magazine TotalGuide Seaside From Normandy to Nice, the French keep the best coastal bits to themselves. Time to join them...

Page 60 We’ve no reservations about these great hotels…

Page 64 Northern lite — an easy short break in Brittany

Page 68 Seafood and eat it! A gourmet break on Ile de Ré

cannes-do attitude ES G A M I L W A 72 Floats our boat: the photo-perfect

PHOTOGRAPH: Vieux Port in Cannes TotalGuide I Seaside France Voulez-vous… visit that Mont, e do like to be beside the without the crowds? Must do Mont-Saint-Michel (pictured)? seaside — but especially in From spring through to autumn, the France. Lazy afternoons only way to guarantee solitude is to stay overnight — that way you can join on the beach? Oui. Oyster a free, atmospheric 7am mass at the spectacular hilltop Abbey before the platters by the promenade? day-visitor hordes descend. (Try cosy Oui. Wild walks by roaring surf? Mais oui. Auberge Saint-Pierre; auberge-saint- W pierre.fr; doubles from £191, room only). Our Gallic neighbour has got the lot — and Otherwise, arrive as early as you can (check ot-montsaintmichel.com first more. Better yet, there’s still plenty of as access is occasionally limited by high tides) and bring a packed picnic undiscovered bits. Read on for our pick lunch to munch on the lawn of the of the French coast’s best secret spots tucked-away Jardins Sainte-Catherine — the main-street restaurants, — we even have new ways to see the old particularly the famed omelette- maker La Mère Poulard, are overpriced favourites. Alors, on y va? (typically about £30pp).

54 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 55 TotalGuide I Seaside France Voulez-vous… take a hike along paradise to themselves. Stick to the the wild coast? jagged northwest coast for windswept Go to: Belle-Ile-en-Mer, Brittany coastal romps around steep ravines In the waters off the tip of the spindly and sea-sprayed cliffs. The south Quiberon peninsula, Belle-Ile-en-Mer is a gentle, beach-lover’s haven is — as its name suggests — quite a — a whole other kind of belle. beauty. But the Bretons don’t like to Or try: The wild, windy coast of the tell anyone about it (let alone boast Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy about it), preferring to keep this walking at Barneville-Carteret.

Voulez-vous… soak up some medieval history? Go to: Saint-Malo, Brittany Ramparts encircle cobbled streets and creaky old ‘corsair’ houses; a castle looks out to rocky, off-shore military forts — never mind that Saint-Malo was almost fully rebuilt after World War II, it’s still as throwback-atmospheric as you could wish. Scoff a nutty Brittany crêpe with salty butter at Breizh Café (breizhcafe.com; mains about £10), and at low tide walk along the beaches to the stony defensive forts. Stay at Hôtel Beaufort, where you’ll get full-frontal views of the sea from just £68, room local’s only (hotel-beaufort.com). secrets Or try: La Rochelle has turreted ‘Want to catch some medieval towers grand enough awesome surf? My to satisfy avid history geeks. buddies and I head to Bidart’s Plage des 100 Marches, a little-known surfing paradise in a spectacular wild setting on the Basque Coast. Get there by taking the 400m path down the cliffs from Rue Tutilenia — but check tide times first (windguru.com). The incoming half-tide Voulez-vous… an arty break? is best for surfing, Go to: , Normandy because at full For most arrivals it’s just a ferry port. tide the beach Dig deeper and you’ll discover some is completely submerged.’ head-turning mid-century buildings. Thomas Briand, Flattened at the end of World War II, Le metalshop foreman, Havre was rebuilt by visionary architect Bassussarry, Côte Auguste Perret, whose talent with Basque concrete created Lego-like apartments and kaleidoscopic Saint Joseph’s church tower, giving Le Havre an otherworldly aura. Diary date: from September 9 to October 9, in celebration of the city’s 500th anniversary, Monet’s dreamy vision of the city, Impression, Sunrise, is exhibited (September 9-October 8) at the Modern Art Museum (mum- lehavre.fr; £8.60; pictured). Or try: Montpellier’s Musée Fabre (mus eefabre.montpellier3m.fr; £6) is home to one of France’s best fine art collections.

56 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 57 TotalGuide I Seaside France with original paintings, we have an early lunch of on to the sleepy frontier town of Cerbère and then piquant paella and Catalan lamb before an ice cream turn around at the border, simultaneously bidding The great waterfront road trip: on the waterfront. Collioure’s pink-stone church tower Holà and Adios to Spain. and jumble of fishing boats beg for further exploration, Just before we reach Banyuls again, the late afternoon but we have to leave the petite town behind, and make sun beckons us to the water and, at Paulilles, we wander our break for the border. through a curious visitor complex set in an old dynamite Our plan is to weave southwards along the empty local’s factory. There’s a workshop for building traditional coast road, stopping where the urge takes us (not barque boats, and a landscaped garden, but the jewel Deep south necessarily for roadside wine consumption). The secrets among the attractions is its beach, a half-moon of silver a quieter place to clock up some kilometres. Named seafront at Banyuls-sur-Mer, with its blue-shuttered ‘For the best seafood shingle curling around an idyllic bay. Way down on the Spanish border, on the French the Côte Vermeille thanks to its red soil, the route from houses, palm trees and pines, is the first place to draw Luckily, our dinner reservation isn’t far. Les Clos de the Pyrénées-Orientales has views, Catalan Coast, head Collioure town down to Cerbère on the Spanish border us in. We stroll along the harbour admiring more to Poissonnerie in Paulilles winery is one of the best in the area, and its vineyards and gloriously empty snakes along a coastline hiding pretty rocky coves rainbow-splashed fishing boats as they bob in the Port-Vendres. You restaurant La Table d’Aimé (latabledaime.com; two- and shingly shores, and passes terracotta-roofed water, then soak up the afternoon sun on the terrace get fresh oysters, course menu £20), enveloped by vines and set under roads, says Carolyn Boyd towns, their choppy harbours filled with brightly of Le Pressoir (Place Paul Reig; mains about £15), shrimps and mussels fragrant pine trees, is something of a local favourite. wouldn’t usually drink on a roadside at 3pm, but painted fishing boats. sipping Oranginas, looking out to sea. with local wines, all I tuck into freshly caught fish accompanied by the having stopped at this spectacular lookout point where Our day begins in Collioure, where a quick jaunt It was just beyond Banyuls that we hit the served by the house’s best wines, and my long-suffering driver looks fishermen a wine vendor sits lonely in his cabin, a celebratory around its bustling market has us perusing stalls of spectacularly situated Cave Tambour wine booth on enviously. Banyuls’s speciality is a sweet dessert wine, themselves! It’s tipple seems justified. Sipping my drink, I gaze across bright pottery and juicy olives while a jazz band strums, (domaine-tambour.com) — and made our unscheduled I amazing value, too: so we buy a bottle for later, for his sake. Once back on our the sinuous road that loops along the Roussillon (formerly bangs and hops in the background. With the plane trees boozy stop. After I’d greedily drained my glass, we balcony at Le Relais des Trois Mas (relaisdestroismas.com; Quay to the castle: a seafood platter for Languedoc-Roussillon) coast and into Spain. Breathing in the pretty town of towering above, pastel-hued buildings and galleries all decide to follow the road’s most spectacular stretch, two costs from £50.’ doubles from £86, room only), we pop the cork and sip fresh sea air, I admire my fragrant red, as my designated- Collioure on the Côte around, it could almost be Saint-Tropez, but Collioure looping past bushy vineyards and pastel villages. Gorse Dany Chouet, chef, from hotel tumblers, overlooking the twinkling lights driver husband admires the swathes of vineyards Vermeille; right, is infused with Catalan culture making it way cooler bushes dense with yellow flowers line the route, but it’s Saint-Martin-de- of Collioure, toasting France’s secret road trip. aerial view of Cap clinging to the headlands that jut into the sea. — and, even in summer, much better value. the coastline that draws my eyes at each turn; the view, Villeréal, Lot-et- Cerbère;fine wining Garonne While the curves of the Côte d’Azur attract more and dining at Clos de At restaurant Hôtel des Templiers (hotel-templiers.com; of countless headlands and a light blue sky strewn l Way to go: See en.destinationsuddefrance.com road-trippers, this other end of the Med coast offers Paulilles; Collioure three courses from £15), where the walls are crammed with cotton-wool clouds, is breathtaking. We head and Factfile, page 82. WALTER BIBIKOW/AWL-IMAGES, ALAMY BIBIKOW/AWL-IMAGES, WALTER PHOTOGRAPHS:

