A Beach Vacation in France – the Atlantic Coast
For July 12, 2025
Michael MacKuen

Today we fly down the northwest Atlantic coast of France in the fine summer weather of July. Each year the French typically take a month for an extended family vacation in either July or August. The two types of people, set by family tradition, divide into the “jullietists” and the “aoûtiens.” The two argue about which is best.

We start on Quiberon on the south Brittany coast and go southward through the classic beach resorts of La Baule and Les Sables d’Olonne and the coastal cities of Saint-Nazaire and La Rochelle. And then down the famous wine region the Médoc and finish near Bordeaux. While jammed with Summer vacationers, this coast is more rural and laid-back than the more famous Mediterranean beaches. Accordingly, we shall fly low-and-slow to accommodate the vibe.


The long beach at La Baule

We begin at Quiberon [LFEQ], now a famous seaside resort for French tourists. In the 19^th century it became famous for its sardines with men out to sea and women working in the sardine can factories. With the 1882 arrival of the railroad, sardines were replaced with tourists. By the 20^th century, it became a favored destination for actors, artists and writers. Taking off, we can circle to see the active local harbor, fortress, and ferry. Crossing Quiberon Bay, we pass the small “twin” granite islands Houat and Hoedic. And then on to La Baule [LFRE] which, on the arrival of the railroad, quickly transformed its very long semi-circular beach to became a fashionable seaside resort. By the 1920s, it acquired two new railway stations, a seaside promenade, a chapel, a casino, villas and luxury hotels. Retaining its chic image, La Baule remains a very popular destination nowadays. We circle over the beach and land at the airport. In addition to the region’s normal attractions, the airport hosts an aviation museum (MAPICA) with a collection of restored historical French aircraft in flying condition.

Next is Saint-Nazaire, long known for its fishing and ship-building. The world-class Chantiers de l’Atlantic shipyards built some of the most notable ocean liners (Normandie, France, Queen Mary 2) and today it constructed Symphony of the Seas, one of the largest cruise ships of the world. By the end of the 19^th century, Saint-Nazaire had become one of France’s main seaports and an industrial center on its own. In the 20^th century, the city built the Joubert drydock, then the largest  in the world. (In WWII, the Germans built one of their grand submarine bases here … the sturdy concrete construction remains today.) We shall take a look at the Saint-Nazaire Bridge and then the whimsical 130m aluminum Serpent d’Ocean just offshore of Saint Brevin. We travel south along the beach-fringed coastline, stopping at the small aeroclub airstrip at Beauvoir Fromentine [LFEO], before reaching Talmont [LFOO], the recreational airfield for Les Sables-d’Olonne. Along with La Baule, Les Sables-d’Olonne was an early trendy seaside resort and has enjoyed continued success into the 21^st century.

Next we fly over the crêpe-flat Île de Ré, an island of towns, beaches, vineyards and salt flats. Since the 1988 opening of the mainland bridge, holiday home owners and vacation visitors have arrived in numbers – during the summer they increase the local population tenfold. Especially charming is Saint-Martin-de-Ré which mixes professional fishing boats with yachts and boutique shops. We continue to the main regional city La Rochelle and its commercial airport Ile de Re [LFBH]. La Rochelle has a long history, from Gallo-Roman times, as a commercial town and major port. The twin towers Tour de la Chaine and Tour Saint-Nicolas still guard the entrance to the inner harbor. The large Aquarium and the colorfully-roofed Musee Maritime de la Rochelle are real tourist attractions.

This region, the Charante Maritime, is an increasingly attractive vacation destination. We fly south over Île d’Aix and Fort Boyard (short-lived 19^th century island forts built to protect the coastline), the latter of which is now more famous as the site of a French reality TV show. We cross to the Île d’Oléron to visit Saint-Denis, a pretty port and fishing village. We turn at the lighthouse Phare de Chassiron and fly south to land at the Aerodrome de L’Île d’Oléron [LFDP]. This is the second largest island in France (after Corsica) and mixes salt flats and quaint fishing villages with beautiful beaches and busy tourist accommodations. Then southward to the main town and the Citadelle du Château-d’Oléron, a large 17^th century fortress ordered by Cardinal Richelieu and later modernized by Vauban. As we leave the island, we see the Oléron Bridge which along with those of Île de Ré and Saint-Nazaire are the three longest bridges in France. We continue southward to Royan Medis [LFCY] and the historic seaside resort town of Royan at the mouth of the Gironde. This is one of the main French Atlantic coastal resorts with five beaches, and a marina for over 1,000 boats.

