Trip to France West Coast

Where to Stay

Nieulle-sur-Seudre

Hotel | "Petit Nieulle"

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Located in a small village just outside La Rochelle on the west coast of France, this cottage is a lovely base for your holiday.The cottage is actually located in a village called Nieulle Sur Seudre in the Charente region. The village is very small but without a satnav the cottage would have been rather difficult to find, as the instructions for the final few miles were very basic.However, once you’ve navigated the small roads of the village the cottage is a very pleasant surprise. It seemed to us that it may once have been two separate cottages that have been joined together, as not only are there 6 bedrooms in the cottage, but there is a studio flat attached where the key h...Read More

Located in a small village just outside La Rochelle on the west coast of France, this cottage is a lovely base for your holiday.

The cottage is actually located in a village called Nieulle Sur Seudre in the Charente region. The village is very small but without a satnav the cottage would have been rather difficult to find, as the instructions for the final few miles were very basic.

However, once you’ve navigated the small roads of the village the cottage is a very pleasant surprise. It seemed to us that it may once have been two separate cottages that have been joined together, as not only are there 6 bedrooms in the cottage, but there is a studio flat attached where the key holders can be found.

As just mentioned there are 6 bedrooms, one of the three downstairs bedrooms has an en-suite shower room as well. There is also a separate shower and toilet downstairs, and upstairs there are the other 3 bedrooms and a separate shower and toilet. All the bedrooms downstairs are double rooms, and one has a double and single bed in it. The main bedroom upstairs is a double and also has a cot in the room, the second has a bed which is larger than a single, but smaller than a double (so may suit a new love bird couple who still enjoy the closeness, rather than a wizened old couple who sleep at separate ends !) The third bedroom upstairs has a single bed, but it is still a reasonable sized bedroom.

There is one main living room which is very large, it contains a 3 seater settee, a 2 seater, 4 single ‘comfy’ chairs (2 of which are designed for style rather than comfort I think), a dining table and 8 chairs, TV, video and DVD combi, a wood burning fireplace (which we didn’t need, so I can’t comment on that), there’s free wifi, which took a little sorting out, but was fairly speedy and there's a billiard table. There is a 450€ deposit for the billiard table, so we never bothered with that, but it is covered so makes a wonderful junk stop for putting bags, hats, car keys etc. The living room has patio doors out to the garden.

The kitchen, considering the size of the house, is mighty small. Although they have managed to fit in a washer, a dishwasher, a microwave, kettle, toaster and a full sized fridge freezer, but the worktop space is at a premium. Having said that, we did manage to cook meals for 8, and there is more than enough crockery and cutlery to go round.

The linen and towels are included in the rental costs; pets are welcome in the property and most important of all there is a private swimming pool, which has an electric pool cover and a small diving board. There is plenty of space around the pool for 8 sun loungers, and still leave room for kids to play. Next to the pool there is a shower which sprays short bursts of cold water for you to rinse off after coming out of the pool.

The inside of the cottage is very oldie worldie and quaint, the main room has lovely beams across the ceiling, and the furniture is old fashioned. Only on the final evening did we discover that the coffee table actually opens out into a large gaming table, perfect for playing cards, or Pictionary as we were.

The garden isn’t huge, but is big enough for playing badminton and scatch, and there’s also a shed for storing the sun lounger covers and any floating toys for the pool. Anyone visiting now will find a the tree missing a fair few leaves after being bashed by badminton racquets in order to get the shuttlecocks back down again. There’s a wooden table with wooden benches under a vine covered canopy for eating outdoors, plus there are a couple of white plastic tables and chairs for sitting out in the garden. Behind the pool area there is parking for two cars and a grassed area with a couple of washing lines, handy from drying out towels, or I suppose washing some of your clothes to save a job when you get home.

When we arrived we were greeted by the key holders, who were absolutely wonderful, very enthusiastic, and far better at English than we were at French, much to our shame, although we did try our best. They showed us around the cottage and showed us how the oven, dishwasher, etc worked. They also had juice and water ready in the fridge and served everyone a drink whilst they were chatting, and had very kindly bought a bottle of the local wine for us. As the gentleman went off to show a couple of us how to work the pool cover should it be necessary, his wife showed us some of the areas to visit and gave us details about which beaches were manned and safe, and which beaches were without lifeguards and were more dangerous. All in all you couldn’t fault the reception we received, and after such a long journey it was nice to be greeted properly, rather than being thrown a key over a reception counter and left to get on with it.

