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The Pays de
la Loire (the lands of the Loire) Region is made up of the Departements
of Loire-Atlantique, Mayenne, Maine-et-Loire, Sarthe, Vendée
all of which are visited by the Loire River. The region is a recent
administrative invention cutting across some old provincial boundaries.
Nantes for example, was once considered the capital Bretagne (Brittany)
while the ancient province of Anjou (modern day Angers) whose ruler’s
influence once extended as far as Sicily has been entirely consumed
by Pays de la Loire. Adding to the confusion of identity, the great
chateaux of the Loire Valley are located in the Centre Region. Le
Mans, famous for motor racing (24hr Race) is located in the north
of the Pays de la Loire Region. The Departement of Vendée
faces the Atlantic and is a popular coastal getaway. The Vendée
is also a major base for ocean going yachts. The famous round the
world yacht race Vendée Globe starts and finishes at the
Vendéean port of Les Sables d’Olonne. The excellent
historic theme park of Puy de Fou is also located in Vendée.
Nantes | Loire-Atlantique | Pays de la Loire | 44000
Nantes (pronounced Nont) was originally founded by the Celts in
70BC then conquered soon after by Julius Caesar. An important port
on France’s west coast it is located on the Loire River about
55km from the coast. Population of the metropolitan area is over
700,000 making it France’s sixth largest city. Though not
officially part of the Brittany Region, Nantes has a strong Breton
affiliation and many of the city’s inhabitants identify themselves
as Bretons. Nantes has a premier league soccer team (Nantes Atlantique)
and the stadium will host some Rugby World Cup matches. Nantes has
an airport with several connections to the UK and is linked to Paris
by TGV.
Angers
Le Mans
Les
Sables-d’Olonne
Getting
there
By road with Viamichelin.com
routeplanner
By air via Nantes,
Angers, Rennes, Lorient, La Rochelle
By rail from Paris
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