Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie brings together beaches, fishing and maritime heritage. Its coastline includes 3.5 km of fine sandy beaches and rocky stretches. There are also water sports, guided tours about fishing and cultural sites. When planning your stay, you can focus on different interests: spend more time at the beach, learn about sardine fishing or explore the town’s history.
Beaches and water sports
Grande Plage is suitable for surfing. Boisvinet Beach has a water sports centre. Saint Gilles Croix de Vie Nautisme also offers a range of activities: sailing, surfing, kitesurfing, canoeing, windsurfing, land sailing, stand-up paddleboarding and a wake park. These activities are listed for 2026; check what is available before booking. This lets you treat beach time and water sports as distinct focuses of your trip, rather than combining them with visits related to the harbour and heritage.
Fishing and sardine culture
The fishing harbour offers the guided tour “En direct de la Criée”. Visitors can watch a real fish auction; check whether the tour is available before your trip. Another tour, “Les Coulisses de la Criée”, ends with a tasting of grilled sardines and runs seasonally from April to September. Both experiences are connected to the town’s fishing history, but each has a different focus: one centres on the auction, while the other ends with a tasting.
An award also tells the story of sardine fishing: in 1998, the harbour became the first French harbour to receive the “Site Remarquable du Goût” label. Escale Pêche has a permanent exhibition, “Le voyage du poisson de l’océan à l’assiette”. The Atelier de la Sardine is housed in an old farmhouse and includes a museum, an art gallery and a shop. These places explore fishing in different ways—through a guided tour, an exhibition, the harbour’s award and a venue with several different spaces.
Maritime heritage and culture
The Maison du PĂŞcheur, a typical house from the 1920s, stands in the Maroc district. Its address is 22 rue du Maroc, and it can be visited on guided tours. Another maritime landmark is Le Hope: the former fish-trap fishing boat was built in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, has been listed as a Monument historique since 1998 and can be seen in the marina.
Église Sainte-Croix is also one of the town’s notable cultural sites. The Romanesque-Byzantine church was built to plans by Nantes architect M. Menard. The Atelier Henry Simon – Les Rimajures is a tourist and cultural exhibition and memorial site honouring Henry Simon, a painter, ceramic artist and decorator from the Vendée. The church, the artist’s memorial and the maritime sites therefore offer different ways to explore the history and culture of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie.
Trails and the harbour from the water
The trails each have a different focus. “Gaspard et le voleur de sardines” passes through Vieux Saint-Gilles and continues to Grande Plage. On “Le Chemin de la Sardine”, blue fish painted on the ground point the way to the town’s sardine-fishing history. “Au fil des pierres de lest” runs through Vieux Saint-Gilles and leads to local historical figures and heritage sites. You can choose a trail based on your destination or interest: Grande Plage, sardine fishing or local history.
A guided boat trip, “Au fil de la Vie”, offers another perspective. It departs from Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie at the foot of the Concorde bridge; along the way, the commentary covers local wildlife and plant life, as well as the history of the harbour and fishing. Departure details may vary by season; check them before your visit. The Port la Vie marina is in the heart of the maritime town. It has 1,000 berths on pontoons, as well as 160 spaces for short stays.
Plan your stay around your interests
When looking for a hotel or other accommodation, you can start by thinking about which side of the town you would like to shape your stay. Beaches and water sports offer a different focus from the fish auction, sardine culture or trails through Vieux Saint-Gilles. You can choose which places and activities to visit based on your interests; they do not form a set itinerary. This lets you plan your trip around the things you actually want to experience.
Discover more destinations: Le Poiré-Sur-Vie, Saint-Hilaire-Le-Vouhis, Sainte-Flaive-Des-Loups, Saint-Prouant, Le Givre, Sainte-Florence, Saint-Georges-De-Montaigu, Sainte-Foy.
For the regional travel overview: Vendée.
