Pays de la Loire: The Vende

This new title from Bradt is the only English-language guide to focus on Pays de la Loire: The Vende and surrounding area including Pornic, La Rochelle, le de R and Nantes, an increasingly popular part of France. Written by award-winning travel writer Murray Stewart and Angela Bird, who for almost 50 years has owned a home in the region, it offers comprehensive coverage of this beguiling area, with details on everything from family holidays to walks, cycling, local cuisine and history. Thanks to the authors' long history with the area, the guide also reveals the quirks and themes which give the Vende its own distinct character, as well as straying just beyond the area's boundaries to incorporate La Rochelle and Nantes, both entry points for those arriving by air and both offering urban distractions for the occasional rainy day. The Vende offers all the benefits of a well-established destination, both with French and British visitors, with easy access times from the UK by ferry adding to its appeal. Popular with campers and self-caterers, its sunny climate and 140km of sandy beaches, combined with tree-lined canals and open marshland, make for a diverse outdoor playground. Bradt's The Vende and surrounding area includes information on suggested walks and cycleways and also summarises the best places for bird-watching. The region has no true cities, or even large towns, but the guide includes details of the many local museums which provide easily accessible insight into the bloody history of an area which has, at times, been central to the evolution of modern-day France.