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Vendee property guide

Vendee is a French department of Pays de la Loire in the central part of the country on the Atlantic Ocean. Its name comes from the Vendee River that runs through the south-eastern part of the department.

Latest properties in Vendee: click here

Climate:
There is a micro climate effect in the area and has the second highest annual hours of sunshine in the country. This makes the area the excellent location for the tourists.

Geography:
This area was once known as Bas-Poitou and is part of the previous province of Poitou. The highest point is Mont Mercure that is 935 feet or 285 m. There are four rivers that cross the department Sèvre Nantaise that is 135 km, the Vendee that is 70 km, the Lay that is 110 km and the Sèvre Niortaise that is 150 km.

The population is 509, 356. The department is positioned in western France on the Bay of Biscay in Poitou. There are offshore islands like Noirmoutier and Yeu that are also part of Vendee. There are a lot of beach resources and fishing ports. This is mainly an agricultural and forested region. Some chief products are canned fish, leather, fishing boats, cider apples, uranium. The capital is La Roche-sur-Yon. Another major town is Les Sables d'Olonne. This department gives the name of the resurrection of 1793 to 1796 that began there. The peasant lived in good relations with the nobility and they started revolting the French Revolution when it turned against the Roman Catholic Church.

This department is the third French most desired place to live in.

This area is full of history and there are many things that you can see and do. There are properties for sale that are very close to the coastline and the famous resorts like Les Sables d' Olonne, Le Tranche sur Mer and Ile de Re.

The watermills work best in the winter when there is most water in the rivers. Some of them are used for giving electricity for the industry machines.

Towns:
On the south-east is positioned the village of Nieul-sur-l'Autise that is said to be the birthplace of Eleanor of Aquitaine and was part of her kingdom. Her son Richard the Lionheart based himself in Talmont. The Hundred Years’ War turned the region into a battleground.

In this region lived a lot of influential Protestants that were controlled by Jeanne d'Albret and the French War of Religion had influence on the area. Finally King Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes and the war was over. Later when this edict was revoked in 1685 many Huguenots left the region.

History:
This region is also said to be the first place where the peasants revolted against the Revolutionary government in 1793. They did not want to accept the changes made by the Roman Catholic Church by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. They formed a guerrilla war also known as the Revolt in the Vendee and this cost more than 100,000 lives till its end in 1790.

In 1815 Napoleon returned from the Elbe for the Hundred days La Vendee did not want to recognize him and stayed loyal to King Louis XVIII. Then General Lamarque attacked the region with 10,000 to pacify the revolt.

In 1850 a British author named Anthony Trollope published a book named La Vendee that describes the history of the region and the war. He also narrates about the life of Madame de la Rochejaquelein on which memories is based the war in the plot.

Also the Revolt in the Vendee is a subject of Ninety-Three or Quatre-vingt-treize that is the laste novel of Victor Hugo.

Gastronomy:
The cuisine in this region is rich in desserts, brioches, fritters and doughnuts. There are even small sweet delicacies, fruit-filled pastries and traditional confectionery.

Useful information:

Tourism office in Pays de la Loire:
www.enpaysdelaloire.com

Gites in Pays de la Loire
www.rent-gite-in-france.co.uk
www.cottages4you

Hotels in Pays de la Loire
www.hotelclub.com

Car rental
www.hertz.co.uk

Maps of Pays de la Loire:
www.ign.fr
www.maps.google.fr

Flights from the UK
The region has three international airports: Tours , Nantes and Rennes.
Ryanair flies to Tours and Nantes.
Air France flies to Rennes, Tours and Nantes.
www.ryanair.com
www.airfrance.com

Our team of sale advisers at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you to find a property in Vendee. All of our agents in La Mayenne are registered French estate agents and speak both French and English. Whatever kind of property you are looking for: flat, gite, B&B, villa, castle or mansion, we will do our best to find a property in Vendee matching your requirements. Find out more about our selection of properties for sale in Vendee

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