As the cottage was in such a small village, there was no street lighting, so the rooms were pitch black at night, which I loved, because I cannot stand even a sliver of light during the night, it was also absolutely silent, no raving drunks banging around at night, no cars racing around, absolute bliss. Probably the most noise came from us, with my nephew and niece becoming highly competitive over a game of Pictionary and Monopoly! The beds seemed comfy enough, no one had any complaints about mattresses, but luckily we’d had a good look at the photos on the Frenchlife website, and decided in advance that the pillows looked flat, which indeed they were, so we’d taken our own pillows as extras and they came in very handy.

The cottage is also well situated in the village for walking to the local Patisserie for early morning croissants and fresh baguettes, and the local supermarket. Although we only used the supermarket once as it was just small and a little expensive. A much large (in fact huge) supermarket can be found in Marennes, a town about 15 minutes away by car. The villages all seemed friendly enough, whilst we never had long conversations, they all said hello and gave a smile as we walked past. There’s a small cafe bar, but no restaurant in the village, so if you’re eating out you have to travel by car for about 10-15 minutes.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 24, 2009

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West Coast

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The West Coast of France around La Rochelle is very unspoilt. Because it's not a huge tourist area, many of the locals only speak French as you'd expect, and many of those who do speak English only speak small amounts. So make sure you swat up on your French before you go.

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General Attractions

Fa Roman Dig

Attraction | "History Under Your Feet"

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In the Charente Maritime area of France just outside Barzan you’ll find a small museum and Roman dig. The site was originally discovered in 1975 when aerial photographs of the area revealed a Roman port town in the village called Le Fâ. The site is believed to be the city of Novioregum, although this is yet to be verified.This is still a working dig, as there is much of the city yet to be unearthed, and when we visited there were what appeared to be a bunch of university students working on the dig (although that might be stereotyping archaeological types). Apart from the main tower, the major unearthing has been the Roman Baths, which take up most of the area open to the public....Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 24, 2009

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Talmont

Attraction | "Well Worth a Visit"

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Talmont is a small village on the West Coast of France, according to the leaflet it was originally built in 1284 by Edward I of England who reigned in this part of France during this period. It is well positioned on the estuary of the Gironde River.The only cars which are allowed in the village are the cars of the residents. For visitors there is a car park just before the entrance to the village, it costs 1€ to park for the day, from there it’s a very short walk into the village.The main feature of the village is the Roman style church of Sainte-Radegonde which dates back to the 12th century; the church is located on the cliff side looking out over the estuary. The church w...Read More

Talmont is a small village on the West Coast of France, according to the leaflet it was originally built in 1284 by Edward I of England who reigned in this part of France during this period. It is well positioned on the estuary of the Gironde River.

The only cars which are allowed in the village are the cars of the residents. For visitors there is a car park just before the entrance to the village, it costs 1€ to park for the day, from there it’s a very short walk into the village.

The main feature of the village is the Roman style church of Sainte-Radegonde which dates back to the 12th century; the church is located on the cliff side looking out over the estuary. The church was once a point on the route of pilgrims heading to Santiago de Compostela. The church was fortified in the Middle Ages and after bombardments from the sea, it was at risk, but was saved by reinforcement work to the cliff, the church is surrounded by a small cemetery.

Moving away from the church and into the village itself, you’ll notice that many of the houses and shops are whitewashed, and it give the village a Mediterranean feel like you would see in Cyprus or Greece. Most of the shops are concentrated in the first few blocks, they are all small shops there’s nothing that could even remotely resemble a supermarket. I think we managed to look in all the shops, and there was some lovely stuff. The clothes which were being sold were beautiful, they looked to be fairly unique, and not the sort of thing you could just buy off the shelf anywhere. Each shop sold something different, whether it was silk scarves or novelty clocks, there was a shop to suit everyone. One of my favourites was a soap shop, which sounds rather odd, but it sold virtually every scent of soap you could possibly imagine, as well as bath salts and bath bombs. The smell in the shop could be slightly overpowering I suppose, but I loved it. There was also a shop selling the more traditional tourist souvenirs as we first walked into the village.

