Discover La Vendee, the quiet French region Parisians kept for themselves
The La Vendee region of France, long a hidden summer retreat for Parisians, is beginning to open up to international tourism. The area is known for its unique marshland history, traditional thatched cottages, and local agricultural products like salt and algae.
Why it matters
This highlights the shift in European travel trends as lesser-known regional destinations seek to capitalize on post-pandemic tourism interest.
La Vendee, a hidden French region, is popular with Parisians and now opening to tourism. Photo / Julien Gazeau
Unbelievably, there’s a region of France which the rest of the world still doesn’t know about. It’s La Vendee and it’s where many Parisians spend the summer, Jo Kesell writes.
Martians are a creation of science fiction. Or so I thought before arriving in La Vendee, a region of France on the Atlantic coast south of the Loire.
Here, ‘Maraichins’ are the talk of the town and, although it sounds sci-fi, it’s actually the name given to the French people who lived off this land. And this land is marshy. So it’s not so much Martians as MARSH-IANS!
If you’re unfamiliar with the French ‘Maraichins’ or La Vendee, then you’re not alone.
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