On the west coast, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is a busy harbour and lively town with a long wide stretch of beautiful sandy beach.
The river ‘La Vie’ runs through the town going from the salt marshes to the sea. Saint Gilles Croix de Vie was originally two separate communes – one on either side of the river: Saint-Gilles-Sur-Vie (on the left side of the river) and Croix-de-Vie (on the right side). These fused together in 1967 to make the one town.
The harbour is known for its sardine fishing and Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is also headquarters for the fish factory ‘Les Dieux’!
It is lively in the summer – there are plenty of bars, restaurants & shops. There is an annual Jazz Festival (the Pentecost weekend)
You will enjoy excellent celebrations on the 14th July finishing up at the beach for fireworks.
The Must-see Destinations:
- La Maison des Ecrivains de la Mer :A literary centre with a library and a reading room, dedicated to maritime literature. Facing the sea, it is also an exhibition centre where seafaring adventurers meet!
- The Maison du Pêcheur is a reconstruction of an interior of the 1920s. This former fisherman's house has two rooms and a courtyard. It has furniture, utensils and clothing from the eras well as temporary exhibitions on the world of fishing and local life.
- Les Rimajures, Former studio of the Vendéen painter Henry Simon this bourrine has been turned into an exhibition space and souvenir of the artist's work. Many reproductions, displays and archival documents lead you to the the heart of his work.It is also a moment of relaxation to share in the gardens and a shop dedicated to the painter.
- The Josephine tower is a relic of one of the oldest maritime buildings in the harbour of Saint Gilles Croix de Vie. It was the first lighthouse of the City. On January 20, 1837, 16 captains of the harbour, made the very first request to build a lighthouse, that could be seen two or three miles out of sea and it was placed at the end of the Croix de Vie harbour wall. It then marked the entrance to the harbour until 1875. The tower then was used as a repository for explosives in order to build the new bridges and highways. hence its alternative name "Dynamite Tower"!
The tower is named in honor of the Empress Josephine, Napoleon's bride.