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Stay the course: opposite, Hotel Ha(a)ïtza. This page, clockwise from top left, Le Landemer; Maisons Marines d’Huchet; Hôtel des Pêcheurs; Castelbrac

The spa one: Castel Clara, Belle-Ile- The romantic one: Le Landemer, The no-need-to-leave one: The homely one: Lodge Kerisper, The brilliant-value one: Hostellerie a glam mid-century-modern hideaway. 1en-Mer, Brittany 3Urville-Nacqueville, nr Cherbourg 5Hô tel des Pêcheurs, Ile de 7 Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany 9La Belle-Aurore, Sainte-Maxime, You’re so close to the blue you could the Inhale the fresh sea air and admire the Perched on the far north coast of Cavallo, A short stroll from the harbour in the Côte d’Azur dip a toe in — from the little pool, from best panoramic views on the wildly beautiful Normandy’s Contentin Peninsula, The generous whitewashed rooms boat-lovers’ bolthole Trinité-sur-Mer, With an infinity pool that gazes towards your balcony, or from the airy, white- Belle-Ile-en-Mer island, then check this 150-year-old hotel was once at this serene hotel on Ile de Cavallo this fresh and bright hotel has 20 Saint-Tropez, this cosy bargain rivals tableclothed restaurant (castelbrac. into this chilled Relais & Châteaux spa the favoured bolthole of Edith Piaf in the Lavezzi archipelago off the relaxing rooms and suites and a comfy some of the Côte d’Azur’s priciest com; doubles from £215, room only). hotel for some shoulder-releasiing and her lover Marcel Cerdan. Within southern tip of Corsica, are so close home-from-home vibe. Best of all, it’s local’s abodes due to its location — hanging on Sea side aquatic treatments: try thalassotherapy its cream-stone walls you’ll find to the turquoise water that you’ll hear within easy reach of some of the south secrets the edge of the Med (belleaurore.com; The beach-house one: Maisons for aching limbs, and gourmet seafood 10 cosy rooms, a bright restaurant surf lapping against the shore as coast’s top beaches (lodgekerisper. doubles from £153, room only). 12Marines d’Huchet, Eugénie-les- hotels ‘The wild, red pebble to quell hunger pangs (castel-clara. — and a romantic escape from the you nod off. Its spa, restaurant and com; doubles from £78, room only). Abel Baliff beach is Bains, nr Biarritz Whether it’s com; doubles from £167, room only). world (le-landemer.com; doubles bar mean you’re primed for island one of the Côte The sunset-showstopper one: Technically, this is an exclusive rental crashing Atlantic from £79, room only). relaxation (hoteldespecheurs.com; The Robinson Crusoe one: Hôtel Le d’Azur’s best-kept 10Le Grand Large, Ile d’Oléron, — a sumptuous beach lodge at the edge surf or sun- The panoramic one: Les Roches doubles from £230, B&B). 8Manoir, Ile de Port-Cros, nr Hyères secrets. It’s tucked nr La Rochelle of a nature reserve — but as it’s owned warmed 2Rouges, Piana, Corsica The beachy-chic one: Ha(a)ïtza, Play castaway in this remote blue-and- under the Esterel Tucked behind west-facing sand dunes, and fully-catered for by the three- Mediterranean You’d be hard-pushed to find a hotel 4 Pyla-sur-Mer, nr Dune du Pilat The active one: Hôtel de la Mer, white Mediterranean manor house, cliffs in Agay; park this low-rise, snow-white hotel has an Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms where you can along waves, there’s with a better view than Les Roches A short stroll from Pyla beach Brignogan-Plages, nr Brest surrounded by pine forests on the idyllic indoor pool and Jacuzzi with sensational Les Prés d’Eugénie, it feels more like a 6 the Route des nothing quite Rouges. Overlooking the rust-red cliffs (southwest of ), this villa of With the Atlantic crashing against the Ile de Port-Cros. The journey from the Calanques, and walk views of a wide, golden beach — be hotel. Curl up by the fireplace and watch like waking up by of the Calanques de Piana in the Gulf chocolate-box balconies and shutters shore just a few steps from the front mainland to this laid-back, family-run down the 30 steps. there for sunset (le-grand-large.fr; the breeze ruffle the sweeps of sand the water of Porto nature reserve, this Art Deco has been given a revamp by designer door, this eco-friendly hotel makes pad is enhanced by the wildlife all Only the whoosh doubles from £120, room only). outside your window (michelguer pad harks back to a sophisticated, Philippe Starck. The restaurant is styled the perfect base for ambles along the around en route, such as peregrine of a passing TGV ard.com/beach-house; sleeps two bygone era with its period furniture, after an old yacht club, with three skiffs wild Finistère coast. Join one of its falcons. And for the food: Provence’s breaks the silence.’ The Jacques Cousteau one: adults and two children under 12 from parquet floors and an elegant bar hanging from the ceiling, and boater seaweed-foraging trips for the sunshine vegetables play a starring role Tom Jones, artist, 11Castelbrac, Dinard, Brittany £1,718, full board, including drinks, Paris (lesrochesrouges.com; doubles hats on the walls (haaitza.com; full experience (hoteldelamer.bzh; in menus (hotel-lemanoirportcros.com; This former aquarium in ritzy Belle bicycle hire and a boat trip on request; from £125, room only). doubles from £205, B&B). doubles from £69, room only). doubles from £155, room only). Epoque Dinard has been revamped into three-night minimum stay).

60 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 61 TotalGuide I Seaside France For weekend city-goers: Espiguette, sand, this lovely beach on the be found at the Plage de Briande, where 1 Montpellier Noirmoutier island off the west coast a crescent of silvery sand leads out the Ogle the jumble of medieval and grand of the Vendée is the quintessential to the bushy Cap Taillat headland. Haussman architecture in town, then seaside beauty. Best of all, most best flop on the gorgeous beach at Le Brits haven’t found out about it yet. For scenery: Etretat, Normandy Grau-du-Roi (pictured), just outside 8 It’s no wonder those towering white cultured Montpellier. This six-kilometre For wilderness: Plage de l’Acciolu, cliffs and dramatic needles look familiar sun- stretch of soft sand is a wide, wild and 5 Desert des Agriates, Corsica — famous artists have painted dozens deserted antidote to the city rush. It’s a bit of a hike to get to this fine white of views of the coast here, including beach, as you’ll have to cross Corsica’s Claude Monet’s luminous Les Falaises soaked For character: Guéthary, nr Biarritz deserted, fragrant maquis scrubland. à Etretat. The sheltered, pebbly beach 2 A short hop from the Spanish But it’s worth the effort — on arrival is ideal for a lazy baguette-and-cheese beaches border, just beyond Biarritz’s busy you’ll find transparent shallows and picnic in the sunshine. Want to escape beaches, the shores at Guéthary are total serenity. the hordes? among the best in the Basque country. For watersports: Plage de la There are plenty Come for surfing and lively beach For an island escape: Plage 9 Franqui, Leucate, nr Perpignan of ravishing bars — try a cocktail at Hétéroclito 6des Grands Sables, Belle-Ile- The saltwater pool just behind this beaches in (Chemin de la Plage). en-Mer, Brittany beach is a hang-out for windsurfers, France — here’s Magnificent beaches are among the while surfers cruise the Mediterranean our top 10 For families: Anse Saint-Guirec, reasons this Instagrammable island, waves crashing towards the golden 3Pink Granite Coast, Brittany off Brittany’s south coast, got its name. sand on the sea side. The soft sandy beach at the pretty town But of all the beauties to choose from, of Ploumanac’h is perfect for paddling, this quiet expanse of white sand, For crystal-clear waters: sand-castle-building and rock-pooling near sleepy Locmaria commune, 10Plage de Jean Blanc, amid its pink-tinged boulders. is one of the best. Le Lavandou, nr Saint-Tropez Small is definitely beautiful when it For olde-worlde charm: Plage For the crowd-free Côte d’Azur: comes to this dinky beach just 5km 4 des Dames, nr Nantes 7 Cap Taillat, nr Saint-Tropez from palm-lined Le Lavandou. Its clear With its wooden pier and neat, white It may be a short step from chocka waters ripple up over a golden sand beach huts edging a long sweep of soft Saint-Tropez, but there’s tranquillity to beach that’s perfect for paddling.