Then over the Phare de Cordouan and south to the Médoc, the low-lying sandy peninsula on the left bank of the Gironde estuary. This region owes it success mainly to the production of Bordeaux red wine; it is home to 1,500 vineyards. (It is believed that the key is the soil which has excellent drainage and a gravel content that encourages ripening and extensive root systems.) This is the land, the terroir, that defines the heights of French red wine: almost all of the 1855 Classification red wines are from the Médoc. We land at Saint Laurent Medoc [LFDU]. And then fly southward over some of the most prestigious chateaux in the world of viticulture. (The labeled markers are geographically correct and the underlying photoreal textures are noticeably sharp. But the physical representations of the chateaux are only vaguely approximate.) We pass the “new” Stadium of Bordeaux, cross the Garonne at the Aquitaine Bridge, and land at the small grass airfield Yvrac [LFDY].

We finish with a quick trip over Bordeaux. We fly over the Cite du Vin museum and the “high-lift”Jacques Chaban-Delmas Bridge and note a low hanging “Thank You” balloon. Then the center city of Bordeaux, including the large urban square Place des Quinconces and the Cathedral Saint-Andre. Just southeast of the main railway station we encounter the lovely multi-story commercial building that houses Asobo Studios. We fly south to land at the busy general aviation airport at Leognan-Saucats [LFCS] which hosts several aeroclubs. After our flight is over, we can get together to relax at the Restaurant les Ailes on the southern end of the tarmac’s parking spots.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here.

Aircraft
The route is about 260nm and is designed for low-and-slow summertime beach flying. The main idea is to take the new freeware “Famous Flyer” Piper PA-28 Dakota and explore its virtues. (Other similar aircraft will do 140-150kts.) I’ll give the Dakota a try. As ever, please fly what you like.

Scenery
Here are some airport improvements that you might appreciate. These are FS2020 sceneries (that that work well in FS2024) and explicit FS2024 sceneries. Thanks for the authors for their excellent work. (LFCS is an informal Asobo-crafted airfield.)

Presqu’ile de Quiberon [LFEQ] v1.2. MaxGG60 [2024]
      (For best results, in FS2024 marketplace or Orbx or elsewhere, acquire/find/activate
        the freeware Seafront Simulation Core Vessels package.)
La Baule-Escoublac [LFRE]. cyclope78 
Décor de Saint-Nazaire 2020. Richard1932
Décor de Saint-Nazaire 2024 fix. Richard1932
Le Serpent d’Ocean. michelvp
Fromentine Beauvoir [LFFO]. MaxGG60
Les Sables d’Olonne Talmont [LFOO]. MaxGG60 
La Rochelle Ile de Re [LFBH]. MaxGG60 [2024]
La Rochelle Landmarks. mv46
Phare de Chassiron. Davy33127
St. Pierre d’Oleron [LFDP]. MaxGG60 [2024]
Royan Medis [LFCY]. MaxGG60 [2024]
Lesparre St Laurent Medoc [LFDU]. laserjet34 [2024]
Bordeaux Yvrac [LFDY]. laserjet34
Bordeaux Cite du Vin. mv46

In addition there are two good payware versions of LFBH. (The freeware version is fine.)

You may have many of these sceneries already. If you want a full package, go here. (925MB). A “light” version that leaves out the extensive Quiberon scenery and the La Rochelle [LFBH] airport is here. (423MB)

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 4:00pm local for July 12, 2025.
We typically prefer real weather.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, July 12, 2025. 1900 UTC
RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!
 

Very nice flight!  This one is a keeper.. 🙂