its mimosa plantations as well as Bonnotte Potatoes, and sea salt (fleur de sel, flower of salt) production which has been valued in european cuisine and commerce for centuries.

Le Passage de Goisis a natural, passage flooded twice a day by the high tide. It has interesting history. To cross over it has to be 1.5 hours on each side of low tides. We got there at low tide and there where locals fishing for clams in the sea mud and not too many tourists or cars crossing over to the mainland. In 2011 the start of the Tour of France (2011 Grand Départ) cycling race will begin on the Passage du Gois.

There are a couple bar/restaurants on the mainland side of the Passage du Gois however, its best to grab a couple takeaway cans of beer and sit down on the causeway and chill and watch the tide rising and sun set.

There are a lot of back road routes to take to Nantes, we took the sjust followed the signs and got there fine, passing through some nice villages on the way.

Located in a hip area of Nantes of the la Rue Joffre and walking distance from everything, this is probably one of the best hotel options in Nantes city center with comfortable rooms and interesting mix of modern and historic design. WiFI, helpful staff, parking in the area difficult but there is a large underground parking nearby.

A classy restaurant in the city center of Nantes. Very tastefully designed, feels almost like eating at friend´s very nice house. A perfect place for a nice meal with the traditional French cuisine experience. Superb desserts and like any restaurant in France the wine is over priced.

At night the lighting of the "Castle of the Dukes of Brittany" gives the castle a new spectacular feel. 15 years of restoration was completed on this castel in 2007. Nantes was the historic capital and heart of Brittany until 1941 and a lot of people are still not happy about this political change up.

There are plenty of bars nearby Le Petit Bacchus but we walked off dinner passing by the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne and headed back to La Rue Joffre area. La Maison Cafe is a very hip bar with multiple rooms, each one desigend in a different over the top vintage, kitsch motif, we chilled on the outdoor patio until close.