Destinations in region: Atlantic Ocean
The first yachting harbour in Vendée, as well as one of the most important commercial ports on the Atlantic coast, Les Sables d'Olonne is home to several nautical events every year, including the prestigious Vendée Globe race. Once famed for its salt, now popular for its rich maritime heritage, Les Sables d'Olonne is a lively resort and has plenty to offer in its surrounding areas, making it ideal for those who don't want to just sit on beach all day. ...
La Rochelle is an excellent place to visit , either for a day, an afternoon or just an evening at any time of the year. Travelling from Royan, the simplest route to follow is to take the by-pass, leaving at the exit for La Rochelle Centre and to continue following the signs for the Centre and Parking du Vieux Port. ...
France offers mountain ranges, coastlines such as in Brittany or along the Mediterranean Sea, cities with a rich cultural heritage, châteaux (castles) like Versailles, and vineyards. In the eastern parts of France there are skiing resorts in the Alps. Notable French cities are Avignon with the Popes' palace, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Benoît-du-Sault on the Loire River, Toulouse on the Garonne, Strasbourg on the border with Germany, and the beautiful city o...
Cork buzzes with the energy of a city that’s certain of its place in Ireland. Indeed, so confident is the former ‘Rebel City’ that locals only half-jokingly refer to it as the ‘People’s Republic of Cork’. The city has long been dismissive of Dublin and with a burgeoning arts, music and restaurant scene, it’s now getting a cultural reputation to rival the capital’s. ...
It’s all too easy to land in the Canary Islands and, feeling the sun on your face and the breeze in your hair, scurry straight to an idyllic beach resort or quiet rural retreat, not to be heard from again until the morning of your flight out. Yet while we’re sunbathing, swimming, sailing, snorkelling and strolling, the ‘real’ Canaries are chugging along in the background. ...
Good, bad or ugly, everyone has something to say about France and the French: chic, smart, sexy, rude, racist, bureaucratic, bitchy as hell, pavements studded with dog poo, baguettes that dry out by lunchtime and a penchant for torching cars is some of the chitchat on the street. Spice up the cauldron with the odd urban riot, political scandal and a 35-hour working week - not to mention a massive box-office hit like The Da Vinci Code taking over Paris or superstar Angelina Jolie allegedly plumpi...
Scattered like dabs of possibility on an adventurer’s palette, the Bahamas are ready-made for exploration. Just ask Christopher Columbus, he bumped against these limestone landscapes in 1492 and changed the course of history. But adventure didn’t end with the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. From pirates to blockade dodgers to rum smugglers, wily go-getters have converged and caroused on the country’s 700 islands and 2400 cays for centuries. ...
While it's true that Portugal is no longer the Iberian Peninsula's best-kept secret, it's fairly easy to escape the crowds. Even at the busiest resorts in the Algarve, it only takes a short bus ride or a walk across countryside to reveal rarely visited places that still offer the feeling of discovery - a sentiment close to the Portuguese soul. Portugal has an old-fashioned charm, with medieval castles and picture-perfect villages scattered over meandering coastlines and flower-covered hillsides....