62 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 TotalGuide I Seaside France t’s 8pm and the streets of mid-summer Roscoff, on that made me want to linger for longer. So this time, England on the ferry. So to salute their memory, I decided Brittany weekend: Brittany’s north coast, are buzzing. With just two hours Roscoff was to be my final destination. to get on two wheels myself the next day, on Ile de Batz, left before the overnight ferry back to Plymouth starts Earlier this morning I had rolled sleepily off the boat a 15-minute ferry ride from the old port (iledebatz.com; Iboarding, its passengers are cramming in a final taste after my overnight journey from Plymouth (brittany- £8 return). There are only 500 people on the island, of France. The restaurant terraces are a whirlwind of ferries.co.uk; from £60 return). Unlike the cars travelling and visitors can’t bring their cars — not that you seafood platters (iced oysters, swirly whelks, juicy off to further-flung destinations, I had just a short need one in a place so tiny. mussels), salty pommes frites and heady Breton cider. walk from the marina to my pad, Hotel Brittany (hotel- Small stone cottages and a few souvenir shops, cafes locals’ Tables and chairs spill out into cobbled Rue Amiral brittany.com; doubles from £103, room only). Its elegant and crêperies welcomed me in the main village where Réveillère, which rings with light holiday chatter. dining room had a perfect Breton view: dinky fishing I scoffed a crispy ham and cheese galette at Ty Yann secrets Ferry ‘Trees, sand dunes For most Brits, these restaurants are all they see of boats in the bay, children playing in the rock pools, and (restaurant-creperie-iledebatz.fr; about £10), then hired Roscoff, as they pass from Plymouth to the holiday the tiny Saint Barbe chapel on the top of a hill. With the my wheels at the harbourside (£9 a day). I pedalled off to and clear blue water: Brittany’s Plage des resorts in south Brittany and back again. Countless times, sun on my face, and a slight chill in the breeze, I walked the white-sand Grève-Blanche beach nearby, a gorgeous Briantais at Lancieux I’ve rushed through here, too. Yet there has always been along the quiet beachfront towards the town centre, not sandy stretch that had been recommended to me at is our ultimate spot something about Roscoff’s blue bay and enticing islands passing a soul. In sleepy streets lined with whitewashed dinner the night before. Then, leaving the blue-shuttered for tranquillity. taleTake the boat to busy cottages I found a tiny stone chapel, but headed on, cottages behind me, I passed tumbling stone walls and We’ve come here drawn by the buttery waft of fresh Kouign-Amman a rainbow of flowers basking in the island’s microclimate. since we were kids Roscoff — then find peace pastries from a bakery hidden behind a stone-arched After a few hours of lazing in the surf, I spent the rest and it’s the perfect beach for families. doorway. Then, on the recommendation of my hotel’s of the afternoon heading west, past farmers’ fields of on a story-book isle close Bring a picnic and owner, I headed for the best terrace in town — the red cauliflower and potatoes, to the lighthouse. Its 198 steps come at high tide by, says Carolyn Boyd awning of Chez Janie, next to the harbour (chezjanie.fr; were a challenge, but the view over the patchwork fields or little legs will have two courses from £15). Locals nattered at tables around towards Roscoff was worth it. I glanced at my watch; time a long walk to me under bright sunshine, and I devoured fresh lemon was ticking and my ferry back to the UK would leave the water.’ sole while halyards chimed against masts in the wind. from Roscoff harbour later tonight. I thought of all those Twins Jasmine and I’m far from the first person to enjoy this terrace. From other Brits, gradually starting to clutter up the harbour Ismena Bannister (with special friends), the mid-19th century until after World War II, Roscoff’s restaurants. They didn’t know what they’re missing Yvignac-la-Tour, bicycle-pushing onion sellers — the ones responsible — and I hoped it would stay that way. Brittany for all the Breton-striped French stereotypes in the UK — would swig their last cider at Chez Janie before leaving for l Way to go: See brittanytourism.com and Factfile, page 82.

Spiritual high: the 17th-century Saint Barbe chapel

on Roscoff ALAMY 0PHOTOGRAPHS:

