From fishing to commerce and conquest, from tourism to artistic inspiration, France has always benefited from this overture to the seas.  I know many welcoming places along the coast where I have often enjoyed my summers. Let me introduce you to the best of them!

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The ocean borders France on three sides: north, west and south. From fishing to commerce and conquest, from tourism to artistic inspiration, France has always benefited from this overture to the seas. I know many welcoming places along the coast where I have often enjoyed my summers. Let me introduce you to the best of them. To start with -- the wide, the great, Atlantic Coast!
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Bretagne: Wild, traditional and romantic
Massive rocks, small and secretive beaches of ivory white sand, stiff cliffs assaulted by a raging sea, lunatic weather, and the smell of salted butter and cr&ecirc;pes coming from Old Ma's Kitchen at the corner of a narrow, paved street. Welcome to Bretagne!
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La C&ocirc;te d'Emeraude
&ldquo;The colour of the sea and the lining of forest reflecting in it, that splendid symphony of green and blue: that is what why I called it The Emerald Coast,&rdquo; says Eugene Herpin, a French historian from the 19th century. As he tells you, there&rsquo;s no need to fly over thousands of kilometers to bathe in an transparent emerald-blue sea. Walk along the hills of Northern Bretagne, and climb down the old stone stairs for a moment of peace in one of its wild and lovely coves of white sand. No palm-trees, no sharks, no soothing water warmed by a blazing sun. Expect only freedom, silence, discretion and cold water (rarely warmer than 18&deg;C).
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Mont Saint-Michel is a must-see. It&rsquo;s a fortress built in the middle of the sea, only accessible at low tide.
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Saint-Malo, a historic citadel that once stood as a main port for trade between America and Europe, is also worth walking through. Listen to Les Marins d&rsquo;lroise-Santainom, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uh249iQyj0">famous song</a>&nbsp;to put yourself in a sailing mood. Along the Emerald Coast, stop for lunch in Saint-Lunaire, an adorable village where you might meet Jean Rochefort, one of France's most celebrated actors.
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How to get there
by plane: Dinard airport with Ryanair
by train: <a href="http://www.sncf.com/">www.sncf.fr</a>&nbsp;
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<img src="https://01d04dc66b4e3a4c4c93-ed7165fd755afd5811f5d7ebed3ff477.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/default218_0.jpg" alt="" />
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From Vannes to Douarnenez
Five kilometers farther to the west, take a break in Dinard for the afternoon and enjoy this petit-bourgeois city as Victor Hugo, Picasso and Agatha Christie once did.
The region between Vannes and Douarnenez has a distinctive Breton atmosphere. Many inhabitants in this area consider themselves to be more Breton than French. In fact, in the streets, you&rsquo;ll find shops and flags celebrating the Breton identity.
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A few cities are absolutely worth visiting:
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● Quimper, where you can eat the best Cr&ecirc;pes in Bretagne.
● Vannes, a rich little city with a massive fortress circling the historic center.
● Little villages that are very attractive in the summer : la Trinit&eacute;-sur-mer, Quiberon, P&eacute;nestin and Ploemer provide many choices for couples, families and groups of friends to go on holidays.
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How to get there :
By train: <a href="http://www.sncf.fr">www.sncf.fr </a>
By plane: Lorient Bretagne Sud airport, with Air France
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Deux &icirc;les : Belle-&icirc;le, l'&icirc;le de Groix
● Beautiful islands surround Bretagne. Belle-&icirc;le-en-Mer and l'&Icirc;le de Groix, are my favorites.
● Belle-&icirc;le-en-Mer is the largest island of Bretagne. It is appreciated by families and groups of friends from France, as well as from Germany and the United Kingdom.
● L'&Icirc;le de Groix is a more secretive island, great for diving and sailing.
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How to get there :
By ship: <a href="http://www.compagnie-oceane.fr/">http://www.compagnie-oceane.fr/</a>
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 Vend&eacute;e
Long flat beaches, big waves and golden sun. It is one of the most sunniest regions in France. That&rsquo;s the reason we call it La c&ocirc;te de Lumi&egrave;re (the Coast of Light). The coast of Vend&eacute;e is a big travel destination for the French. I personally have spent every summer of my teenage years in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, a fishing village that transforms into a welcoming tourist destination from May to October. Here&rsquo;s a view of the region:&nbsp;
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Flat land, long beaches.
Vend&eacute;e is a place to go if you appreciate relaxing by day on a sunny beach while listening to the hum of waves (or your iPod). In July and August, the water temperature varies between 16 and 24&deg;C. Waves are big (Vendee is not far from the region surfing capital Les Landes), so you should watch out for your kids and always bathe at a supervised beach.
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The Vendee coast is very developed, with buildings facing the beach and a lot of amusement and water parks around for tourists. Choose between la-Tranche-Sur-Mer, Jard-Sur-Mer, Les Sables d'Olonnes, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie or Saint-Jean-de-Mont: Each city on the coast has a fishing economy, and you can eat premium-quality fish and seafood for cheap. Most of the French tourists rent apartments or houses for their stay, which I also recommend you to do.
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 How to get there :
By train: <a href="http://www.sncf.fr">www.sncf.fr </a>
By plane : Nantes-Atlantiques airport, with Air France, Air Corsica, Air Transit, EasyJet, Flybe., HOP! Iberia, Jetairfly, Royal Air Maroc; Ryanair, Tunisair, Volotea, Vueling, XL Airways
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Les Landes&ndash;Destination Surf
Les Landes is flat land with long beaches and the biggest waves I&rsquo;ve ever seen. Les Landes is the region of France located south to Bordeaux, between Biscarosse and Biarritz. It is a preserved coast, famous for its big and fragile sand dunes and its pine forest covering 66% of the territory.
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Lacanau &ndash; the capital of French surf
Could you ever imagine there&rsquo;s a place in France where surfing is the local sport? Well, there is: Lacanau-Ocean. This is the place where Maxime (one of my best friends) goes surfing every summer and where he meets his surfer friends at the Lacanau Pro Competition, which is a part of the World Qualifying Series for the World Championship Tour. So, if you practise surfing regularly or if you want to start, Lacanau-Ocean is your destination.
<img src="http://da89a3706c2f93e6baf7-ed7165fd755afd5811f5d7ebed3ff477.r47.cf1.rackcdn.com/default216_0.jpg" alt="" width="396" height="265" />
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Les Landes is also appreciated by families who look for both tranquility and wide open spaces. You can horse-ride on the beach, and I promise that a full gallop along the ocean is a dramatic experience!
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La Dune du Pyla
La Dune du Pyla is a natural attraction in the Landes. It is a 115 meter-high dune, the highest in Europe.
<img src="http://da89a3706c2f93e6baf7-ed7165fd755afd5811f5d7ebed3ff477.r47.cf1.rackcdn.com/default217_0.jpg" alt="" />&nbsp;
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For any further information, please surf the following pages :
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<a href="http://www.tourismebretagne.com/">Tourisme Bretagne</a> <a href="http://www.vendee-tourisme.com/">Vend&eacute;e Tourisme</a>&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ll write to you next time for a flyover over Normandie and the South coast!
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Edited by Ilene Springer
Hero Image By&nbsp;<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:4490..JPG#mediaviewer/File:4490..JPG">Steffen Heilfort</a>&nbsp;(<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>)
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