THE TOP TEN ❘ FRANCE'S BEST BEACH ES
1. A MONUMENTAL VIEW LA PLAGE DE DRAGEY-RONTHON, MANCHE (NORMANDY) It’s hard to imagine a more expansive, impressive backdrop as you lay down your beach towel. Flanked by windswept dunes, and featuring Europe’s highest tide dominating the bay shared by Normandy and Brittany, plus a stunning light show at sundown, Dragey- Ronthon’s pièce de résistance is a distant spectacle rising from the sea almost 14km away: Mont Saint-Michel, the glorious abbey-topped rocky island listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. A great beach for taking the salty air,
strolling and horse riding. •
www.tourisme-granville-terre-mer.com/ en;
www.manche-tourism.com
This image and below: Biarritz's famous sandy beaches of Miramar and La Grande Plage on the Bay of Biscay; Calanques d'En Vau on the Mediterranean coast near the city of Marseille
3. SURFER’S PARADISE GRANDE PLAGE/PLAGE DE MIRAMAR, BIARRITZ, PYRÉNÉES-ATLANTIQUES (NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE)
Why not try horse riding along the beach with a view of Mont Saint-Michel?
2. FAMILY FORTUNE SAINT-JEAN-DE-MONTS, VENDÉE (PAYS DE LA LOIRE)
Even during high tide, you are guaranteed to fi nd plenty of space on one of 22 huge beaches of the Pays de Saint-Jean-de-Monts, whose fi ne sandy plages are among the sunniest on the French Atlantic coast. They are perfect for little ones – gently sloping and rock-free. For added family peace of mind, bracelets with the parents’ number are given to children on request at the lifeguard stations on the supervised beaches and at the nearby tourist offi ces. All beach access car
parks are free. •
en.paysdesaintjeandemonts.fr;
www.in-vendee.com
66 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Jun/Jul 2023
This Basque country beauty made its mark as the go-to seaside bolthole for the well-to-do after it gained the aristo approval of Princess Eugénie, Napoléon III’s wife. Her love for Biarritz is credited with transforming a small fi shing village into a destination de rigueur. Besides today’s thalassotherapy spas and high-end hotels, the town is now a notable surfi ng hotspot, with bodyboarding for beginners in supervised areas due to strong currents. The Miramar beach is located in the extension of the Grande Plage, behind the iconic Hôtel du Palais, which was
once Princess Eugénie’s summer house. •
tourisme.biarritz.fr/en;
www.en-pays-basque.fr/en
Soak up the sunshine on the vast sandy beaches of Saint-Jean-de-Monts on the Atlantic coast
4. SPLENDID ISOLATION CALANQUE D’EN VAU, BOUCHES- DU-RHÔNE (PROVENCE-ALPES- CÔTE D’AZUR) Viewed from above, this slither of sparkling turquoise sea cutting through high white limestone cliffs in the Calanques National Park, is little short of breathtaking. The Calanque d’En Vau is one of Bouches-du-Rhône’s celebrated coves (called calanques in French) that attracts visitors from all over France, not just beach-lovers from nearby Marseille. Kayaking, rock-climbing and hiking are popular (access by foot or by boat drop-off from Cassis) but the prize is a spot on the little pebbled beach below and a dip in the magnifi cent crystal-clear shallows. Sun-seekers
IMAGES © OFFICE DE TOURISME MONT SAINT-MICHEL/NEIL GRANT, SHUTTERSTOCK, GRUISSAN TOURISME, PAYS DE SAINT-JEAN-DE-MONTS TOURISME/ALEXANDRE LAMOUREUX
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