Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town of western France, by the Atlantic Ocean.
It is a commune and a sous-préfecture of the Vendée département.
read full wikipedia reference about Les Sables d'Olonne, France
The area around LES
SABLES-D'OLONNE and northwards has been heavily developed
with Costa-style apartment blocks. If you're passing through,
though, it's worth having a look at the surprisingly good modern
art section in the Musée
de l'Abbaye Ste-Croix
on rue Verdun (mid-June to mid-Sept Tues-Sun 10am-noon &
2-6.30pm; rest of year guided visits by arrangement only; tel
02.51.32.01.16, free Sun) and a collection of classic autos at
the Musée d'Automobile , 8km southeast of town on the
road to Talmont (mid-March to June & Sept daily 9.30am-noon
& 2-6pm; July & Aug daily 9.30am-7pm; rest of year Sat
& Sun only 9.30am-noon & 2-6pm). The main reason to stay,
though, is the town's vast curve of clean, beautiful beach ,
which lures hordes in the summer.
Hotels get booked up well
in advance for July and August, but a couple worth trying are
Le Merle Blanc , near the beach at 59 av Aristide-Briand (tel
02.51.32.00.35), and Hôtel les Olonnes , 25 rue de la Patrie
(tel 02.51.32.04.12, fax 02.51.23.72.63), with a restaurant (closed
Sun evening & Mon). Budget options include a beachside HI
hostel , 3km from the centre at 92 rue du Sémaphore (tel
02.51.95.76.21, fax 02.40.20.08.94; closed Oct-March), a bus
line #2 ride away in the direction of "Côte Sauvage"
(stop "Armandèche"); a municipal campsite (tel
02.51.95.10.42, fax 02.51.33.94.04; closed Dec-March) on rue
des Roses, 400m from the beach; and several more campsites in
the Pironnière district, 3km south of town on the D949.
For more accommodation options, ask at the tourist office on 1 promenade Joffre (June & Sept Mon-Sat
9am-12.15pm & 2-6.30pm, Sun 10am-12.30pm; July & Aug
daily 9am-7pm; tel 02.51.96.85.85, fax 02.51.96.85.71).
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