Les Sables-d'Olonne

Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated on the coast between La Rochelle and Saint-Nazaire, near the coastal terminus of the A87 that connects it and nearby communities to La Roche-sur-Yon, Cholet, and Angers to the northeast. The nearest major metropolitan center of France, to Les Sables-d'Olonne, is Nantes, to the north (approximately 105 km, by road).^[4] Les Sables-d'Olonne station has rail connections to Paris, La Roche-sur-Yon and Nantes.

It is at the level of administrative division in the French Republic of a commune and is a sub-prefecture of the Department of Vendée.^[5][6]

Les Sables-d'Olonne has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) closely bordering on a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb). The average annual temperature in Les Sables-d'Olonne is 13.2 °C (55.8 °F). The average annual rainfall is 746.7 mm (29.40 in) with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 19.8 °C (67.6 °F), and lowest in January, at around 7.0 °C (44.6 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Les Sables-d'Olonne was 40.5 °C (104.9 °F) on 18 July 2022; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −8.3 °C (17.1 °F) on 12 February 2012.

Les Sables-d'Olonne (pronounced [le sabl dolɔn]) is French for "the sands of Olonne". It was founded in 1218 from Havre d'Olonne by Savary I de Mauléon, the Lord of Mauléon, Sénéchal of Poitou and prince of Talmont.^{[citation needed]} Its history is tied to the ocean for which it has served as a port and point of maritime commerce.^{[citation needed]} Louis XI separated Les Sables d'Olonne from the town of Olonne in 1472.^{[citation needed]} It became the largest cod-fishing port in France, with 14,000 inhabitants, in the 17th century.^{[citation needed]} During the French Revolution, unlike the surrounding Vendée, the city supported the Republic, and so was often besieged—unsuccessfully, because of its port.^{[citation needed]} The current local tourism industry traces its roots to bathing establishments, first begun in 1825. Rail service reached Les Sables on 29 December 1866, via the line from La Roche-sur-Yon, Bressuire, Saumur, and Tours;^{[citation needed]} express service to and from Paris would arrive in 1971.^{[citation needed]} The city's port served as a base port for American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.^[9] Germany occupied Les Sables d'Olonne during World War II^{[citation needed]} and, upon evacuation of that army at war's end, the German army made an effort to destroy the port, and mined the harbor.^{[citation needed]}

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Les Sables-d'Olonne proper, in its geography at the given years. The populations of Olonne-sur-Mer and Château-d'Olonne, absorbed in 2019, are not included.

The Vendée Globe yacht race, which takes place every four years, starts and ends at Les Sables-d'Olonne.^{[citation needed]}

The Vendée Air Show has been held on the beach "La Grande Plage" on three occasions, first in 2017, then in 2019, and most recently in 2022.^[13]

The Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix is a municipal museum situated in a 17th-century building that is devoted to modern and contemporary art, and that has "Musée de France" status.^{[citation needed]} It includes works of Gaston Chaissac (1910–1964) and Victor Brauner (1903–1966).^{[citation needed][why?]}

Les Sables-d'Olonne is the setting for 1948 novel Les Vacances de Maigret [fr], by Georges Simenon.^{[citation needed]}

The town is the birthplace of pirate François l'Olonnais.^{[citation needed][why?]}

Les Sables-d'Olonne is twinned with:^[14]

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  The channel, view from the tower St-Clair
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  The channel, from the west dock
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  Promenade de l'Amiral Lafargue
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  The priory St-Nicolas
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  The tower St-Clair

• Communes of the Vendée department

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Les Sables-d'Olonne.

• Official website (in French)
• Les Sables-d'Olonne, Vendee Globe Race (in English)
• Les Sables-d'Olonne Tourist Board (in French)