Chateau de Chinon

The Chateau de Chinon - Chinon Castle - is not in the Vendée, so why write about it?

Well, it merits a mention in my Vendée blog simply because it played a part in the Wars Of The Vendée. In 1793 , during the Wars of the Vendée, Chinon Castle was actually occupied by Vendéens for a time. The castle had pretty much been abandoned prior to this period and it, sadly, went back to that state after the Vendéens left. It was Emperor Napoleon III of France who later stepped in and began a partial restoration.

Read more about Chinon Castle and other medieval castles in France. If you've not been to Chinon then this great slideshow of Chinon Castle will give you a flavour of the place.

We were blessed with the opportunity of visiting Chinon Castle and I have the most colourful memories of that day :)

Vendée Beaches, Vendée Waves

Vendée waves - a wonderful sight!

Vendée beaches are in my opinion amongst the best in France. This photograph is of the wide expanse of beach that stretches for miles from La Tranche Sur Mer northwards up and past La Terriere.

Many Vendée beaches hold the blue flag award for cleanliness of both the sea and the beach itself. On warm Sundays during Spring and Summer a common site on Vendée beaches is that of families sat in happy groups enjoying a picnic.

On some Vendée beaches, usually where there are long stretches of coastline where overcrowding is never an issue, there are sections where naturism is allowed - what the French call plages naturistes. These stretches of beach are signposted. With 250km of beaches in the Vendée and over 2,500 hours of sunshine each year, it's not surprising that many French naturists are attracted to the area with its soft sandy beaches and natural sand dunes.

Vendée Medieval Garden Flower

Flowers in bloom in the sunshine are always a joy to see and in the Vendée there are plenty of opportunities for this.

Sunflowers are the most common of flowers in the Vendée I suppose but in a quiet corner of Bazoges-en-Pareds there is the most beautiful medieval garden.

This photograph was taken on a delightful summer's day in that very garden - you can see the historic pigeonniere in the background.