Enjoy a guided tour
In Les Sables d'Olonne, adventure isn't limited to outdoor activities: group guided tours also promise a captivating exploration of the region's hidden treasures. Get ready to delve deep into the history and culture of Les Sables d'Olonne on thrilling tours led by local experts. Pass through the picturesque streets of the Chaume district, steeped in the town's authentic maritime atmosphere, and discover its age-old secrets. Continue your journey through the maze of the Saint-Pierre district, where the old church reveals fascinating tales from the past. Finally, let yourself be drawn into the twists and turns of the Passage district, where every street corner reveals surprising anecdotes. So, which tour should we start with?
Priscilla's guided tours
Follow our tour guide, Priscilla, as she wends her way through the narrow streets of Les Sables d'Olonne, to find out everything there is to know about the destination!
A Sablaise-style tour of the town, visits to local districts, maritime heritage, Sablaise architecture, city tour by coach, etc.
Works by the architect Charles Charrier and his sons are omnipresent in the town of Les Sables d'Olonne.
From modest houses for fishermen to sublime villas on the embankment, they can all be identified by the distinctive Charrier style and the materials used.
Discover them on a tour between the town centre and the embankment.
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 3km.
- Start: Place Navarin, in front of the Palazzo Clementina.
- Arrival: on the embankment.
This little-known district of Les Sables d'Olonne is full of small houses with exuberant inter-war architecture.
Behind the proud houses of the Remblai, another page of Sables architecture deserves to be discovered in this part of the town long nicknamed "the end of town".
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 1.5km.
- Start and finish point: Square Charbonnier (along Boulevard Pasteur, opposite the old hospital).
A themed tour to discover maritime signalling structures: from the Armandèche lighthouse to the Arundel Tower.
Your guide will explore the role of lighthouses and beacons, essential for finding your way at sea and warning of dangers.
Discover the history of navigation and understand how man has managed to develop the natural environment (jetties, channels, etc.).
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 3.5km.
- Start and finish: at the foot of the Armandèche lighthouse (via the Arundel tower).
Please note that the visit to the lighthouses (Armandèche and Arundel) is not included.
Thematic tour of the revolutionary period. Take a look at some of the key sites and how the Republican town was organised to resist the military Vendée.
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 2km.
- Start: in front of Les Sables d'Olonne Tourist Office.
- Finish: on the embankment.
Immerse yourself in the history of this maritime district of Les Sables d'Olonne.
From its beginnings on the dune to the present day, this picturesque district bears witness to the town's maritime past, the advent of sardine canneries and the development of the seaside resort.
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 1km.
- Start and finish point: in front of Les Sables d'Olonne Tourist Office.
La Chaume, a former seaside village on the other side of the channel, developed in the Middle Ages under the impetus of maritime trade.
The St Nicolas priory and jetty, the Chailley villa and the Arundel tower all bear witness to the town's maritime identity.
Then discover the picturesque little streets lined with fishermen's cottages that make up the charm of this colourful district.
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 2.5km.
- Start: in front of the Prieuré Saint Nicolas.
- Arrival: Quai George V (Place Neuve).
Take a guided tour of the maritime district of La Chaume to discover the district's architecture, local life and unusual little streets with sometimes surprising names.
- Duration: 1h30.
- Distance: 1.75km.
- Start: at the end of the Capitainerie car park in La Chaume, opposite Rue des Marais.
- Finish: Arundel Tower.
A seaside resort with eclectic architecture, the town of Les Sables d'Olonne first developed around its port before opening up to the ocean in the 19th century thanks to tourism.
Discover its history and development through a rich architectural heritage: the fishermen's houses in the Passage district, the 17th and 18th century shipowners' residences in the town centre, not forgetting the promenade along the embankment dotted with exuberant seaside villas.
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 2km.
- Departure point: in front of the Tourist Office.
- Finish: la pendule (embankment).
Maurice Durand was born in Les Sables-d'Olonne in 1884.
Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he devoted his architectural career to his home town, where he was municipal architect.
From seaside villas to tenement buildings and public works, not forgetting the emblematic Pendule du Remblai, we take a look back at an exceptional career.
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 1.5km.
- Start: on the embankment, in front of Villa Mirasol.
- Finish: embankment (loop circuit).
Return to the golden age of the port of Les Sables d'Olonne when it specialised in cod fishing.
As you wander through the streets, some of the houses still bear witness to this prestigious past: while the facades may seem austere, the ornate portals, sculpted details and wrought ironwork bear witness to a fine elegance.
Discover the history of the port and the families who helped make Les Sables d'Olonne the Kingdom's leading port in the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Distance: 2km.
- Departure point: in front of Les Sables d'Olonne Tourist Office.
- Arrival: town hall.
