The Côte d'Amour (, literally ''Coast of Love'') is a name given to part of the north western

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast of the

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

region in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It runs from Le Traict de Pen Bé to the mouth of the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

, both of which are in the

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

department. The coastline includes the peninsula of

Guérande Guérande (; , ; ) is a medieval town located in the departments of France, department of Loire-Atlantique, and the administrative regions of France, region of Pays de la Loire, Western France. The inhabitants are referred to as ''Guérandais'' ...

(in French "Presqu'île de Guérande", including the following localities and seaside resorts from south to north:

Pornichet Pornichet (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Geography Location Pornichet is a coastal town of the Côte d'Amour, located ten kilometers west of the centre of Saint-Nazaire. The adjacent communes are ...

La Baule-Escoublac La Baule-Escoublac (; Gallo: ''Écoubiâ'', , ), commonly referred to as La Baule, is a commune in Loire-Atlantique, a department in Pays de la Loire, western France. History Seaside resort In 1879, when the Saint-Nazaire- Croisic railroa ...

Le Pouliguen Le Pouliguen (; ) is a commune of western France, located in the Loire-Atlantique department, Pays de la Loire. Le Pouliguen is situated between La Baule-Escoublac and Batz-sur-Mer. Port The port is located at the border between Le Pouliguen a ...

Le Croisic Le Croisic (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, western France. It is part of the urban area of Saint-Nazaire. History In the autumn of 1583, while the Catholic Church in Ireland was illegal and underground, Archbishop Der ...

Batz-sur-Mer Batz-sur-Mer (, literally ''Batz on Sea''; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Borg-de-Baz'', ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France. The commune is situated on a former island, which ...

La Turballe La Turballe (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. This commune is known for its harbor, which is the first fishing harbor in the region. Every summer, there is a sardine party (fête de la sardine in French). L ...

Piriac-sur-Mer Piriac-sur-Mer (, literally ''Piriac on Sea''; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population See also *La Baule - Guérande Peninsula *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list o ...

and

Mesquer Mesquer (; Gallo: ''Mésqè'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population References See also *La Baule - Guérande Peninsula *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list of ...

Etymology

In 1913, the newspaper ''La Mouette'' organised an opinion poll to give a name to the shore and that is when it became "La Côte d'Amour". Despite popular assumptions, the name is not related to sex.

History

Until the 19th century, the area contained two small fishing ports:

in the east and

in the west. They were separated by a large sand stretch called La Bôle. The local economy was fueled by two industries. The first was fishing and seaweed collecting; seaweed would be used as a fertiliser called "Goémon". The second was salt extraction from the local

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed thr ...

s (). These economic activities declined around the 18th century, causing large sandbanks to form and

salt marshes A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open Seawater, saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the ti ...

to drain. Le Pouliguen was a home to big boats and was known for

cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...

fishing. It was the main point of transport to

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. A naval building site was established in the city.

Development

In light of the emergence of new innovations, a group of constructors transformed the sandbank into a

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

. The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

evolved and became a

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

unique to the Côte d'Amour due to this new

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. Another factor in the coastline's transformation was the extension of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

from

in 1879 by the engineer Antoine de la Perrière. Investors saw potential in La Bôle and its surrounding villages, believing its microclimate would attract tourists if better advertised. With the help of Georges Lafont, an architect from

, La Bôle was developed into a town with what is now the De Gaulle avenue running through it, which is perpendicular to the sea and links to the station. They also constructed a sea boulevard, parallel to the sea, that linked the three seaside stations of the shore: Le Pouliguen, La Bôle and Pornichet. When the railway arrived to all three stations and the coast was ready to open in 1887, the name of La Bôle was changed to Escoublac-La Baule and later

. This was to preserve the name of the original village, Escoublac, which was previously next to the sandbank. Local and tourism development continued into the 20th century.

Today

The whole coastline is frequented by tourists, especially from April to October. It is characterised by its nature, its seaside resorts and sea-related activities. La Baule is referred to as a " Garden-city". The aim is to preserve the original architectural structure and nature of the city, for it to continue being a city in a forest in front of the sea. All three stations are home to several businesses, particularly those concerning water-regarding activities and sports. Equestrian centres are also found in the area.

Festivals and events

There is a year-round weekly local market in each of the local communities. During winter at the Bois des Aulnes (), there is a family Christmas event called Noël Magique (). La Baule Jumping Competition, an international equestrian competition, is held over the course of three days in May at the François André stadium.
La Baule Jazz Festival
takes place in the summer. At the same time, Le Pouliguen () festival is held in July where more than 300 musicians and performers participate. JUmping La Baule

Gallery

Baie 3.JPG, Beach Côte Sauvage 3.JPG, Near Le Pouliguen Baie NIght.jpg, Beach

References

* "La Côte d'Amour Pornichet-La Baule-Le Pouliguen" Éditions Ouest France

External links

* http://www.tourisme-lecroisic.fr/la-cote-d-amour-2-13-frd.html * http://www.cotedamour.fr/ * http://www.labaule.fr/ * http://www.ville-pornichet.fr/ * http://www.lepouliguen.fr/ * http://www.mairie-batzsurmer.fr/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20020805160631/http://www.mairie-laturballe.fr/ * http://www.mesquer-quimiac.com/ * http://www.ville-guerande.fr/ * http://www.ot-guerande.fr/ * http://www.piriac.net/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20170403052911/http://www.mairie-saintnazaire.fr/site-officiel-de-la-ville-de-saint-nazaire-44600/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Cote D'amour Loire-Atlantique Amour Seaside resorts in France Pays de la Loire Brittany