The bay of La Baule
The bay of La Baule is crescent of fine golden sand which stretches between the ports of Le Pouliguen and Pornichet. In 2011 she has made its much deserved entry into the prestigious club of ‘the most beautiful bays in the world’!
The transition from ‘la bôle’ to La Baule
The development of ‘the seaside resort’ first saw the light of day in Le Croisic, the trend quickly spread to other adjacent towns thanks to the arrival of the railway line in Saint-Nazaire in 1857. The subsequent link from Saint-Nazaire-Le Croisic ran through an area known at the time as ‘La Bôle’. This area was all but deserted, lost in the middle of the sand dunes planted with maritime pines.As early as 1880, spurred on by the influence wealthy entrepreneurs and shop-owners, an area which once was a vast wooded open space devoid of any buildings, became a successful seaside resort created from scratch. The same period saw the resort’s name evolve to become what it is today ‘La Baule’.
The villas, true gems of seaside architecture
The coastal resort boast a magnificent array of seaside villas each and every one a veritable treasure of period architecture. You are sure to fall under the charm of these villas dotted amongst the maritime pines…each competing for your attention as they display their many influences ranging from Moorish to Basque to English and their variety of styles including ‘Art Déco’ and ‘Belle Epoque’. The given names of these grand town houses such as ‘Pax’, ‘Régina’… - remind us of their inextricable links to the families who once owned them. As ‘listed buildings’ they are afforded special conservation status and remain to this day witnesses to a period when the fashion of sea-bathing and the arrival of the railway to the area gave rise to the early beginnings of seaside tourism.
9 km of soft sandy beach
With its 9km of fine golden sands, south facing, the magnificent Bay of La Baule finds favour with everyone from the amateur to the professional sportsmen and women to the ‘eternal romantics’ amongst us, seduced by an unfor-gettable sunset over the ocean’s waves…
The prestigious Club of ‘the most beautiful bays in the world’
November 2011 saw the bay become a member of The Club of the most beautiful bays in the world!
Founded some 15 years ago this club is a veritable hub for the exchange of information and best practice. The Club’s primary objective is to become ‘the international point of reference for a well thought through management policy of coastal areas’. The conditions for admission to the Club are particularly strict. Each bay must fulfil a minimum of two of the criteria recognized by Unesco in terms of their cultural and/or natural heritage.