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Walk on by: the sur-Somme; statue colourful port of of Monsieur Hulot, Sanary-sur-mer; aka Jacques Tati, right, aerial view at Saint-Marc- of Sète; a flower- sur-Mer; paella bedecked street in the market at in Saint-Valery- Saint-Jean-de-Luz local’s secrets ‘If you’re near Bordeaux, you have to do the Dune du Pilat (below right), but also make time for my favourite seaside walk, from Cap Ferret’s Hôtel La Frégate (hotel-la- fregate.net; doubles from £65, room only). A half-hour stroll around the Voulez-vous… guaranteed sun? Now work your way up the east beautiful bay brings Go to: Corsica coast. An hour’s drive from Bonifacio, you to La Cabane du While the Brits are busy jetting off to the Plage de Rondinara (pictured) is an Mimbeau, with its Mallorca, the French keep this sultry arc of white sand around the turquoise massive terrace Med gem to themselves. Flooded with Med. Another hour and you’re in Porto- and fine oysters sunlight (2,800 hours a year), even in Vecchio, Corsica’s take on Saint-Tropez, (lacabane dumimbeau.com).’ autumn it’s warm and dry, especially with its snazzy restaurants and Anna Minott Pruvot, if you head towards the sheltered photogenic citadel. Just across the artist, Prayssac, Lot beaches of the south. Start in Bonifacio. headland, Palombaggia is an immense Clinging to white cliffs that tower above white-sand beach bordering waters the choppy Med, its terracotta-roofed that sparkle around half-submerged townhouses hide a warren of narrow boulders. Corsican Places has seven streets with washing lines hanging nights’ B&B (with flights and car) at the overhead like bunting. Sip chestnut beer Hôtel Le Pinarello, near Porto-Vecchio, on sunny terraces and ogle the harbour from £2,154pp (corsica.co.uk). yachts, before boarding a boat for the Or try: The 200km arching coastline Iles Lavezzi (spmbonifacio.com; £30 of the beachy Vendée region is reliably local’s return), where boulder-backed coves super-sunny despite its location on the secrets descend to clear azure waters. north Atlantic coast. ‘Want a fantastic The silver-screen one: Saint-Marc- for the best) and excellent seafood The foodie one: Saint-Jean-de-Luz, fascinating coastal paths through the meal in a place that feels like the edge sur-Mer, nr Nantes thrown into the mix, Arcachon makes nr Biarritz striking and strange rocks. 1 6 of the world? In the You’re right — you have seen that beach a sensational seaside getaway. With the Pyrenees in sight, this Basque Marseille, take the best before. This sleepy seaside town on bolthole is foodie heaven: fresh fish The pirate one: Rochefort, nr No.20 bus south the northwest coast was the setting for The boozy one: Fécamp, Alabaster make it from port to plate in a matter of 9La Rochelle from Madrague, the 1953 film Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, 4Coast, Normandy hours. There’s also a fine sandy beach Seafaring history is the main draw in this passing by makeshift starring Jacques Tati. Its sandy shore, Take coastal walks along the pebbly stretching across the front of the town. Atlantic coast town — visit l’Hermione, fishermen’s cabins. Secret rocky coves and cosy restaurants have beaches and atop the dramatic cliffs, a replica frigate ship. And the former In Callelongue, at the end of the line, the scarcely changed and are just as worthy before rewarding rosy cheeks with The château-topped one: Pornic, royal rope-works are now the luxury coastal fancy, old-world of a big screen close-up today. a tipple at the Palais Bénédictine — an 7 nr Nantes hotel Corderie Royale, a perfect abode dining room of La Voulez-vous… see that big Voulez-vous… explore a sea- extraordinary Neo-Renaissance palace On the under-visited Jade Coast, just for landlubbers (corderieroyale.com; Grotte (lagrotte-13. sand dune? scented French market? towns The colourful one: Sanary-sur-Mer, that doubles as an art museum and south of where the Loire meets the doubles from £85, room only). com) has the best Go to: Dune du Pilat, Arcachon Go to: Hendaye, Basque Coast Lively food 2nr Marseille distillery for Benedictine liqueur sea, Pornic’s gentle creek leads up to pizzas (about £10). At 110m, Europe’s tallest sand dune, Right on the Spanish border, Hendaye’s And I love its lively markets, fishing Visit this picture-book town tucked (benedictinedom.com; £10). a turreted medieval château. Don’t The real-life one: Sète, Dune du Pilat (pictured), just beats Big Saturday morning market (pictured) terrace for a pastis.’ between the Côte d’Azur and Marseille miss the pretty town itself, or its Languedoc Ben in the height stakes. Huff up the is one of the few in France within boats bobbing 10 Louise Rogers in the harbour, for its harbour, jam-packed with fishing The medieval one: Saint-Valery- elegant villas and fishermen’s cottages. It may be on the gritty side, but while Lalaurie, literary steep path to the top to gawp at the earshot of the surf. It’s a Basque country sunny cobbled boats, and the striking Gothic Revival 5sur-Somme, nr Abbeville Sète lacks sophisticated quarters, the translator, Toulouse Bassin d’Arcachon tidal basin — but beat microcosm: rows of cured meats and squares… These church, full of bold murals and frescoes. The tranquil Baie de Somme has big The Pink Granite Coast one: port city makes a refreshing change the wobbly walk down by opting for the towers of creamy cheese, stacked little-known skies and varied bird life — from waders 8Ploumanac’h, Brittany from the touristy resorts along this adrenalin-rush of a paragliding trip beside spicy piments d’Espelette and havens have it all The Belle Epoque one: Arcachon, to birds of prey — and is the setting Hidden between the weirdly wonderful coastline. Wander along the canals, instead (waggaschool.com; from £43). cherry-stuffed Gâteau Basque. 3nr Bordeaux for cobbled Saint-Valery. Wander dusky-hued boulders of the Pink chat to the locals and see where the Or forget the climb and join Bordeaux Or try: The Thursday morning market The town’s grand brick-and-cream its medieval lanes lined with stone Granite Coast, Ploumanac’h is a gem: mighty spills into the weekenders admiring the dune with a on the harbourfront of Binic, a village villas are worth the trip alone, but with cottages and hollyhocks, and breathe in there’s a picture-perfect crescent Etang de Thau, a saltwater lake cocktail on the terrace of La Co(o)rniche tucked away on the Breton coast golden beaches (head to the suburbs the sea air on the waterside boardwalk. beach, a bijou château and access to bordering the Med. resort (46 Avenue Louis Gaume). near Saint-Brieuc.

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Green party: clockwise from right, a quiet side street in Saint-Martin-de-Ré; cheeses for sale at La Flotte market; Ré Ostrea, near The under-the-radar foodie break: Saint-Martin; warm oysters with white butter sauce; Ile de Ré is cycling heaven Ré of light Ile de Ré is famous for its vast beaches, but this sunny speck in the Atlantic is also a beacon for in-the-know food-lovers, says Alicia Miller

wenty euros? For that?!’ I’m in a dinky beach packed to its teeny rafters with bags of grey salt chunks, restaurant overlooking epic wild sands, the jars of salted caramel and sachets of snow-flaky fleur de waiter has just brought me the bill and there sel (boutique.rivesaline.com; from £2). In summer, the Tmust be some mistake. That’s because I’ve pans will be humming with activity, but now I can go devoured: four monster oysters; five shrimps; four for a solitary amble right along the clay-lined borders, langoustines; 10 whelks; a dozen periwinkles; seven plucking sprigs from neighbouring samphire or mustard clams; and roughly a hundred of those minuscule prawns plants for a snack before climbing back on my bike. that are impossible to peel. And a glass of wine. In Another lazy hour, and I’m at La Couarde, a town London, this feast could have cost a week’s rent — but with Bahamian-worthy sweeps of golden sand, here, at seaside shack Aux Frères de la Côte (restaurant- including silky Plage des Anneries, photogenic even by ile-re.fr), it’s the budgetary equivalent of popping out to Ile-de-Ré standards. I shake out my towel. The beach is Pizza Express. Asking no further questions, I promptly incomprehensibly empty, even on this sun-drenched day. pay up, making a break for my bicycle leaning against the The surf is my only soundtrack as I unpack my picnic, stony beach wall (cycland.fr; £4 an hour). Then it’s time pulled together at my hotel, La Maison Douce (lamaison to pedal off down a blossom-laced laneway towards a douce.com; doubles from £120, B&B), from yesterday’s languid afternoon on another stretch of sand to the south. visit to the pretty outdoor market in La Flotte: saucisse Chocolate-box villages with hollyhock-laced streets, flecked with hazelnut, oozy cheese sprinkled with green-shuttered houses, pine-scented forests ringing fleur de sel, tossed salads of creamy local new potatoes, with exotic birdsong and, most of all, Caribbean- thick white asparagus spears ready for dipping into quality beaches — these are the things that draw the golden olive oil. I tuck in greedily, and it’s only when summer crowds to Ile de Ré, a 30km-long island hung I look up, mid-picnic, to see an old couple crossing off the Atlantic coast by a thread of a bridge from the sands with a bottle of island-grown Chardonnay, La Rochelle. This skinny, sunny spot is the place for lazy that I realise what I’ve forgotten. bike rides, bucket-and-sand afternoons, rosé evenings So it’s back on my bike, cycling home to pretty — the Parisian equivalent to a Cornish weekend break, Saint-Martin-de-Ré. I have visions of an apéritif in the but with more reliable weather. Few know that Ile de Ré clematis-trimmed garden of my hotel. I’ll drain a glass is also a foodie paradise — full of atmospheric markets, or two of the fresh lemony press — harvested in rows of home-harvested fleur de sel and better-than-Jersey- vines in the island’s south — before heading for a fish Royal new potatoes. And obviously, bargain seafood tagine at O Parloir (oparloir.com; mains about £15). feasts — oyster farms dot the island’s waters, while clams But close to the finish line, I am waylaid. are dug from its sands. I’m here in May, when both the Just west of Saint-Martin, outside its Unesco-listed weather, and the eating, are at their best and well before castle ramparts, a row of oyster shacks appears on the the summer hordes descend. dusky skyline, dangling over the rocky waterfront. I just South from my feast in Ars-en-Ré, en route to the can’t help it. I pull into Ré Ostrea (degustationhuitres- beaches of La Courade, I cycle past patchworks of iledere.fr), little more than a wooden bar, a huddle of pink saltpans, fields of poppies and little farms with pristine and green chairs under a thatched roof, and a pond full of rows of spring-fresh lettuce and salad onions. Birds ready-to-eat-bivalves. I order a glass of the island white, rustle in the lofty treetops as I trundle down shady lanes and dig into a half-dozen of the freshly-cracked beauties. blissfully devoid of cars, and a light breeze tempers At £9, all in, it would be rude not to… the persistent May rays. After an hour, I spot a roadside

4CORNERS, ALAMY, AWL IMAGES AWL ALAMY, 4CORNERS, PHOTOGRAPHS: honesty shop, a wooden kiosk at the side of a salt farm l Way to go: See iledere.com and Factfile, page 82.

