A day after my trip to Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, I took the train again, this time to go to Le Croisic.
Different trains, different regions, and different atmospheres.
France is a small country, but it’s surprisingly diverse.
Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is south of Nantes, in Vendée—“Vendée” is one of 101 French “départments,” i.e. administrative “countries.” Le Croisic is north of Nantes, and while it’s technically in the Loire-Atlantique “département,” it’s culturally very close to Brittany.
Both Saint-Gilles and Le Croisic are seaside towns and they are “only” 115 kilometres apart but they couldn’t be more different.
Saint-Gilles is home to long, sandy beaches, while Le Croisic is a peninsula with small, rocky creeks and tall cliffs. In Saint-Gilles, you will eat “brioche,” while Le Croisic snacks on sweet “crêpes” much like the rest of Brittany. Forget about surfing, but you can pick your own oysters and mussels in Le Croisic at low tide. Even houses look different—houses in Brittany all have grey slate roofs, hell, entire houses are made out of slate.
I felt I was surrounded by rocks and minerals in Le Croisic.
Lovely place for a long walk along the peninsula but only on a sunny day—this kind of rough landscape makes me feel vaguely anxious for some reason.
