{"id":8420,"date":"2025-12-02T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woonlookbook.com\/?p=8420"},"modified":"2026-01-05T16:59:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T15:59:42","slug":"pays-de-la-loire-discoveries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woonlookbook.com\/nl\/pays-de-la-loire-discoveries\/","title":{"rendered":"Pays de la Loire Discoveries"},"content":{"rendered":"

A gentle pause …. and a fresh beginning <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes you need to step back for a moment, even from something you love. Over the past three months, I gave myself a little pause from Woonlookbook. No deadlines, no \u201cshoulds,\u201d just a bit of bretahing space. You might recognize that feeling: creating becomes so much easier when the mind has room. And now, slowly but surely, the colors and ideas are flowing again.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only does the site look very fresh now, I also feel completely energized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ease back in, I want to take you somewhere soft and inspiring, a place that reminded me of how much beauty there is in slowing down. So in this blog more about an energizing region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The walls, salt fields and thatched houses of Gu\u00e9rande<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you love places where history and atmosphere can be felt in every stone, then Gu\u00e9rande and the Pays de la Loire might steal your heart. This small walled town, often called the \u201cCarcassonne of the West,\u201d sits between the salty marshes of the Atlantic and the gentle hills of inland France. Within its medieval gates you\u2019ll find cobbled streets, timbered houses, and churches that glow in the soft Loire light. Step outside the walls, and the landscape opens into salt pans that shimmer like mirrors, villages with reed-thatched cottages, and a rhythm of life that feels slower, simpler, and deeply connected to nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first vacation as a single mom with three kids was to La Turballe (just a few kilometers from Gu\u00e9rande) in the Pays de la Loire. The reason was simple: I had a tent and wanted to stay within 1000 kilometers of home so I could drive there in a single day. This was back in the nineties, already about 30 years ago.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year I went back with my friend Lenie, staying in a lodge on the very same campground, ready for a trip down memory lane. I wondered: would it be a disappointment, with memories more beautiful than reality? Or would the area still shine with its charm? Luckily, it turned out to be the latter. I loved it all over again. So let me take you along on a three-day tour and show you why this is also a wonderful option for a weekend getaway as part of a longer trip in France. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to visit, Day 1: The walls of Gu\u00e9rande and La Baule<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Morning Day 1 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Start at the walls of Gu\u00e9rande.<\/strong> Gu\u00e9rande is one of the few places in France where the entire medieval rampart still stands. The historic city center is protected (secteur sauvegard\u00e9) and has the \u201cVille d\u2019art et d\u2019histoire \u201clabel. When you walk through the Saint-Michel gate and step onto the stone path, you feel how solid and steady this place has always been.  
There are several sights worth seeing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n