Les Sables-d'Olonne / La Tranche-sur-Mer Vendée Vélo Tour

The route

To reach the start of the cycle route from Les Sables-d’Olonne train station, turn right arriving in the town centre, then left at the bottom of Rue Travot. Take care, as you’ll find yourself on a busy road shared with motorized vehicles. Next, follow the iconic Remblai, or seafront promenade, along a safe cycle path leading you beside the ocean, along Cayola Bay. Here, you’re riding along a section of the Vélodyssée cycle route. Ride on serenely to Talmont-Saint-Hilaire – Port Bourgenay. Except for a short stretch on a road and a slope leaving the Marais de la Vinière marshlands at Jard-sur-Mer, this stage of the cycle route is easily accessible to most cyclists

Alternative route via Talmont-Saint-Hilaire

An alternative route is available, taking you via Talmont-Saint-Hilaire town centre and its castle. Leave the Vélodyssée cycle route just before the wooden footbridge, the Passerelle du Cul d’ ne, following the signposting for Vendée Vélo indicating Talmont centre. Later, at the village of Ilaude, you rejoin La Vélodyssée, heading for the resort of Jard-sur-Mer. 

Don’t miss

• Les Sables-d'Olonne:
  • L’ile Penotte: a pretty, jolly pedestrian quarter located behind the Remblai des Sables-d'Olonne (the seafront promenade), with houses decorated with mosaics made from multicoloured shells, the work of local resident and artist Danièle Arnaud-Aubin, known as the Dame aux Coquillages (“The Shell Lady”), while tall hollyhocks add their colour in season.
  • Le Puits d’Enfer: a deep cleft in the cliffs along a rocky part of the coast, the sea crashing into it at high tide.
  • Cayola Bay: located along the Route de la Corniche between Bourgenay (Talmont-Saint-Hilaire) and Les Sables-d'Olonne, a few hundred metres from Le Puits d'Enfer, the bay offering magnificent views. 
• Talmont-Saint-Hilaire :
  • Aquarium de Vendée, inviting visitors to embark on a mini-journey through the world’s most beautiful seas and oceans (Accueil Vélo accredited site).
  • La Guittière oyster port: sample the very tasty local oysters, carrying the label Vendée Atlantique, in one of the smallest oyster ports in France.
  • Pointe du Payré: an unmissable site, with a splendid pedestrian promenade offering exceptional ocean views.
• La Tranche-sur-Mer: from the cycle path, ride into the town centre to enjoy its lanes and the typical atmosphere of a seaside village. Explore its 14.7km of fine sandy beaches, its state-owned forest, the Pointe du Grouin du Cou headland, the Lagune de la Belle Henriette, and the sunsets from the Plage de La Terrière beach. 

SNCF Train stations

• Les Sables-d'Olonne: SNCF train station with TER regional services and high-speed TGV services (to and from Paris) - TER regional line 8 (Nantes - La Roche-sur-Yon - Les Sables-d'Olonne)