68 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 69 TotalGuide I Seaside France Voulez-vous… stay at a ritzy de Burgos (2 Place Beau Rivage; Riviera resort? mains about £17), where juicy razor Go to: Biarritz, Basque Coast clams are flecked with the local chilli With splendid beaches and rocky coves piment d’Espelette. That’ll be after overlooked by turreted villas, Basque a boisterous surf lesson on Grande Biarritz oozes timeless glamour. Plage or Côte des Basques beach Join slim Parisians getting their skin (jomoraiz.com; from £35). pummelled by fierce water jets in Stay somewhere both Belle a thalassotherapy pool (try Sofitel Epoque-beautiful and bohemian-cool. Biarritz le Miramar; accorhotels.com; Hôtel de Silhouette has wrought-iron half day £44). Then have dinner at balconies and a stone exterior, plus Voulez-vous… camp within the best table in town, Villa Eugénie quirky sheep sculptures on the lawn earshot of waves? — gaze past chandeliers and marble (30 Rue Gambetta; 00 33 5 59 249382) Go to: Camping Les Pins to the Grand Plage, while scoffing doubles £86, room only). The French really know how to camp. sole meunière (hotel-du-palais.com; Or try: Deauville, in Normandy, is full of Les Grands Pins’s comfy wooden cabins mains about £35). wedding-cakey villas, grand hotels and (pictured), sited between Atlantic surf Biarritz does laid-back cool as well as designer shops. Come the American and Bordeaux vineyards, come with bling. Next day, squeeze in with surfers Film Festival each September, modern comforts (wi-fi, wellness on a rustic refectory table at La Tantina A-listers descend in droves. centre), and there’s a huge waterpark for kids. Head through the pines over the dunes to Lacanau’s huge sandy beach, and you’ll see surfers at play in the giant waves. To the north lie the vineyards of the Médoc; to the south, chic Cap Ferret (lesgrandspins.com; mobile-home rentals from £43). local’s Or try: The family-friendly Escale secrets Saint-Gilles on the Breton coast has ‘My two favourite lodges, a waterpark and spa (escale- things about stgilles.fr; lodges from £53 a night). Brittany? Walks and native oysters. Get both at Bélon’s pine-wooded estuary. I always have a good feed at the Huîtrières du Château de Bélon (belon.bzh/ huitrieres), then I take the coastal path to Le Pouldu, dipping into idyllic coves along the way.’ Graham Bannister, Voulez-vous… island-hop? artist, Yvignac-la- Go to: the Gulf of Morbihan, Tour, Brittany Brittany Sheltered from the swell of the Atlantic is this idyllic inland sea of rocky islets, fishing hamlets and Neolithic burial chambers, overlooked by the visitors swarming on to neighbouring Carnac. You could hire a yacht to explore the 40 islands (nautilusyachting.com; from £817 a week), or take one of the dinky ferries (izenah-croisieres.com; £4 one way) to the Ile aux Moines (pictured), with its whitewashed fishermen’s cottages and oyster bars. End up at friendly Le San Francisco, for crab on the terrace (lesanfrancisco.com; doubles from £86, room only). Or try: Ile de Porquerolles, off the coast near Marseille, for its golden coves fringed with pine and eucalyptus.

70 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 71 TotalGuide I Seaside France n my balcony at dusk, I lift my glass of rosé to the cheese I caught the scent of socca: a hot chickpea lounger costs £20 a day, I walked west to discover a The A-list getaway: sunset. Yep, same colour. Traffic rumbles faintly pancake, a Nice speciality, and queued for a slice (£3). smaller stretch and spent my afternoon lazing for free below, and the late light illuminates the rooms of Darting under an archway, crossing the grand curving on the sand, while locals played volleyball in the surf. Omy two-bedroom apartment. It warms the white bay-front promenade, I sat, legs dangling over the sea Final stop: Saint-Tropez, the fishing-village-turned- walls and lavish kitchen, bouncing off the chandeliers. wall, and ate my budget lunch, azure Med before me. celebrity hot spot and crown jewel of the Riviera. There I pinch myself. Here I am in Nice, in a pad glam enough After two days absorbing everything Nice had to are no rail connections from Cannes, but ferries get you C’est cheap! for Brigitte Bardot, soaking up Riviera rays. I feel fabulous. offer — promenade, galleries — I was ready to head on. local’s there, wind-in-hair, in little more than an hour (trans- I don’t have a Bardot-size budget, but no matter. This To Cannes, famed for its film festival. It was a step up in cote-azur.co.uk; £43 return). My sole splurge was here: Going glam doesn’t have to mean going broke, place was a snip at £150 a night (‘Valentina’ sleeps four; Riviera glam — although not price. I dodged the cost of secrets a stay at Hotel Byblos, built for Brigitte Bardot 50 years says Alicia Miller. The Côte d’Azur can be done nicepebbles.com) — just one of the thrifty tricks that have a car and took the train (£6), which threw a fine view of ‘To hell with the ago by its infatuated owner. helped my cheap-chic Côte d’Azur holiday come true. the coast into the bargain. I’d timed my trip just right — packed beaches: Rates were great for the quality (byblos.com; rooms you’ll find the real on a budget — and it’s still fabulous, dahling… Avoiding high season was another — I arrived in April on the walk from station to beach, I spotted beach clubs from £290), and although I’d missed Pamela Anderson by beauty of the French sunshine on an EasyJet flight (£60 return). Dropping my buzzing under the spring sun, even though hotel rates Riviera on the 5km a hair, I knew I’d struck gold. Encircled by the harbour- bags at the apartment, I walked through cobbled streets, were still a low-season deal. In a few weeks, during the path around Cap inspired tangerine-and-lemon facades of the hotel I sat passing overpriced restaurants, to a traditional butcher’s film festival, the elegant Five Seas Hotel (fiveseashotel. d’Antibes. Start at back in my poolside lounger with a(nother) glass of rosé, and bought a steak for a few quid. That’s dinner sorted. com) would be asking £860 a room — mine was £130. Plage de la Garoupe; which seemed to empty itself — my cue to explore the Then, via a café crème in a square, I browsed the Cours Rather than lounge by its rooftop pool, I headed out. along the way nearby port (window-shopping, of course). I ambled Saleya market. Among the piles of berries and goat’s Beelining past ritzy bars on the main beach where a are breathtaking between the designer shops (Dior was in a mansion), views and stunning stared at the yachts and tried not to stare at the properties, including the Duke and collagened ladies tottering in fur. No question: Duchess of I had reached peak Riviera. Windsor’s Château I bought a pistachio ice cream from a shop on the de la Croë (now harbour (barbarac.fr; from £3) and, cone in hand, strode owned by Roman to the rocky shore, mesmerised by the sparkling water. Abramovich), and The spell was broken by a cold splat as a green blob from Villa Eilenroc, built by Charles Garnier of the cornet plopped on my top. But it completed my French Paris Opéra fame.’ Riviera persona perfectly — budget Bardot. Pippa Gomis-Maile, business director, l Way to go: See tourismepaca.fr and Factfile, page 82. Nice AWL IMAGES, ALAMY, 4CORNERS ALAMY, IMAGES, AWL PHOTOGRAPHS:

