Les Sables-d'Olonne

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Les Sables-d'Olonne
Subprefecture and commune
View of Les Sables-d'Olonne
Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Advocata nostra, ora pro nobis
show Location of Les Sables-d'Olonne Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne Show map of FranceShow map of Pays de la LoireShow all
Coordinates: 46°29′50″N 1°47′00″W / 46.4972°N 1.7833°W / 46.4972; -1.7833Coordinates: 46°29′50″N 1°47′00″W / 46.4972°N 1.7833°W / 46.4972; -1.7833
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Vendée
Arrondissement	Les Sables-d'Olonne
Canton	Les Sables-d'Olonne
Intercommunality	Les Sables-d'Olonne Agglomeration
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Yannick Moreau
Area 1	86.07 km2 (33.23 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2018)[1]	44,355
• Density	520/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	85194 /85100, 85340, 85180
Elevation	0–59 m (0–194 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Les Sables-d'Olonne (French pronunciation: [le sabl dɔlɔn] (listen); French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne") is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, it has the administrative level of commune. On 1 January 2019, the municipalities of Olonne-sur-Mer, Château-d'Olonne and Les Sables-d'Olonne merged, retaining the latter name.^[2]

Location and geography[]

This section needs expansion with: sources of current information, and information expanding on its physical and political geography. You can help by . (November 2016)

Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated on the coast between La Rochelle and Saint-Nazaire, near the coastal terminus of the A87 that connects it and nearby communities to La Roche-sur-Yon, Cholet, and Angers to the northeast. The nearest major metropolitan center of France, to Les Sables-d'Olonne, is Nantes, to the north (approximately 105 km, by road).^[3]

It is at the level of administrative division in the French Republic of a commune^[4]—roughly equivalent to civil townships in the United States^{[citation needed]}—and is a sub-prefecture of the Department of Vendée.^[5]

History[]

This section needs expansion with: sources of current information, and supplemental information from 1945 to present. You can help by . (November 2016)

Les Sables-d'Olonne (pronounced [le sabl dolɔn]) is French for "the sands of Olonne". It was founded in 1218 from Havre d'Olonne by Savary I de Mauléon, the Lord of Mauléon, Sénéchal of Poitou and prince of Talmont.^{[citation needed]} Its history is tied to the ocean for which it has served as a port and point of maritime commerce.^{[citation needed]} Louis XI separated Les Sables d'Olonne from the town of Olonne in 1472.^{[citation needed]} It became the largest cod-fishing port in France, with 14,000 inhabitants, in the 17th century.^{[citation needed]} During the French Revolution, unlike the surrounding Vendée, the city supported the Republic, and so was often besieged—unsuccessfully, because of its port.^{[citation needed]} The current local tourism industry traces its roots to bathing establishments, first begun in 1825. Rail service reached Les Sables on 29 December 1866, via the line from La Roche-sur-Yon, Bressuire, Saumur, and Tours;^{[citation needed]} express service to and from Paris would arrive in 1971.^{[citation needed]} The city's port served as a base port for American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.^[6]Germany occupied Les Sables d'Olonne during World War II^{[citation needed]} and, upon evacuation of that army at war's end, the German army made an effort to destroy the port, and mined the harbor.^{[citation needed]}

Population[]

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Les Sables-d'Olonne proper, in its geography at the given years. The populations of Olonne-sur-Mer and Château-d'Olonne, absorbed in 2019, are not included.

Interests and events[]

The Vendée Globe yacht race, which takes place every four years, starts and ends at Les Sables-d'Olonne.^{[citation needed]}

The Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix is a municipal museum situated in a 17th-century building that is devoted to modern and contemporary art, and that has "Musée de France" status.^{[citation needed]} It includes works of Gaston Chaissac (1910–1964) and Victor Brauner (1903–1966).^{[citation needed][why?]}

Les Sables-d'Olonne is the setting for 1948 novel  [fr], by Georges Simenon.^{[citation needed]}

The town is the birthplace of pirate François l'Olonnais.^{[citation needed][why?]}

Twin towns – sister cities[]

Les Sables-d'Olonne is twinned with:^[10]

Gallery[]

• 

  The channel, view from the tower St-Clair

• 

  The channel, from the west dock

• 

  Promenade de l'Amiral Lafargue

• 

  The priory St-Nicolas

• 

  The tower St-Clair

See also[]

• Communes of the Vendée department

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Les Sables-d'Olonne.

• Official website (in French)
• Les Sables-d'Olonne, Vendee Globe Race (in English)
• Les Sables-d'Olonne Tourist Board (in French)