Best known for its sliding sports, the Côte de Lumière has some nice surprises in store for you! Les Sables d'Olonne seems to be the cradle since the city is full of places more surprising than each other… Let's go to a destination more unusual than ever!
Descent into hell…
The street of hell, the well of hell, the name seems recurrent but what is the particularity of these places? They are out of the ordinary: a huge fault in the coastline, the narrowest street in the world, you can find this nowhere else! These places are amazing from a physical point of view, but there is also a whole mysticity that surrounds them. Take for example the well of hell: legend has it that the thud caused by the waves on the rocks would be that of the complaints of a fisherman of the region. He would, indeed, have been thrown there after betraying his fiancée. He would beg her to forgive him. 
The street of hell recalls, meanwhile, the atmosphere of hell, its narrowness making it rather dark. In the Guinness World Records since 1986, the street, which is only 40 cm wide, was replaced in 2006 by an alley in Reutlingen, Germany.
Trip to Penotte Island
We have not left Les Sables, but the journey is fascinating. Since 1997, a Danièle Arnaud-Aubin sand has been transforming this district: shells are harvested and assembled. Making, thus, real frescoes on the walls of the streets, the frames of the doors … With her association "les amis de l'île Penotte", she also allows schoolchildren to participate in the collages of these shells. Stroll through the alleys, you will discover Poseidon, Ulysses and the mermaids and many other tales. Everything brings us back to a strong theme of Les Sables: the sea and its universe! 
As we can see, the artist uses all kinds of shells, here knives but also mosaic shards. The shells come in part from donations from the eponymous Museum that can be visited rue Maréchal Leclerc.
Boarding for La Chaume
We find in La Chaume, many frescoes in trompe-l'oeil. They cover the walls of Place Sainte-Anne but also the EDF technical rooms. It is the work of Manfred Landreau, an artist from the region. The work is at least recent, about fifteen years at most! This former sardine fishing village is part of Les Sables d'Olonne, it is considered more of a district. An atypical district, to say the least, since it is connected to the city by the channel. It can be reached by taking a sea shuttle, count about 1.10 € for the crossing. 
Even if Les Sables d'Olonne owes most of its fame to the Vendée Globe, the city's cultural richness is not limited to this. The Sainte-Croix Abbey Museum has an important collection of modern and contemporary art. Les Sables is not only street art, it is a rich artistic heritage that you can't wait to discover!
Good addresses
Shell Museum Port de Pêche 8 rue du Maréchal Leclerc 85100 LES SABLES D'OLONNE Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte Croix Rue de Verdun 85100 Les Sables d'Olonne
