La Vendée - the best beaches

[Benjamin]

If you or your friends are wondering where to go on holiday you might be interested in the following which I've lifted from inthevendee.com.

The Vendee: 1st department of France for Blue Flags

The prize rewards the efforts put in place to protect the Vendéen coastline

With 9 common labeled Blue Flag in 2008, the Vendee became the first department of France, before the Var, Herault and Charente-Maritime.

Awarded to only 78 communes and 242 beaches this year, the Blue

Flag is awarded to candidates on the basis of four criteria:

environment, waste and water management, education and public

awareness.

The winners not only reward the efforts put in place to

protect and enhance the Vendéen coastline , but also the work

municipalities make to educate the public to respect nature.

The Vendee, the first tourist destination of the Atlantic coast, is more than ever as a department to the environment.

The municipality of Saint Hilaire de Riez deserves special

mention, it is celebrating its 20th anniversary of winning a Blue Flag!

The 9 vendéennes communes labeled Blue Flag are:

• Saint-Jean-de-Monts,

• Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez,

• La Tranche-sur-Mer,

• Talmont-Saint-Hilaire,

• L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer,

• La Barre-de-Monts,

• Longeville-sur-Mer,

• Notre Dame de Monts,

• Jard-sur-Mer.

27-05-2008

[Kylie]

Not only are they blue flag but there is loads of space even in the summer months, we rent out our house and our clients love the beaches of the Vendee. The great thing is that they are so unspoilt and no tacky shops etc, just sand and sea - FAB!!

[Frederick]

I am glad to see that St Jean de Monts is top of this list as a while back they had a problem with campervan users parking up at one end of the prom and inconsiderate so and so's were taking to dumping their chemical toilet contents into the sea by night ...They must have come down hard on that practice....thankfully . If its quiet beaches you want then the beach at the La Faute S Mer end of the streatch between there and La Tranche  in a good one...Park under the treees near the garden center walk over the open ground through the dunes onto the beach ...loads of room ...If its a pic- nic lunch  in the shade under the trees in the forrest ... then then a few yards onto the beach....  Longeville is the one ....Contratulations to the Vendee ... and they let us park  for free ! .......we are lucky people !  

[Russethouse]

I like La Tranche and Longeville but Jard sur Mer is my favorite. The first time I went to the beach it was so quiet I wondered if we had wandered into some forbidden area. Theres a house that overlooks the beach that I like the look of too, it's called 'Titize' [:)]