A long extended weekend on the Loire-Atlantique coast: 9km of arguably Europe's best free beach, a walled medieval salt town, and flat cycling through pink-tinged salt marshes worked by hand for centuries.
La Baule's beach is a genuinely famous 9km crescent of fine sand facing a sheltered bay — routinely ranked among Europe's best city beaches, and entirely free to walk, swim, or bivouac-adjacent to. Six kilometres inland, Guérande's intact 15th-century granite ramparts encircle a medieval town that never got knocked down, and around it spread the marais salants — hand-worked salt pans where paludiers still rake fleur de sel exactly as they have for 1,500 years. The whole peninsula is flat, bike-friendly, and cheap to explore once you're there — the real cost of this trip is the drive.
Meudon-la-Forêt to La Baule is roughly 453 km, about 4h45–5h of driving via A11 (through Le Mans and Angers) then A11/A83 toward Nantes and N165 out to the coast. At a realistic 330–370 km range on this car's 97% SOH battery, this trip needs one Supercharger stop each way — comfortably enough margin that a second stop is an optional buffer rather than a requirement.
Sources: Tesla.com Supercharger location pages for Le Mans and Nantes/La Chapelle-sur-Erdre.
Long driving day — leave early or overnight-charge and leave at dawn. Break at the Le Mans Supercharger (worth a short stretch, it's a modern 250kW station); with a comfortable margin left after that, the Nantes/La Chapelle-sur-Erdre charger is only worth a stop if you want extra buffer before the final 90-minute run to the coast. Arrive La Baule by evening, walk the beach at sunset to shake off the drive.
The 9km beach is the whole point — free, wide, and clean, with a paved promenade backing it the entire length for an easy bike ride. If you want to actually get in the water beyond swimming, Atlantic Surf Academy runs 2-hour group surf lessons around La Baule/Pornichet bay for €42/person (board and wetsuit typically included). Otherwise: swim, walk, cook dinner off the tailgate, and watch the sunset over the bay — one of the few French Atlantic beaches that faces roughly west-southwest for a proper sunset.
Morning: drive or bike the ~6km to Guérande and walk the complete circuit of the 15th-century ramparts — free, and one of the best-preserved fortified medieval towns in France. Wander the walled old town's narrow streets. Afternoon: cycle out into the marais salants on the flat network of paths that thread between the salt pans (bike loaded in the car per the usual setup, no rack). If you want context beyond just looking at the pans, a real paludier-led tour is worth it — La Roulotte Bleue (Stéphane Jaffrelot, a working paludier) runs small-group tours at €8/adult, €4 for ages 6–12, walking you right into the salines to see how fleur de sel is actually raked.
One more relaxed morning on the beach or a longer coastal bike ride toward Pornichet, then begin the long drive back — one Supercharger stop at Le Mans in reverse (Nantes optional again), arriving Meudon-la-Forêt by evening.
Sources: park4night listing for Guérande — Avenue de la Brière; campingcarpark.com and labaule-guerande.com aire listings; bon-plan-camping.fr and campingcard.fr low-season tent pricing.
This is one of the flattest, most bike-friendly stretches in the whole series — a paved promenade runs the full 9km of La Baule beach, and a dense network of flat gravel/paved paths crisscrosses the salt marshes between Guérande and the coast, purpose-built for cycling and walking among the salt pans. Bike loaded inside per the Car Camping & Bike Guide — no range penalty, and genuinely the best way to see the marais salants up close without disturbing the working salines.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tolls (A11/A81, Paris–Nantes area, round trip) | ≈ €35–45 |
| Charging (2 mandatory Supercharger stops round trip, plus optional buffer stops) | ≈ €18–35 |
| Lodging (free aire some nights, paid camping-car park ~€13/night others, 3 nights) | €15–40 |
| Surf lesson (Atlantic Surf Academy, 2h) | €42 |
| Guided salt marsh tour (La Roulotte Bleue) | €8 |
| Treat meal: galette at La Salorge, Guérande | ≈ €11.50–15 with drink |
| Fleur de sel souvenir (1kg, direct from producer) | ≈ €16 |
| Food (mostly self-cooked, 3–4 days) | ≈ €30–35 |
| Total | €110–160 |