Just beachy: from far left, the marina at Saint-Tropez; Place Rossetti and the cathedral in Nice; Hotel Byblos, Saint-Tropez; the beach at Cannes

72 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 73 TotalGuide I Seaside France

Tails of the sea: fine fare served at the Beach House, Anglet. Opposite, mussels at Club 55; lobster at Le Comptoir et La Table; La Criée Maison Lucas restaurant and fishmonger

The sail-in one: Le Château, The ritzy one: Le Balbec, Cabourg, The gourmet one: Le Coquillage, The en-route-home one: La Sirène, Biarritz, is a hip hang-out for surfers a reservation, so come in spring instead 1 Calanque de Sormiou, nr Marseille 3 Normandy 5 nr Cancale, Brittany 7 Cap Gris-Nez, nr Calais and canny visitors wanting the likes to sit under canvas, shaded from the the You could drive to this bijou restaurant There’s no need to check into the Oysters are the order of the day This waterfront restaurant makes of Spanish anchovies, Galician mussels sun, and drain bottles of blush rosé. best hidden in one of the most enchanting historic Hôtel Grand to eat there — in Cancale — it’s known as the oyster the ideal last-chance saloon before in Basque cider, and Thai red curry Tuck into whole grilled sea bass and calanques de Cassis — the white- just saunter past the glass-walled, capital of Brittany and has a busy oyster jumping on the ferry back to Dover. with prawns. Stay late to wiggle overflowing baskets of crudités cliffed coves just along the coast from chandelier-bedecked ballroom to market. But it’s worth venturing away It’s on a headland with the white cliffs toes in the sand by the on-site bonfire with punchy anchovy dip, in sight of Marseille. But far better to arrive by a table in its opulent restaurant, from the centre to the Château Richeux, in sight, and here you can savour sole local’s (beachhouseanglet.com; mains tourmaline-blue waves (club55.fr; LAZY boat, devour a plate of seafood while Le Balbec. The view of the sea before to settle in for a copious seafood platter meunière until it’s time to dash for secrets about £15). mains about £34). gazing over the azure water, then you makes the occasion as you dine (£62pp) in the elegant dining room of the boat (lasirene-capgrisnez.com; ‘There are plenty of seaside dive in for a swim (lechateau where Marcel Proust once did the its Michelin-star restaurant. Better yet, mains about £20). beach restaurants in The remote one: La Criée Maison The island one: La Cible, sormiou.fr; mains about £20). same (restaurants.accorhotels.com; aim for the shady terrace that overlooks Arcachon. But I say 10 Lucas, Quiberon, Brittany 12 Ile de Ré, nr La Rochelle meals mains about £35). the sea (maisons-de-bricourt.com; The Italian-y one: Le Comptoir et end up at Le Bikini Make the journey down to Quiberon, With tropical grass umbrellas that catch (00 33 5 6583 9136; Plump The Spanish-y one: Crampotte 30, lunch menus from £30). La Table, Deauville, Normandy a town cast out from the southern the breeze , blue-and-white clapboard langoustines. 8 mains about £24), Biarritz The romantic one: Le Mata Hari, Away from the tourist haunts, right on the Plage Breton coast on a long peninsula, and walls and twinkly lights, beachside La Succulent 2 For sensational seafood in Biarritz, head Lumio, Corsica The rustic one: La Cabane des overlooking the yachts of Deauville’s des Arbousiers. It’s you’ll be rewarded with a pile of the Cible, just outside Saint-Martin-de-Ré, mussels. 4 to the charming clutch of fishermen’s It’s set alone on the coast near the 6 Kykouyou, L’Herbe, Cap Ferret, harbour, this little restaurant serves perfect for watching daily catch at this local haunt with its has a boho surfer vibe about it. But the Slurpable huts at the Port des Pêcheurs. Avoid peach-tinged village of Lumio, and at nr Bordeaux up a tasty Italian-inspired menu the sunset with a own smoke-house and fishmonger food is incredibly chic: tender grilled oysters… the big-terrace restaurants and instead the exotic Mata Hari you can feel the Wander through the maze of specialising in truffles (lecomptoiret glass of wine and (maisonlucas.net/restaurant.html; octopus, tuna tartare with lime and some charcuterie Indulge yourself choose Crampotte 30, a minuscule sand between your toes as you dine ramshackle oyster-fishermen’s huts at latable.fr; mains about £26). mains about £16). basil, or blue lobster. Still got space? Try while you listen at these bistro serving pintxos, Basque tapas: by candlelight on the beach. Corsican L’Herbe village and you’ll happen upon a vanilla cream-smothered mini baba places for to the waves.’ the fishy pâté on baguette, washed cuisine meets Asian-inspired dishes this simple beach bar, where freshly The stylish one: The Beach Véronique Mazières, The scene-y one: Club 55, au rhum or a millefeuille au Grand- in-the-know down with zingy local txakoli wine, — expect anything from tempura cracked bivalves are served on a 9House, Anglet, nr Biarritz wine expert, 11 Ramatuelle, nr Saint-Tropez Marnier caramel beurre salé, both locals is delicious (00 33 5 4007 0652; prawns to grilled fish in olive oil Caribbean-esque terrace (29 Avenue This restaurant-meets-pool-bar in the Saint-Emilion In summer, this place is so packed with as delicious as they sound (lacible- small plates £5-£12). (lematahari.com; mains about £26). de l’Herbe; a dozen oysters £10). town of Anglet, between Bayonne and Saint-Tropez-types you can’t even get restaurantbar.fr; mains about £17).

74 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 75 TotalGuide I Seaside France Holy order: Notre Mediterranean Dame de la Garde Civilisations; an indie Basilica dominates shop in Le Panier Marseille’s skyline; district; the Plage du below, the seaview Prophète; street cafe at the Museum market in Noailles; of European and mural in Le Panier

The coastal city break: Second to none Paris? So passé. With its vibrant port and sunny vibe, Marseille — the country’s deuxième city — puts the capital in the shade, says Liz Edwards

