Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

and

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

on the Atlantic coast of western France. A

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

of the department of

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

, it has the administrative level of commune. On 1 January 2019, the municipalities of Olonne-sur-Mer, Château-d'Olonne and Les Sables-d'Olonne merged, retaining the latter name.

Location and geography

Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated on the coast between

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

and

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

, near the coastal terminus of the A87 that connects it and nearby communities to

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is '' ...

, Cholet, and

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

to the northeast. The nearest major metropolitan center of France, to Les Sables-d'Olonne, is

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, to the north (approximately 105 km, by road). 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 Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfb'') closely bordering on a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(''Csb''). The average annual temperature in Les Sables-d'Olonne is . The average annual rainfall is with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Les Sables-d'Olonne was on 18 July 2022; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 12 February 2012.

History

Les Sables-d'Olonne () 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 Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...

and prince of Talmont. Its history is tied to the ocean for which it has served as a port and point of maritime commerce.

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

separated Les Sables d'Olonne from the town of Olonne in 1472. It became the largest cod-fishing port in France, with 14,000 inhabitants, in the 17th century. During the French Revolution, unlike the surrounding

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is '' ...

, Bressuire, Saumur, and

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

; express service to and from Paris would arrive in 1971. The city's port served as a base port for American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Germany occupied Les Sables d'Olonne during World War II and, upon evacuation of that army at war's end, the German army made an effort to destroy the port, and mined the harbor.

Population

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.

Interests and events

The Vendée Globe yacht race, which takes place every four years, starts and ends at Les Sables-d'Olonne. 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. 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. It includes works of Gaston Chaissac (1910–1964) and

Victor Brauner Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealism (art), surrealist movement. Early life He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufac ...

(1903–1966). Les Sables-d'Olonne is the setting for 1948 novel ', by Georges Simenon. The town is the birthplace of

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

François l'Olonnais.

Twin towns – sister cities

Les Sables-d'Olonne is twinned with: * Niceville, Florida, United States * Gourcy, Burkina Faso * A Laracha, Spain *

Murat Murat may refer to: Places Australia * Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia * Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area France * Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal Elsew ...

, France * Schwabach, Germany * Worthing, England, United Kingdom

Gallery

Sables-Olonne-entree-port1.jpg, The channel, view from the tower St-Clair Sables-Olonne-entree-port2.jpg , The channel, from the west dock Sables-Olonne-plage1.jpg, Promenade de l'Amiral Lafargue Sables-Olonne-prieure1.jpg, The priory St-Nicolas Sables-Olonne-chateau1.jpg, The tower St-Clair