Les Charmes

Camping Les Charmes is located in Apremont, a small town of character in the Vendée, 4 km from Lac d’Apremont and close to Challans. Saint-Jean-de-Monts is half an hour away by road, the beaches about 25 minutes and the Puy du Fou one hour. Rated 4 stars, the site has 134 pitches in a leafy setting and holds the Home Vélo label.

The accommodation range is wide: mobile homes with 1 to 3 bedrooms in the Premium, Confort and Éco ranges (including several air-conditioned Premium models), three-bedroom chalets for 6 to 8 people and lodges of 11 to 32 m². Pitches come in three types: Premium of 180 to 220 m², Confort of 100 to 155 m² and one hiker or cyclist plot without electricity of 80 m². Electric hook-ups are 10 amp.

The website states “open all year round” and gives no annual closure. Reception is open from 9am to 7pm every day except in July and August. Between September and April, the holiday accommodation can be rented by the month, and an area reserved for mobile professionals stays open all year, with a four-night “mid week” package from Monday to Friday. Pitch opening dates are not published: it is best to ask before booking in winter.

A discount of at least 20% applies to stays of seven nights or more outside July and August.

Escape game and connected trail in Apremont all year round, All Saints’ events at the château, Lac d’Apremont accessible all year.

The campsite offers a full range of comfort services. Wifi is free throughout the site, an electric vehicle charging point is installed, and pets are accepted under conditions: category 3 dogs, tattooed or microchipped and vaccinated, kept on a lead, with a maximum of two per pitch or rental. A bread and pastry service, tourist information and the hire of fridges and plancha grills complete the reception offer.

Two enclosed washroom blocks serve the campsite. The first, close to the pool and open all season, includes a washroom for people with reduced mobility with a seated shower, as well as a baby area equipped with a bathtub and a changing mat. A private relaxation area with hot tub and sauna can be booked and is chargeable. In summer, the snack bar serves on site or to take away, and the bar has a terrace overlooking the pool.

The heated indoor pool is open from the April school holidays to the October ones, with water guaranteed at 28 °C or more from 1 May to 30 September. It is complemented by a paddling pool, an enclosed lobby with child safety lock and a sunbathing area with sun loungers. The snack bar is only open from early July to early September: outside summer, it is best to plan your own meals.

In summer, the programme is full. Every Sunday at 6:30pm, a welcome drink presents the week ahead. From Monday to Friday, children take part in free workshops in July and August (crafts, drawing, mini-Olympics, treasure hunt), except the cooking workshop at €2.50 per child. Thursday evenings alternate between magic, hypnosis, karaoke, a concert or a quiz, and the pool opens on Friday evenings.

On site, there is a play area with bouncy castle, an outdoor fitness area, a pétanque court, football, volleyball, a table football, a table tennis table and a board for Vendée-style palets. Three afternoons a week, volleyball, basketball or football sessions are organised, and a pétanque tournament takes place on Tuesdays.

Around Apremont, the 16th-century château can be visited from April to September, Rue Royale and the church dating from 1902 can be explored on foot, and the lake, 4 km away, offers swimming, fishing, pedal boats and a wakepark. All year round, a life-size escape game and a connected trail are available in the village, and the château comes alive during the All Saints’ school holidays with a haunted castle tour and workshops for children. The Puy du Fou Cinéscénie is also one hour away.