ow do you make a Marseillais cross? Easy: interested in the drink she orders, a Mauresque: Ricard compare the home town they’re so proud of — with almond syrup, a local concoction. So you can France’s second city — with its northern cousin, make pastis palatable without looking like a tourist. HParis. You’ll start with the similarities. ‘They’ve If Le Panier and Vieux Port are Marseille’s day-trippy both got iconic hilltop basilicas,’ you’ll say. Both have side, then Noailles, the hub of the Maghrebi community, handsome, 19th-century Haussmann-style buildings, is where it feels more lived-in. Next day, I wander around you’ll point out, and striking modern starchitecture. the streets near the strawberry-scented Marché des Both are multicultural cities formed of dozens of Capucins, among shops selling dates by the scoopful, joined-up villages, you’ll say… ‘Grrr,’ they’ll say. sacks of chickpeas, bourek and pastilla pies. At But they needn’t feel so put out, because Marseille Café Prinder, some streetside customers sip pastis, actually does rather well from the comparison. It’s on others mint tea. the sea, for starters — so waterside strolls aren’t along Some of the city’s oldest shops are here, too: the a river but in the yacht-filled port, or past pretty 19th-century herboriste Père Blaize (pereblaize.fr), with fishing harbours and (swimmable) beaches just an its wooden counters and glass cabinets of medicinal arrondissement away. It’s way more relaxed than the herbs, and Maison Empereur (empereur.fr), France’s capital; there are far fewer tourists — thanks, perhaps, oldest hardware store and a wondrous miscellany of to an outdated reputation for grit, grime and crime hinges, jelly moulds, toys, painting smocks and feather (fuelled by the Paris-based media, huff the Marseillais). dusters. I find further reason to regret flying hand- And it has the Mediterranean weather. luggage-only next door at Epicerie l’Idéal (epicerielideal. Ah yes, the weather. I emerge from the Vieux Port com; mains about £10), a deli-cafe selling unfussy Metro station (three stops from the airport shuttle lunches and beautifully packaged gourmet tins and jars. drop-off; navettemarseilleaeroport.com; £13 return) to The mistral hasn’t just messed with my hair, it also Barclays-blue sky and the kind of hairdo-defying wind means boats aren’t running to the nature-haven Friouls that Donald Trump would never risk (another plus). Islands, and on the pale, fine sand of Plage du Prophète, to ‘The mistral,’ explains Marie-Pierre, my local-born the city’s south, I can’t do more than walk, collar turned guide, when I meet her later. ‘We get these strong up. But it doesn’t matter — there’s plenty to do back winds maybe once a month. In April, we might go around the port, where I take refuge in some seriously from sunbathing one day to thick jackets the next. solid churches (St Laurent and the Abbaye St Victor) and But by August we can’t wait for the natural air-con!’ bask in sheltered sunshine on Mucem’s seaview roof. Marie-Pierre takes me north of the port (‘transformed Later, I’ll find my way to the street-art-cool bars since we were European Capital of Culture 2013’) and around Cours Julien, but first I have a date with one into Le Panier. This hilly historic district is the closest Marseille stalwart that’s windproof: bouillabaisse. Marseille gets to feeling touristy, and that’s only Marie-Pierre said it’s not worth paying less than because its narrow, pink-stoned streets, sunny £35 so I aim high, at port-side institution Miramar squares and little independent shops are so alluring. (lemiramar.fr; bouillabaisse £56). And it’s worth it for We wind back down past Mucem, the huge new the comically condescending waiters, intense seafoody- latticework-covered Museum of European and saffron broth and tender mullet, rascasse and monkfish. Mediterranean Civilisations (mucem.org; exhibitions £8) I doubt you could find better. (Even in Paris.) linked by steel walkways to the hulking Fort St Jean, and find a spot in the sun at old-school Bar de la Marine (15 l Way to go: The funky C2 spa-hotel is handy for the Vieux Quai de Rive Neuve). ‘The Colin Firth bit of Love, Actually Port (c2-hotel.com; doubles from £171, room only). See

4CORNERS, ALAMY, GETTY ALAMY, 4CORNERS, PHOTOGRAPHS: was filmed here,’ says Marie-Pierre. But I’m far more marseille-tourism.com and Factfile, page 82.

76 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 77 TotalGuide I Seaside France Sailing: Fort Boyard, nr La Rochelle Sea-fishing: St-Jean-de-Luz, 1Yes, it’s famous for that Channel 5 5nr Biarritz the game show, but the Napoleonic-built Take to the waves beyond the Basque Fort Boyard makes for an atmospheric beach town of St-Jean-de-Luz aboard best half-day or day-long yacht trip from the Nivelle and try catching your own the petite Ile d’Oléron (discovery-voile. fish for dinner — perfect for a beachside com; from £22). BBQ (croisiere-saintjeandeluz.com; ways to £30 for 3.5-hour cruise). Kite-surfing: Leucate, nr hit the 2M ontpellier Flyboarding: Loctudy, Brittany This fine sandy beach is ideal for 6In the fishing port and resort of area’s wild coves and islets (brittany water novice kite-surfers. It’s all thanks Loctudy, the seaside equivalent to tourism.com; £39 for two hours). to the saltwater pond, Etang de Leucate, Marty McFly’s hoverboard allows No good just behind the beach, which has gentler you to take to the sky from the back Thalassotherapy: Quiberon, gazing at it — it’s winds than the sea (osmose-kite.com; of a jet-ski, powered by water-pressure Brittany time to get wet. 9 four-hour courses from £86). jets from a huge hose (locamarine- The water does the hard work at the Here are our watersports.com; £86 for 30 minutes). Sofitel spa hotel, on the peaceful 10 ways to Tall-ship sailing: Brest, Brittany Quiberon peninsula. It specialises in have fun and Brittany is pirate country. Climb Kayaking: Iles Chausey, Normandy thalassotherapy, France’s treatment (maybe) learn 3 aboard the giant schooner La Paddle around the little-known Iles de rigueur for weight loss or something new 7 Recouvrance, a replica of a 19th- Chausey, Normandy’s Channel Islands, a circulation boost. Get smothered century military ship, and spend just off the coast of Granville. In a few with seaweed and clay in a shoulder- a day sailing around the corsairs’ shoulder-working hours, you’ll explore unclenching massage as part of the old stomping waters, along the the archipelago’s islands, its rocky fun (sofitel.com; access to spa and wild Finistère coast (larecouvrance. inlets and its wildlife — eyes peeled for seawater pool included with any com; £86, with lunch). seals and dolphins (kayakavranches.fr; treatment over £52). £70, including boat transfers). Hawaiian pirogue-ing: Lège-Cap D iving: Marseille, Provence 4Ferret, nr Bordeaux Stand-up paddleboarding: 10Wrecks, caves and kaleidoscopic Hula skirts at the ready! This trip aboard 8Perros-Guirec, nr Roscoff sea creatures — the Riou Archipelago, a six-seater Hawaiian canoe takes you SUP is all the rage in France. Learn to the east of the city by the Calanques gliding into the vast Bassin d’Arcachon, from an expert on Brittany’s Pink National Park, has an impressive 50 bound for the Ile aux Oiseaux — a tidal Granite Coast: Alexis Deniel was dive sites scattered in the deep waters island with two birdwatching cabins on European Long Board Champion in (plongeephoceenne.com; from £39 for stilts (lege-capferret.com; from £25). 2014 and leads you in exploring the a half-day dive for qualified divers).

AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 79 TotalGuide I Seaside France Voulez-vous… explore honfleur.com). Proceed to parallel Rue a picturesque harbour? Haute, where Brocante Griffoul is worth Go to: Honfleur, Normandy a rummage, piled with bric-a-brac. The grey and cream frontages of For dinner, try beef tartare in the Honfleur’s Vieux Bassin townhouses half-timbered interiors of Bistro des rightly attract admiring crowds, but you Artistes (30 Place Berthelot; mains can still dodge the tourist traps if you about £17), and bed down in peace at La know where to look. First, wander Petite Folie (lapetitefolie-honfleur.com; around the medieval streets on the doubles from £143, B&B), rammed with south side of the harbour. Then, among antique wardrobes and kitsch fabrics. the pretty shops on the north side, dive Or try: The walled town of Vannes, Voulez-vous… time to meditate into the narrow Rue de l’Homme de tucked in the corner of southern at a war monument on the coast? Bois for a trawl of Gribouille, which is Brittany, has a lovely quayside and Go to: American War Cemetery, full of Norman foodstuffs (gribouille colourful medieval houses. Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy Normandy’s most striking cemetery, set above the dramatic Omaha Beach, is the final resting place of almost 10,000 World War II soldiers. A visitor centre tells the story of the D-Day landings and the courageous stories of those buried here — many of whom lost their lives on the sands just below. Few visitors follow the local’s discreet path down to the beach, so secrets you’ll have it to yourself for quiet ‘Drive 12km west contemplation (abmc.gov). of Dieppe Or try: Bény-sur-Mer’s Canadian War to the church of Cemetery commemorates 2,000 fallen Varangeville and soldiers near D-Day landing spot Juno you’ll find a real-life Beach (cwgc.org). Impressionist painting: it’s where Monet painted the scene in his L’Eglise de Varangeville series. Georges Braque, who is buried in the church’s cemetery, designed its fabulous stained glass windows.’ Frédéric Pruvot, interior decorator, Anglars-Juillac, Lot Voulez-vous… a family holiday kids and adults will both love? Go to: Miramar La Cigale, Port du Crouesty, Brittany You could easily mistake this hotel for a cruise-liner, such is its mighty presence on a lake at the end of Brittany’s Rhuys 4CORNERS, ALAMY, AWL-IMAGES, GETTY GETTY AWL-IMAGES, ALAMY, 4CORNERS, PHOTOGRAPHS: peninsula. Fashion-fussed French guests love its seawater-inspired spa, which specialises in weight-loss and anti-aging treatments. Their children adore the activities on offer nearby, from pony-riding to tennis and sailing; the babysitting service (£10 an hour) frees parents up for cocktails in the window-lined bar (miramar-lacigale. com; doubles from £144, room only). Or try: The Pierre & Vacances holiday park, Port-Bourgenay, is close to the Vendée coast (pierreetvacances.com; a

CAROLYN BOYD, LIZ EDWARDS, DANA FACAROS, ALICIA MILLER ALICIA FACAROS, DANA EDWARDS, LIZ BOYD, CAROLYN WORDS: week for four from £385, self-catering).

