Chatelaillon Plage, Charente Maritime

Description:

Geography and Transport

Chatelaillon Plage is a seaside town (area 6.5km²) situated on the Atlantic coast south of La Rochelle (23km).  The town is close to the N137 motorway that carries traffic north to La Rochelle, and south to Rochefort (20km).  Chatelaillon has a rail link through the regional network TER, and at La Rochelle it is possible to connect to Paris (Montparnasse) via the TGV in around 3 hours.  The airport at La Rochelle offers flights to a number of UK destinations with a variety of budget airlines.
See also:  Aytre, La Rochelle

Climate

The effect of the Atlantic Ocean on the weather here brings warm (not excessively hot) summers, and mild winters.  Summer temperatures average between 22C to 25C (14C to 17C night), and in winter this drops to 9C to 10C (4C to 5C night).  Wettest months are Oct and Nov (62mm to 65mm) and driest are Jun and Aug (24mm to 29mm).  This part of Charente Maritime receives in excess of 2000 hours of sunshine annually.

Tourism

The town is characterised by the 700 or so buildings (villas, houses) preserved from the Belle Epoque period (1870s-1914), that are present here.  This seaside town boasts a 3km stretch of beach with panoramic views out to the islands (Re, Aix, Oleron) and the Pertuis d'Antioche (Antioche Strait). 

Amongst other activities here are the Casino, a thalassotherapy centre and an oyster park, where tours and tasting are available.  To the south is Port des Boucholeurs where the tides and expanse of beach are conducive to oyster farming, and south of here is a nature reserve (Marais d'Yves), with many species of migrating birds.  At Easter, Chatelaillon Plage plays host to an international kite festival, which includes a night-time show with searchlights and music.

Facilities

There are the usual seaside activities available here, such as sailing, swimming and windsurfing, as well as beach volleyball.  There is an aquatic centre (Centre Aquatique 29 degrees) that has 2 indoor pools, where the temperature is maintained at 29C all year round.  The facility also has 3 outdoor pools, complete with water slides. 

Economy

Chatelaillon Plage is part of the La Rochelle economic zone which has an unemployment rate of 9.8%, compared against the regional rate of 8.6% and the national rate of 9.1% (INSEE 2006). 

Education

The town has 2 state nurseries, 3 primary schools, and 1 secondary school.  For college (Lycee), La Rochelle is approximately 18km.

Key Stats

Most of the properties in Chatelaillon Plage are main residences 63.5%, and 30.2% of properties are classed as second homes.  There are more people aged 60 or over than the national average (31.3% vs 21.3%), and the number of retired people is also higher (27.3% vs 18.2%).  18.8% of the local population are under 19 years of age.  There are fewer males than females resident here (47.5% vs 52.5%).

Key Facilities and Services: