This sea-wall built in the 18C used to protect the town below. Today it is an attractive walk lined with luxurious buildings and shops and provides a pleasant view over the bay and beach. The little alleyways in the old town are hidden behinds its bu..

The Benedictine abbey that houses the museum dates from the 17C. One section is dedicated to regional ethnology (interior of a marshland cottage), the other to contemporary art with a series by Victor Brauner , works by the master of art brut Gasto..

Richelieu decided to build this church in 1646. Its Gothic arches are supported by Corinthian pillars.

This is the new residential quarter developed near Tranchet Lake. Here you can place a few chips at the casino and get over your financial ruin with a trip to the spa, by playing sports, or even visiting Tranchet Zoo.

The zoo has many animals, including camels, llamas, kangaroos, monkeys and birds.

This lighthouse was once the dungeon of the chateau built by Lord Arundel in the 12C.

This former chapel built in the 11C was converted into a fort in 1779 to control the traffic entering and leaving the port. In the garden nearby, there is a mosaic fresco from 1971 in memory of those lost at sea.

Port Olonna, the Sables marina, is in a basin linking the town to La Chaume. This is the point of departure for the ‘‘Vendée Globe Challenge’’, held every four years (the same as the Olympic Games).

This renovated former fishermen’s quarter, made up of small houses with tiled roofs, contrasts with the resort’s modern urban planning.

The Corniche extends the Remblai and leads to the new residential area of Rudelière. The road runs along the edge of the cliff.

The spectacle of the bubbling sea being swallowed up by the huge crevice is impressive. You get to it by following the cliff-edge.

Nowadays the salt marshes north of town are no longer used, and there is a plan to convert them into an oyster and mussel farming area.

This forest north of Sables stretches about 15km over 1000ha of dunes crisscrossed by trails. Oaks and pines form a strip of green between the Ocean and the Vertonne marshes.