80 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 81 TotalGuide I Seaside France Factfile Get me there Go independent Brest (for Brittany): Flybe flies from return. EasyJet flies from Gatwick, ByAE PL N Birmingham and Southampton, Bristol, Liverpool and Luton, from £27 (for Provence and the Côte from £59 return. one way. Flybe flies from Birmingham, d’Azur): Flybe (flybe.com) flies from Deauville (for Normandy): Ryanair Manchester and Southampton, from Birmingham and Southampton, flies from Stansted, from £20 one way. £65 return. from £70 return. Dinard (for Brittany): Ryanair flies from Nice (for Provence and the Côte d’Azur): Bastia, Corsica EasyJet (easyjet.com) Stansted and East Midlands, from £20 time-saving BA flies from Heathrow, London City, flies from Gatwick and Manchester one way. train trip Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester, D uring summer, once a week during summer, from £33 La Rochelle (for Ile de Ré): EasyJet flies from £70 return. EasyJet flies from driving times one way. Flybe flies from Birmingham from Gatwick and Bristol, from £33 along the Côte Gatwick, Luton, Belfast, Bristol, and Southampton, from £70 return. one way. Flybe flies from Birmingham, d’Azur’s can Edinburgh, Liverpool, Newcastle Béziers (for Roussillon): Ryanair Manchester and Southampton, from double. For a and Stansted, from £27 one way. Jet2 speedy day trip (ryanair.com) flies from Stansted, Luton, £70 return. Ryanair flies from Stansted, from Nice, hop on (jet2.com) flies from Leeds Bradford Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh, from £20 one way. the train and head and Manchester, from £31 one way. from £20 one way. Marseille (for Provence and the Côte east towards Monarch (monarch.com) flies from Biarritz (for the Basque Country): BA d’Azur): BA flies from Heathrow, beachy Cap d’Ail Birmingham, from £83 return. — it takes just (ba.com) flies from Heathrow, from from £89 return. EasyJet flies from 20 minutes, and Nîmes (for Roussillon and Provence): £81 return. EasyJet flies from Gatwick, Gatwick, Luton, Bristol, Glasgow and you’ll get great Ryanair flies from Stansted, Luton from £29 one way. Flybe flies from Manchester, from £21 one way. Ryanair views across to and Liverpool, from £20 one way. hidden coves Birmingham and Southampton, flies from Stansted and Edinburgh, from Paris (for Normandy): BA flies from from £70 return. Ryanair flies from £20 one way. Heathrow and Gatwick, from £78 Stansted, from £20 one way. Montpellier (for Roussillon): BA flies return. EasyJet flies from Belfast, Bordeaux (for Gironde): BA flies from from Heathrow, from £74 return. Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Gatwick, from £77 return. EasyJet flies EasyJet flies from Gatwick and Luton, Gatwick, Luton and Southend, from from Gatwick, Belfast, Bristol, Luton and from £31 one way. £19 one way. Ryanair flies from Liverpool, from £25 one way. Ryanair Nantes (for Brittany and the Vendée): Manchester, from £20 one way. flies from Stansted, from £20 one way. BA flies from Heathrow, from £70 Perpignan (for Roussillon): Flybe flies from Southampton, from £102 N ature rocks: lone return. Ryanair flies from Stansted pine tree on the and Birmingham, from £20 one way. Calanques of Cassis, Toulon (for Provence and the Côte near Marseille d’Azur): Flybe flies from Southampton, from £70 return.

By FERRY France’s north coast is extremely well served by ferry routes from the UK. DFDS Seaways (dfds.co.uk) sails up to 54 times a day from Dover to Calais (a journey time of 90 minutes) and Byan tr i Toulon (for Saint-Tropez), from £45 rough guide, Hertz (hertz.co.uk) has a editor’s Dunkirk (two hours); fares start at £39 France’s coast is well connected by train one way. Or try Voyages-SNCF (uk. inside track week picking up at Nice airport from one way for a car and up to nine people. from London, Ashford and Ebbsfleet. voyages-sncf.com), which covers the You’ll get the best £108, including basic insurance. deals on train It also has four daily sailings from It’s just over two hours from London to whole French network. If you want to tickets by booking Newhaven to Dieppe (four hours), with Paris, and up to eight hours for onward take your car, Eurotunnel (eurotunnel. as soon as they t rAVel companies fares from £49 one way. P&O Ferries connections in France — but you’ll save com) has short breaks for a car and up go on sale — Lastminute.com does bargain late deals; K

.U 10 months ahead (poferries.com) sails from Dover to O on airport taxes, avoid liquid restrictions to nine people, from £59 one way. a week in Nice at the four-star Villa

S.C for Eurostar, but C I

Calais, from £35 one way for a car and H and dodge those checked baggage only three months Bougainville hotel starts at £329pp, P

up to nine passengers. Brittany Ferries RA fees. Eurostar (eurostar.com) operates Get around for TGV room only, including Luton flights and G (brittanyferries.com) sails to Cherbourg TE direct services from London St Pancras, The most flexible way to get around is transfers. Or try thomascook.com. from Poole (4 hours daytime, 10 hours Ebbsfleet and Ashford to Calais, Lille by car, especially if you are staying in a HomeAway (homeaway.co.uk) has lots MAP: ACU S

overnight), as well as from Portsmouth E and Paris, from £29 one way, and to gîte or villa outside a main town. But be of coastal villas and gîtes; a week’s self- MAG

on its high-speed service (3 hours) I Marseille and Avignon, from £49 aware that the rules of the road are very catering in a villa near Saint-Tropez, with from April to September. It also sails to one way. You can also book onward TGV different in France, with on-the-spot private pool, starts at £278pp, sleeping Saint-Malo and Le Havre (5 hours 30 connections through Eurostar, changing fines and frequent tolls. Do your eight; flights extra. Chez Nous (chez minutes daytime; 8 hours overnight) in Paris, on routes such as Biarritz, Brest homework before you travel. If taking nous.com) has loads of French cottages;

from Portsmouth, and to Roscoff from PHOTOGRAPH: AWL (for Roscoff), Caen (for Honfleur and Le your own car, you’ll need a European a week in a luxurious three-bed gîte Y H A

Plymouth (6 hours daytime, 9 hours E Havre), Cannes, La Rochelle (for Ile de driving kit, which you can order from near Brest starts at £300. Flights extra. L

overnight), with fares from £60 return TE Ré), Montpellier, Nice, Perpignan (for the RAC (racshop.co.uk) or Halfords for a foot passenger or from £266 Banyuls and Collioure), Rennes (for (halfords.com) from £25. For hire cars, Fnurther i formation

return for a car and two passengers. KA WORDS: Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint-Michel), or compare prices at rentalcars.com. As a See france.fr.

82 Sunday Times Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday Times Travel 83