The scent of salty air, invigorating sea spray and a relaxing atmosphere... breathe! Happiness is waiting on the Atlantic coast. From La Baule down to the Basque Country, the sea’s natural benefits are harnessed to create bespoke treatments, with thalassotherapy centres offering a wealth of ways to feel good and a host of novel features. All to be consumed without moderation.
Feel unique in La Baule
Because feeling beautiful also makes you feel better, La Thalasso & Spa Barrière Le Royal La Baule calls on the expertise of the famous Champs-Elysées clinic in its Medical Spa, where state-of-the-art, non-invasive equipment enables everyone to enhance their skin and reshape their figure. To extend the experience, linger in the Thalasso & Spa area, offering innovative well-being treatments: stimulating relaxation sessions in front of an aquarium of jellyfish or a seaweed wrap with Guérande mother waters and infra-red in a Japanese sauna, the choice is yours!
Transform yourself in Pornichet
‘Metamorphosis’ is the overall wellness approach on offer at the Relais Thalasso Château des Tourelles in Pornichet. It’s all about physical and mental reprogramming with body and facial care, sports coaching, healthy food (a juice bar, plus gluten- and lactose-free breakfasts), cooking classes and talks on naturotherapy... to strip back and start again.
Relais Thalasso - Château des Tourelles (French only)
Get sporty in Pornic
Muscle strengthening, healthy heart maintenance and a refined physique… there’s nothing like regular exercise to feel good. The ‘Tempo Sport’ experience at the Alliance Pornic invites guests to find their own rhythm and establish a personalised, structured and sustainable programme, with the invaluable advice of a coach.
Give your back some love in Les Sables-d’Olonne
Back pain is the complaint of the century – daily tensions cause articular and muscle strain that a break by the sea can relieve. At the Thalasso Relais in Les Sables d’Olonne, the back is the focus of the new ‘Dos et Harmonie du Corps’ treatment. There are 24 treatments across 6 days involving stretching, relaxing massages, wraps, baths with essential oils and even a session with an osteopath.
Côté Ouest Relais Thalasso, Les Sables d'Olonne (French only)
Find your zen in Saint-Jean-de-Monts
Goodbye stress and fatigue! To find your inner calm, try restorative program ‘Zen & Sleep’ developed by the Thalasso Valdys Resort in Saint-Jean-de-Monts. It offers a choice of workshops (sopho-relaxation, meditation, breathing, yoga, self-massage or Nordic walking), two individual relaxation sessions, three full body cryotherapy sessions and tips on releasing tension.
Breathe on Île de Ré
You can’t have good health and energy levels without optimal oxygenation. Thalasso Île de Ré focuses on breathing through two new innovative treatments. Revolutionary in thalassotherapy, ‘Cure Oxygenation’ and ‘Cocktail O2’ use a hyperbaric chamber equipped with marine aerosols. You’ll truly catch your breath after a few days!
Côté Thalasso Ile de Ré (French only)
Tone up on Île d’Oléron
Located at the edge of the magnificent Gatseau beach, the recently renovated Novotel Thalassa on the island of Oléron offers a new personalised sensory marine course in a private pool, alternating between relaxing and invigorating water jets. While comfortably lying on an underwater bed, visitors enjoy a lymphatic drainage directly into the water.
Improve your sleep in La Rochelle
Renowned for its seaside restaurant Gaya Cuisine, whose iodised gourmet dishes are prepared by Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire, the hotel La Grande Terrasse, located in Châtelaillon-Plage, just a few kilometres south of La Rochelle, is one of the Atlantic coast's unmissable wellness destinations for those who want to enjoy the benefits of seawater for body and mind! The Thalasso Spa Marin offers a range of relaxing and invigorating treatments, including an affusion massage, a remineralising mask with trace element-rich seaweed cream, a hydromassage bed, a body scrub with Dead Sea oils and salts, and a water massage combining seawater and plant oils. And for even more relaxation, you can't resist taking the marine trail with its outdoor jacuzzi, jet pool, steam rooms and sauna, solarium overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and ice fountain...
Stick to your resolutions in Arcachon
From the Pilat Dune to the pine forest, the Bay of Arcachon is the perfect place to take a wellness break, recharge your batteries and relieve the stresses of everyday life! The Thalazur thalasso centre offers a range of treatments to help you look after your back, including self-heating mud applications, hydromassage beds, cryotherapy, back massages and jet showers.
Thalazur Arcachon (French only)
Slow down in Saint-Jean-de-Luz
At Thalazur in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, life slows down. Learning to live in the present moment is the objective of this exclusive centre’s series of four treatments, entitled ‘Slow’. Workshops in “Slow gourmet tasting” and “Slow conscious walking” by the sea accompany an “Anti-stress slow attitude”, which teaches visitors how to lead a gentler way of life.
Find out more: - Prepare your stay in Pays de la Loire - Prepare your stay in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
By Pascale Filliâtre
Journalist-traveller. I often voyage to the end of the world to explore what France offers... just next door. filliatre.pascale@orange.fr
