Le Pouliguen, France
Pays de la Loire Region
“Smell the sea and feel the sky, let your soul and spirits fly.”
Rocky shore in Le Pouliguen
The seaside resort town of Le Pouliguen lies on the Atlantic coast in the Pays de la Loire region of France. The main beach is long and sandy. Its position at the end of the ‘côte sauvage’ means that if you travel along the coast, it becomes more rocky with caves and cliffs along the beach.
First Impression
We ended up in this small resort town quite by chance after our previously scheduled Airbnb fell through. It had been a rainy drive and we rolled into town too early to check in so we went in search of a place to find a late lunch. (This tends to be rather difficult throughout France, where most restaurants typically open for a few hours around noon and then close again around 2 before reopening for dinner.) Luckily, we found a small restaurant that was open and made our way inside to escape the relentless rain. No other customers were there while we had our meal, so we had the undivided attention of the wonderful staff.
As we often found in smaller towns throughout France, no one on staff spoke English. This did not keep our server from engaging with us. Ellie’s three semesters of college French helped us to get pieces of the conversation as she talked about the squirrels we were watching from the window and how they love to run across the pool cover.
We enjoyed a warm lunch including fries, which were perfectly seasoned. Since Sophie received ice cream with her kids' meal, Kevin ordered a banana split for the rest of us to share. A loss in translation resulted in us getting 2 of them for the 4 of us to share. They were huge and delicious. The strawberry was more like a sherbet, which was a little odd to us at first, but its sharp flavor really complimented the rich, dark chocolate.
The friendly service was an inviting welcome to this small town on such a rainy and dark travel day. Even the weather seemed to improve during our time at lunch and the sun was shining as we made our way to our Airbnb.
Click on photo to enlarge and see descriptions.
Comfortable Airbnb
We were excited upon entering our Airbnb. There was plenty of room for each of us to unpack and settle in for a few days. The kitchen was huge and well-stocked with all of the basic appliances and tools that we would need to make some wonderful meals. The dining room table was quite long so we used one end of it as our pantry for all of our shelf-stable food supplies and used the other end to serve our meals. The TV in the family room was a decent size and the L-shaped couch was comfortable and large enough for each of us to sit down at once. We even had a laundry room in a half bath off the kitchen with a washer AND a dryer – a welcome sight in France where dryers are a luxury.
It was clear that the owners used this as their own vacation home and lovingly cared for it and stocked it well for visitors. We particularly liked a few of the unique touches this location offered. The key, for one, was antique and made us feel like we were entering an enchanted cottage each time we used it. The hosts also provided a journal for guests to write about their stay. It was fun to read (what we could understand) about other visitors and to add our own entry to the log.
Kevin and I had a bedroom with a queen-sized bed on the main floor while the girls’ bedrooms were upstairs. The Littles shared a large bedroom with one twin bed and one full-sized bed, while Ellie had her own room with a full bed. We all shared a large full bath on the main floor, which was thoughtfully stocked with all the essentials. All of the windows had shutters to protect from the harsh ocean winds. These kept our rooms dark and cozy. We were all quite comfy overnight and slept well into the late morning.
Exploring the Beach
We set out on a family walk on our 2nd afternoon, planning to spend about an hour. Several blocks from the property, and entirely within a residential area, we located the cliffside overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The beaches were all very rocky and separated in sections by large boulders and cliffs. We decided to walk down the first set of stone stairs to the beach. We were treated to an entirely different perspective down by the rocks and sand, watching the waves crash hard against the boulders.
After that, we continued to explore every nook and cranny, walking up and down various sets of steps and along the well-worn trail at the top of the cliffs. The girls found caves and crevices and climbed atop boulders to get new views. We walked the trail back home at sunset watching the colors change on the horizon and passing locals along the way. (Be sure to use your “bonsoir” rather than “bonjour” in the evenings.) By the time we arrived back, we had spent 3 hours exploring the beach!
Feeling at Home
We spent the next few days making ourselves comfortable. This was another location (of many) where we found ourselves truly at home. The weather was rainy for much of our stay so we slept as much as we wanted and caught up on our laundry. We settled onto the comfy couch and watched our beloved Cowboys, through the magic of Surfshark. Ellie and the Littles had schoolwork, so they were each able to get some work done. (The house was even large enough to allow Ellie to have a video meeting with her Senior Seminar group until about 5 in the morning to work on a project without bothering any of the rest of us.)
One of the best things we did was to take advantage of the local produce and fish to make some wonderful home-cooked meals during our stay. Kevin and I shopped at both Lidl and the Supermarché during our visit. I made a fresh broccoli cheddar soup paired with ham and provolone sandwiches on fresh baguettes with butter. (The butter in France is so delicious!!) Kevin also made salmon skewers wrapped in prosciutto to accompany our leftover soup the following day. We sipped local wines in the evening and settled into life in France.
This is the visit that showed us how we could have the food and comforts of home even while traveling in a foreign country. We applied our learnings throughout our next two months and added to them as we went. We wanted to make sure that we explored parts of France that are uncommonly found by the average tourist. This town, a favorite summer vacation destination for locals, certainly fit that bill. We found it to be beautiful even in the rainy, cooler days of autumn. We are so glad that our other Airbnb fell through, and we happened upon this wonderful sea-side resort town.
Kevin seated atop a boulder enjoying the view
