Vendée’s historical theme park
he French coastal region called the Vendée is a fun place. Located south of Brittany, it has Atlantic beaches that stretch for miles. Campsites are plenty to offer families a great stay amidst nature. Sailors and local fishermen give the ocean a saltier texture, especially at Les Sables d’Olonne, from where the round-the-world sailing race Vendée Globe’s lunatics sets out.
At Le Puy-du-Fou in Les Epesses, offers Europe’s best historical theme park. And it is located right in the middle of the country side with its beautiful landscape of pastures, woods and hedges.
The park is famous for historical reasons; the Vendée war happened when, in 1793, poor peasants in western France had had enough of the French Revolution. They organised themselves, fought Republican soldiers, won, lost and were subsequently massacred for their impertinence in obstructing the progress in the name of liberty.
“The Vendée will be burned, devastated and depopulated,” said the revolutionary government at the time. Conservative numbers put the final death toll near 200,000. Execution techniques included ropping naked men and women together and then throwing them in the Loire. These were called “Republican marriages”.
These are useful information for visitors:
Historial de la Vendée, Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne. Call: 0033 251 476161 or visit www.vendee.fr. Opening days are Tues-Sun.
Refuge de Grasla, Les Brouzils, Call; 0033 251 429620 or visit: www.refugedegrasla.fr. It’s open everyday until September 13.
Logis de la Chabotterie, St Sulpice-le-Verdon. Call: 0033 251 428100 or visit: www.vendee.fr. Open daily.
The nearest airport is at Nantes and Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) offers service from Liverpool and East Midlands. Brittany Ferries (0871 244 0744; www.brittany-ferries.co.uk) offers a Portsmouth-St Malo shuttle. It’s a two hours and 30 minutes drive from St Malo to Montaigu.
We would like to thank www.telegraph.co.uk for quotes used in this article.