Côte de Jade

The Jade Coast (French: Côte de Jade) constitutes the coastal fringe of the Pays de Retz in Loire-Atlantique, extending from the Loire estuary in the north to the Marais breton in the south, thus bordering the Bay of Bourgneuf on its southern part. Its jagged coasts and its numerous beaches are of summer tourist interest.

Jade Coast
Côte de Jade
Riviera
From top down, left to right: Carrelets at la Roussellerie (Saint-Brévin-les-Pins), Port de Comberge at Tharon-Plage, La pointe Saint-Gildas in Prefailles, Noëveillard beach in Pornic.
Coordinates: 47.135°N 2.245°W / 47.135; -2.245
CountryFrance

Description

There is a notable disparity between the coasts north and south of Pointe Saint-Gildas.

To the north, from Mindin (Saint-Brevin-les-Pins) to Cormier (La Plaine-sur-Mer) stretch long fine sandy beaches with vast foreshores, bordered by pine-wooded dunes or low cliffs.

To the south, from La Plaine-sur-Mer to La Bernerie-en-Retz, the coast is wilder and presents a succession of coves and more or less reduced beaches, separated by rocky areas with larger schist cliffs. These then fade into the mudflats, salt marshes and polders of the Marais Breton around Les Moutiers-en-Retz.[1][2]

Development

Tourism in the Pays de Retz developed from the late 17th century with the fashion for therapeutic bathing leading to the development of beach facilities in Pornic.[3][4]

Toponymy

The Côte de Jade was named from jade-green colours of the sea during the expansion of tourism during the 1930s.[5]

Côte de Jade at Saint-Brevin-les-Pins

Resorts

The principal resorts of the Côte de Jade are:

References
  1. "Les marais de Lyarne" [The Lyarne marshes] (in French). Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. Loire-Atlantique 2018/2019 (in French). Petit Futé. 3 July 2018. ISBN 9791033193760.
  3. Aoustin, Agathe (2019). "Métamorphose d'un site isolé en lieu de villégiature : l'exemple du port de Pornic (1820-1939)" [Metamorphosis of an isolated site into a holiday resort: The example of the port of Pornic (1820-1939)]. Mémoires de la Société d'Histoire et d'Archéologie de Bretagne (in French). 97: 103–116.
  4. Aoustin, Agathe (14 December 2013), Urbanisme et architecture balnéaires de la côte de Jade (Loire-Atlantique), 1820-1975 [Seaside town planning and architecture of the Jade Coast (Loire-Atlantique), 1820-1975] (thesis) (in French), University of Paris
  5. Vallée, Marion (21 August 2020). "La question pas si bête : pourquoi le littoral sud de la Loire-Atlantique est surnommé la côte de Jade ?" [It is not such a silly question: why is the southern coast of Loire-Atlantique called the Jade Coast?]. Le Courrier du Pays de Retz (in French).
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