Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, on the Atlantic Océan. It is situated on the coast between La Rochelle and Saint-Nazaire, hear the coastal terminus of the A87 that connects it and nearby communities to La Roche-sur-Yon, Cholet, and Angers to the northeast. The nearest major metropolitan center of France, to Les Sables-d'Olonne, is Nantes, to the north (approximately 105 km, by road).
It is at the level of administrative division in the French Republic of a commune-roughly equivalent to civil townships in the United States-and is a sub-prefecture of the Department of Vendée.
Les Sables-d'Olonne was founded in 1218 from Havre d'Olonne by Savary I de Mauléon, the Lord of Mauléon, Sénéchal of Poitou and prince of Talmont. Its history is tied to the ocean for which it has served as a port and point of maritime commerce. Louis XI separated Les Sables d'Olonne from the town of Olonne in 1472. It became the largest cod-fishing port in France, with 14,000 inhabitants, in the 17th century.[citation needed] During the French Revolution, unlike the surrounding Vendée, the city supported the Republic, and so was often besieged—unsuccessfully, because of its port.
The current local tourism industry traces its roots to bathing establishments, first begun in 1825. Rail service reached Les Sables on 29 December 1866, via the line from La Roche-sur-Yon, Bressuire, Saumur, and Tours; express service to and from Paris would arrive in 1971. Germany occupied, Les Sables d'Olonne during World War II, and upon evacuation of that army at war's end, the German army made an effort to destroy the port, and mined the harbor.
Interests and events
- The Vendée Globe yacht race, which takes place every four years, starts and ends at Les Sables-d'Olonne.
- The Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix is a municipal museum situated in a 17th-century building that is devoted to modern and contemporary art, and that has "Musée de France" status. It includes works of Gaston Chaissac (1910-1964) and Victor Brauner (1903-1966).
- Les Sables-d'Olonne is the setting for 1948 novel Les Vacances de Maigret (fr), by Georges Simenon.
- The town is the birthplace of pirate François l'Olonnais.
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