The Best Kept Secret in France: Explore the Beautiful Beaches of the Charente-Maritime
The beach on La Côte Sauvage (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
If the map of France were a clock, the portion of the Atlantic Coast known as Charente-Maritime would be situated at exactly 9 o’clock. A twirl through this diverse and dazzling western slice of the country is nothing short of a refresher course in discovery. La Rochelle, the Côte Sauvage, Talmont-sur-Gironde — these places could and should be as well-known as Avignon and Antibes. But the relative anonymity allows subtlety to grace this sensual and unexpected coast of France.
Here, resort towns are still dominated by the French, who know what they want but don’t have much attitude when asking for it. The beaches shimmer like those on the Côte d’Azur, but they are visited by a fraction of the people. There are waterside restaurants that serve sizzling plates of just-caught fish, but no side orders of pretension. There are ancient villages with winding granite streets and usually a place to park the car.
One possible reason for why this part of France has avoided mass exposure is because it is somewhat remote. Nantes to the north and Bordeaux to the south are the nearest boomtowns. But the high-speed TGV services the inland towns of Angoulême and Poitiers, and La Rochelle on the coast. Renting a car at the station is simple and the drives, gorgeous. Spring and fall are optimal times to visit, for warm days with crisp nights, and hard — but somewhat defanged — Atlantic sunshine. Go now and be astonished by this undiscovered part of France, because if anyone ever decides to write A Year in Charente-Maritime, it will be too late. Here are the highlights.
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The Côte Sauvage
A path leading to the beaches of La Côte Sauvage. (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
“The longer the trail through the forest, and the less parking at the entrance, the fewer people you will see on the beach — and the less clothing,” says Frédéric Chasseboeuf, a historian and writer, about the Côte Sauvage, a stretch of gorgeous, unpopulated, and absolutely wild beach that extends for 20 miles north from the city of Royan. This is not to say that the beaches here are bathing suit-optional. It is simply that access to the mythical surfing waves (there are literally dozens of points of entry) involves some effort: a walk (from 2 to 30 minutes) or bike ride through a forest of maritime pine and green oak. The path opens up to colossal coastal dunes, then flat sand on beaches many consider the most beautiful in France. On a hot afternoon in mid-October, you might see just one umbrella on the horizon. La Pointe Espagnole is perhaps the most breathtaking location.
The courtyard at Domaine de Saint-Palais (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
Where to stay: Domaine de Saint-Palais, located on a hill behind the atmosphere-y belle époque beach town of Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, is almost hypnotically quiet and an ideal home base for days in the waves.
Where to eat: The seaside town of Royan is lined with scallop-shaped beaches. The excellent La Jabotière sits right on one of them — the plage de Pontaillac. Down to the predessert of fresh apricot ice cream in cognac, the food is a fresh revelation as is the view. At night, fishing huts lined up over the water are illuminated with shifting neon lights.
La Tremblade
Scenes along the canal in La Tremblade. (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
After a day in the choppy surf of the Côte Sauvage, late afternoon in this village, along a canal lined with oyster cabins painted all shades of Crayola, is drowsy perfection. Casual seafood shacks serve the freshest of the fresh with chilled wine. But the real surprise here: moules à l’ésclade, or mussels arranged on a wooden plank and roasted under a bed of pine needles in a hellfire oven.
Talmont-sur-Gironde
A 12th-century Romanesque church dominates this jewel-like little village situated dramatically above the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe. It extends south from the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic toward Bordeaux. The cobblestone walks are lined with yellow daisies, wild rosemary, and hollyhocks, and the trail along the ramparts leads to one of the most stunning views imaginable of moving tides, endless water, and rocky shore — not to mention the picture-perfect Gallo-Roman village itself.
Cognac
Making Cognac cocktails at Hotel Francois 1er (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
About an hour drive east from the coast, through a lush landscape of vines bearing the three varieties of white grapes used to make cognac, is the town that bears the name of this velvety spirit. A visit to one of Cognac’s maisons is a crash course in the art of luxury. A case in point is the master blender class at venerable Camus, where the participant fills beakers with amber and topaz liquid directly from oak barrels to create a bespoke cognac. Here, it’s all about the blend — sweet, spicy, woody, or floral — in an elegant bottle to take home.
Where to stay: Château de l’Yeuse is on the pricey side, but it is intimate and elegant, with a ribbon of unmanicured walking trails outside and inside, and a bar with 170 different cognacs.
La Rochelle
Ramparts at La Rochelle (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
This is one of those quintessential French cities insiders know but don’t care to discuss, preferring to keep the secret to themselves. Once a port that grew prosperous from sea trade, it is now a youthful coastal town dominated by three crenellated towers from the 15th century. There are nearly two miles of arcades — sidewalks under stone arches — the most in France. And the highly ornate architecture includes rows of decorated houses. It is a walking city, buzzing and full of life, the kind of place that inspires the question, “Why don’t I live here?”
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The Hermione
l’Hermione, Rochefort (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
In 2015, the French navy frigate Hermione will hit international headlines when it sails for Boston and other U.S. ports. It will be an epic journey, one made in the spirit of French-American solidarity, designed to duplicate the one taken by the Marquis de Lafayette and 300 of his men in 1780, as he embarked to join the rebel cause during the Revolutionary War. The ship has been reproduced in jaw-dropping, authentic detail — from the 16,000 square feet of sails to the 26 cannons — at the historic arsenal and original shipyard in Rochefort. It’s a spectacular sight and a permanent one: The original was wrecked at sea in 1793.
The backyard pond at Les Jardins du Lac in Trizay. (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
Where to stay: Slightly inland, Les Jardins du Lac seems to spring from another, nonmaritime world. A small lake sits behind the hotel, and the gastronomic restaurant is a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick — excellent cuisine at moderate prices.
The Islands
Pointe Expagnole beach (Photo: Marcia DeSanctis)
Two offshore paradises are the delicious icing on the gâteau charentais. Île de Ré, or the “White Island,” is the most fashionable of the two, an oasis of breezy bike trails, flawless beaches, salt caramels, and villages with an easy but chic vibe. Île d’Oléron, or “The Luminous,” is bigger and more car-friendly, all the better to access its brightly colored oyster villages, miles of untrammeled sandy shore, and fragrant forest paths.
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