Part of the village was called the Artisan area, and in this area there were shops selling handmade jewellery and other arts and craft type items. Again these were all beautiful and quite unique, but there were also very expensive. The shop owners where quite happy for you to look and browse though, they seemed to be pleased that someone was enjoying their work.

There are also a few little cafes in Talmont; the French of course love their crepes so these were the mainstay of the menus. The cafe we used had mostly omelettes for a savoury dish and crepes for a sweet. There were other items, but they made up only a tiny part of the menu, they also did specials for children which included a main meal, a sweet (either crepe or ice-cream) and a drink (but the only choice was diluted lemon squash).

Talmont is also famous for its hollyhocks, which flower from early spring until late summer. They seem to grow everywhere and it makes for a lovely sight, and adds a bit of character to the village. The lack of cars on the streets also added a bit of character, it was nice to be able to walk around without having to dodge around cars or squeeze against the walls to allow vehicles to go past.

Whilst the village attracts a lot of tourists, especially during the summer months, they haven’t tried to Anglicise it at all. The only person who spoke more than a few words of English was the woman who worked in the information booth just outside the car park. The other residents and shopkeepers could manage a hello and thank you, but if you want to communicate properly you really need to brush up on your French beforehand.

For anyone who likes to shop, especially to shop for something out of the ordinary, then Talmont is a great place to go. Even I enjoyed browsing around the shops and I really hate shopping as a rule. The interior of the church wasn’t very impressive, but you can go and light a candle and have as long as you like to sit and contemplate in peace.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 25, 2009

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La Rochelle in General

Attraction | "A Day Out in La Rochelle"

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La Rochelle is a town on the West Coast of France. It is a large harbour town, and at one point in its history it was the largest harbour in France.Driving into the town is relatively simple, the car parks are well signposted, and we decided to park right on the harbour front. The charges for the car park were very reasonable, at least compared to car parks where I live; it was just a couple of Euros for a full day.From the harbour car park we walked approximately 10 minutes into the shopping precinct. There was a small outdoor market in the centre, mainly selling fruit and vegetables. There was also an indoor market which also has fruits and vegetables, but also a selectio...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 24, 2009

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Animal Lovers

Zoo de la Palmyre

Attraction | "Palmyre Zoo. A Lovely Day Out"

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Palmrye Zoo is on the west cost of France in the Charente region, it's located between Saintes and La Rochelle. It boasts of having 1600 animal and being 30 acres of the most important zoological garden in France.Finding the zoo is reasonably simple, unless you have a strange satnav (as we did) who likes to take you on a magical mystery tour first. For people without satnav, the roads are well signposted from several miles out.General information on the zoo first. The zoo is open all year: 9am-7pm April to September,9am-6pm rest of year. Sea lion and parrot shows run from April to end of October. The zoo is wheelchair accessible. Parking is free, dogs are not allowed in the zoo...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 24, 2009

Zoo de la Palmyre

Les Mathes
+33 8 92 68 18 48

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Aquarium La Rochelle

Attraction | "Something Fishy Going On"

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Aquarium La Rochelle, unsurprisingly is in La Rochelle on the West Coast of France. It’s located in the centre of the town, a few minutes from the station, and within 5 minutes walk of the main shopping area. It boasts 12,000 marine animals, 20 species of shark, 70 aquariums and 3 million litres of water.Opening Times and Prices*********************Adults are 13 €, children aged 3 to 17 years (and students with student card) are 10 € and children under 3 years are freeIf you want a narrated visit (with audio guide), you need to add 3,50€ to the individual prices. We decided against the narrated visit and it didn’t spoil the enjoyment at all, because all the notice...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 24, 2009

Aquarium La Rochelle
Port des Minimes
La Rochelle, France

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IgoUgo

France Journals

Trip to France West Coast

Where to Stay

Nieulle-sur-Seudre

West Coast

General Attractions

Fa Roman Dig

Talmont

La Rochelle in General

Animal Lovers

Zoo de la Palmyre

Aquarium La Rochelle

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