Château la Forêt

You don’t have to be an amateur Tour de France competitor to explore this part of the Vendée – you can make the 10-minute drive to Lac du Jaunay for tons of hiking trails (including a 12-kilometre jaunt starting in La Chapelle-Hermier), or venture as far as Les Sables d’Olonne where you can join a boat tour of the salt marshes. While in Les Sables, taking to the water is a must. The seaside town is the starting point of the Vendée Global solo race, so it stands to reason that this is a prime spot for learning to sail. There’s more to the town than the ocean though: visit the Museum of Shells, explore the Sainte-Croix abbey or take the kids to the Sables zoo. There’s loads more for the kids to get their teeth into – less than five minutes from the site, Grand Défi will keep them entertained for ages, with tree-top adventuring, paintball, laser tag and pony rides. If that’s not enough for them, they can play at giants in Vendée Miniature or spend a day at the Puy du Fou historical theme park, just under an hour away.