The bottom end of the Loire and the coast it runs into. Nantes was the seat of the Dukes of Brittany and is now the most inventive city in western France, thanks to a permanent art trail and a workshop that builds a rideable mechanical elephant. Upstream, Angers holds the Apocalypse Tapestry — 100 metres of fourteenth-century weaving — and Saumur's white-stone château sits above troglodyte wine caves. The Vendée coast is 250 km of flat sand and pine, with Île de Noirmoutier reachable at low tide by a road that the sea covers twice a day, and Les Sables-d'Olonne launching the Vendée Globe.
- Nantes — the Machines de l'Île and the ducal château
- The Apocalypse Tapestry, Angers
- Saumur and the troglodyte cellars
- Île de Noirmoutier and the Passage du Gois
- The Vendée beaches and Les Sables-d'Olonne
- Le Mans and its Roman walls
- Best time to go
- June–September for the coast; April–October for the châteaux and the Loire à Vélo. The Passage du Gois can only be crossed around low water — check the tide board.
- Getting there
- TGV Paris–Nantes 2h, Paris–Angers 1h30. Nantes Atlantique airport. The Loire à Vélo cycle route runs the length of the region on the flat.
Headline places
What france.fr leads with in Pays de la Loire.
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Les Machines de l'Île A 12 m mechanical elephant that carries fifty passengers -
The Apocalypse Tapestry 100 metres of fourteenth-century weaving, the largest to survive anywhere -
Château de Saumur The white fortress from the Très Riches Heures, above the Loire -
Fontevraud Abbey The largest monastic city in Europe, and Eleanor of Aquitaine's tomb -
Passage du Gois A 4.5 km causeway to Noirmoutier that the sea covers twice a day -
The Guérande Salt Marshes 2,000 hectares of pans still worked by hand for fleur de sel - Puy du Fou A history park with no rides, repeatedly voted the world's best
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Circuit des 24 Heures 13.6 km, part of it public road, raced flat out for a day and a night
Tourism areas
The names people actually use for this part of France — some of them cross into the next region.
Cities & bases
Where to sleep, and what each place is good for.
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Nantes A ducal château, a permanent art trail and a rideable mechanical elephant -
Angers A striped fortress holding 100 metres of fourteenth-century tapestry -
Saumur A white château above troglodyte cellars, and the Cadre Noir -
Le Mans A Roman-walled Plantagenet old town, and 24 hours of racing -
La Baule A nine-kilometre crescent of sand, and the Guérande salt marshes behind -
Les Sables-d'Olonne The Vendée's beach town, and the start of the Vendée Globe
Islands
Pays de la Loire by experience
The themes this region delivers on.
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Culture & heritage 53 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the cathedrals that invented Gothic -
Food & wine Seventeen wine regions, 1,600 cheeses, and the gastronomic meal on the UNESCO list -
Nature & outdoors Glaciers, gorges, volcanoes and 180,000 km of waymarked footpath -
Coast & beaches Three seas and an ocean — around 5,800 km of mainland coast, and far more overseas -
Cities Paris, and eleven more cities that would headline any other country -
Villages & countryside The 180-odd villages on the official 'most beautiful in France' list - Sport & adventure Skiing, surfing, climbing, paddling — and the Tour, Roland-Garros and Le Mans
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Cycling Over 25,000 km of signed cycle route, most of it flat and away from traffic -
Pilgrimage & spirituality Four Camino routes, Lourdes, Mont-Saint-Michel and the Romanesque abbeys - Spa & wellness Around 90 working thermal spa towns, and the coastline that invented thalassotherapy
- Nightlife & entertainment Festival season, cabaret, beach clubs and the theme parks
