Saint-Marc-sur-Mer is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

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 ...

, situated in the commune of

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 ...

( principal place of the arrondissement of Saint-Nazaire, in the department of

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. ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

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 ...

). It is located to the west of the center of the town of Saint-Nazaire, of which it is a district. Originally named Crépelet, at the end of the 19th century it was given the name of the saint to whom its chapel was dedicated.

The birthplace of "Monsieur Hulot"

From the summer to autumn of 1951, the town's beach was the filming location for the exterior scenes of

Jacques Tati Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, filmmaker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted 46th (a list of the top 50 was ...

's comedic film '' Monsieur Hulot's Holiday''. Tati spent weeks searching for a suitable location, and upon discovering Saint-Marc wrote that it was "the little corner I have been dreaming of". The Hôtel de la Plage, which appeared as the holiday residence of the titular Monsieur Hulot, still exists, and was renovated in 2010. Some scenes were shot in studios, notably those set in the hotel's restaurant; but many key scenes were shot on location, such as the tennis match, which took place in the garden of the Château de Saint-Marc, and the beach scenes, at Saint-Marc's beach. The beach is now known as ' ("Monsieur Hulot's Beach"). In 1999, at the request of Tati's daughter, a statue of Tati as Monsieur Hulot by sculptor Emmanuel Debarre was erected on the seafront. It originally included Hulot's signature pipe, which was removed by vandals not long after its unveiling.

Coastline and beaches

From the to the , the boundary between Saint-Nazaire and

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 ...

, the coast measures a little more than . It has numerous southeast-facing beaches, including: * the beach of Fort de L'Ève, with a large campsite * the beach of la Courance (lifeguard-supervised in summer), renowned as a location for

bodyboard Bodyboarding is a water sport in which the surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore. Bodyboarding is also referred to as ''Boogieboarding'' due to the invention of the "Boogie ...

ing and skimboarding * the beach of Saint-Marc (lifeguard-supervised in summer) * the beach of Saint-Eugène * the beach of Grand Traict, known among surfers for its surf spots * the beach and manor of Géorama * the beach of the Petite Vallée, partly

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

. The , the boundary between the Loire estuary and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, is the site of the Fort de Chemoulin, occupied by the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, who manage Chemoulin's semaphore watchtower and control maritime traffic into the entrance of the estuary. The fort is also a ' coastal monitoring station. Beyond Chemoulin, the coast is oriented to the southwest and includes: * the beach of Jaunais cove, sometimes called Chemoulin cove, well protected from the wind by high cliffs, a naturist beach * the beach of Jaunais (lifeguard-supervised in summer) is the final beach of Saint-Marc, at the boundary of the town of Pornichet.

References

Citations

* * *

Bibliography

* Stéphane Pajot, ''Les Vacances de Monsieur Tati: Hulot à Saint-Marc-sur-Mer''. Éditions d'Orbestier, Le Château d'Olonne, 2003. {{Subject bar, France, auto=1 Saint-Nazaire Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast Tourist attractions in Loire-Atlantique