LE CHEMIN DE LA SARDINE

This is where "Le Chemin de la Sardine" begins: open your eyes and let our little blue fish guide you.

Saint Gilles Croix de Vie has a long history of maritime activity. Sardine fishing first appeared in the region and on the Atlantic coast in the 17th century. In the first half of the 17th century, the Moors introduced a fishing technique that was to profoundly change the economic life of the region: fishing with a straight net, enabling large quantities of sardines to be caught. Thanks to this method, sardine fishing experienced strong growth at the end of the 18th century, reinforced by the introduction of preservation processes, particularly oil canning in 1840. Canning made the sardine industry prosperous. In 1888, there were 13 canneries in Saint Gilles sur Vie and Croix de Vie, compared with just one today: the Gendreau cannery. The port of Saint Gilles Croix de Vie is one of the main sardine ports in France. