Relax in the evenings outside "Buddleia" a self-contained Gite which has been tastefully renovated out of a former feedstore previously a working dairy farm. Idyllic surroundings, a beautiful and quiet countryside, but not too far away from both towns and beaches.

Enjoy the grounds: Staying in this wonderful part of France, the Vendee, you can expect good weather, excellent countryside, wonderful food and lots of things to do. If however you want to stay around La Maison Neuve, it has a lovely garden and plenty of space to enjoy.

Vendee Golf: at St Jean-de-Monts (20 minute drive) Tel:+0039 (02) 51588273
A partly links-style course along the seaside with pine trees and dunes. On the Atlantic coast some 60/70km south-west of Nantes. 18 holes 5962 metres Par 72. Short 5 hole course. Practice ground and putting greens.

Vendee Beach: You could spend the whole holiday just enjoying some of France’s best beaches! Sloping gently into the sea, they are perfect for swimming and ideal for watersports, or just for stretching out and soaking up the sun.

Vendee Cycling: The Vendee coast has two great advantages to offer cyclists: its hot climate and its lack of hills! Cycle paths are evident throughout the region. There are several cycle routes nearby where you may spends endless quiet hours in the flat and quiet countryside

History of the Vendee

The Vendee region slowly recovered from the devastation of the Vendée Wars. Vast areas of pine and "chêne vert" (holm oak) were planted from the mid-19th century to anchor the shifting sands along the coast around St-Jean-de-Monts, Les Sables-d'Olonne, and Longeville. The coming of the railways in the 1860s helped to develop tourism around the ports of St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and Les Sables-d'Olonne where you can still see some fine examples of Victorian-period seaside architecture. The railways also provided a means of escape for many of the inhabitants of marshland farms, leading to a rural exodus around the turn of the century. From the late 18th until the mid-20th century there was a coal-mining industry at Faymoreau-les-Mines, north-east of Fontenay-le-Comte.

For more than four years of World War II the Vendée was occupied by German forces, who commandeered the coastline and denied access to many villages along it. Vestiges of their reinforcements can be seen on the beaches at Pont-Jaunay, Jard and other places.

Tourism has today taken the lead as the county's main money-spinner. Close behind come agriculture (beef and dairy cattle, pigs and poultry in the woods and hills of the "bocage"; cereal-growing in the plains; sheep and cattle in the marshes; and early vegetables on the island of Noirmoutier); fishing (sardines, tuna, sole and langoustines, oysters and mussels); manufacture of clothes and shoes; boat-building (St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is the home of the world-famous Bénéteau yachts); food-canning; and the construction of agricultural machinery.

(This a condensed extract from Angela Birds Excellent Book - Click Here for the link)