Sussex has a number of twin towns and Worthing in West Sussex is twinned with Les Sables d’Olonne on the Atlantic coast in France. Les Sables is sunny, sandy and historic and has a number of features that link it to both Worthing and Sussex.
A little about twinning
The system of twinning dates back to WWII and is a method of international co-operation and friendship. Some links between twinned towns are official but many are informal links between groups of people.
The aim of twinning is to encourage connections and exchanges between individual towns and cities. A shared sense of history can be the root of many original twinnings.
Worthing Twinning Association
In 1997, Worthing twinned with four small towns in the Elztal region, situated in the Black Forest in southern Germany. In the same year, Worthing also formed an association with the Pays d’Olonnes on the west coast of France and in 1998, formalised this relationship into a twinning. Pays d’Olonne was merged into Les Sables d’Olonne in 2019 and is the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France.
Les Sables d’Olonne history
Like Worthing, Les Sables d’Olonne is a seaside town with a long and interesting history. Les Sables d’Olonne was founded in 1218 by Savary I de Mauléon, Lord of Mauléon, Sénéchal of Poitou and Prince of Talmont. Meanwhile, although it probably dates back to the Neolithic period, Worthing was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was a small mackerel fishing village until, in the late 18th century, it developed into an elegant seaside resort. Similarly, Les Sables has always been a port with a strong fishing history but started to attract tourists for its bathing in the 19th century and evolved into a stylish seaside resort.
Exploring the town
Whilst these days Les Sables is perhaps best known as being home of the single handed yacht race, the Vendée Globe, like Worthing, it also has a bustling seafront with a long, busy promenade (known as Le Remblai). Originally built to protect the town from the sea, in the late 19th century, a number of magnificent villas were built along the Le Remblai and it’s a great place to start to get your bearings as you explore the town. It’s lined with shops and restaurants that spill out onto the pavement and you’ll find street entertainers aplenty here as the night falls.
Unlike Worthing, Les Sables doesn’t have a traditional pier but it does have 3 kms of sandy beach, where you’ll find an array of water sports and some great sea swimming. A popular local pastime seems to be sea walking and you’ll see many of the slightly more mature population walking waist deep in water up and down the beach. But when you’ve had enough of any of the endless sea views and beach bars, take any of the narrow lanes that lead from Le Remblais and you’re into a network of bustling streets with lots of boutiques to explore.
Look out for L’île Penotte, an outdoor museum and street where the occupants have decorated their walls and houses with murals made from seashells. Another must visit is the food hall, where you can enjoy fresh oysters and wine, buy your fresh fruit and veg and stock up on lots of local produce before a quick visit to the large and impressive 17th century church opposite, Church Notre-Dame de Bon Port. There are museums worth a visit in this part of the town too including the Hospital Blockhouse Museum, the Shell Museum and the Holy Cross Abbey Museum where you’ll find modern and contemporary art in a 17th-century abbey.
Back on the beach, if you look south east, you’ll see a statue of Ulysses in the water. Beyond this, there are rocks and rock pooling before you head south east to the zoo and the Lac de Tanchet, an 8 hectare lake perfect for walks with views of the sea.
La Chaume
If you stand on the beach and look west, you can see not one, but two lighthouses marking the entrance to the harbour. Beyond that is La Chaume which used to be an island and the main fishing district of the town. It has a completely different vibe to the main part of Les Sables and feels a little like stepping back in time.
It’s a long walk around to cross the harbour mouth by foot but you can catch a little ferry across and this will take you right into La Chaume. Don’t be surprised when you find the Arundel Tower. Yes, our Sussex Arundel! It was built as a watch tower by Lord Arundel, then English governor of Poitou.
You can also visit the Saint-Nicolas priory right on the peninsula and built in the 11th century. They hold exhibitions and have a number of sculptures and from here, you can walk via a tunnel right to the water’s edge. Finally, before you leave this part of town, visit Place Sainte Anne, with its impressive trompe-l’oeil mural, and then stop off at the lively food market.
Surrounding countryside
If you want to be a twinning purist and visit what was the Pays d’Olonne, head north to Olonne sur Mer. Much like Sussex, here you’ll find forests, an 11th century church, an 18th century castle and salt marshes. Or head south to Chateau d’Olonne, a district rather than a castle, where you can walk the coastal path, and visit the dramatic coast line called Puits d’Enfer.
There is a shared history as well as the seaside connection between Les Sables and Sussex which makes this twinning very logical. We don’t know why you’d want to leave Sussex, but if you do, exploring twinned towns is a great way to discover other towns in Europe and beyond.
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