Thank you very much for getting back to me Bernard G. We are looking forward to having a look there and exploring the coastline road up to noimoutier.

It's difficult to find much charm to the sea front of Les Sables, but the rest of the town is sympatic. The coast just north of the town is scenic, and, if you have time, visit the salt marches. There you will find cycling or hicking pathes. St Gilles Croix de Vie is also interesting, specially the narrows streets of the old fishing village.

I agree with Bernard about the coast to the North of Les Sables being attractive. We went to a beach called Plage de Sauveterre which was a mix of sand and low dark rocks. It was unspoilt and a little wild, and the shrubs and trees seemed very Southern in character. We parked right by the beach without difficulty. Another place where we liked the coastline was Bretignolles-sur-Mer which also had a wildish beach along the Corniche road. Again, we found an easy parking space.

I quite liked Les Sables. There are some ugly modern buildings but also quite a number of gracious older villas, and almost everywhere was well kept and seemed prosperous. We had no difficulty in finding a parking place. There were people around but it was not overcrowded and there was a nice atmosphere. This was on a beautiful sunny day at the end of September 2015. I expect that in high season finding a parking space would be much more difficult.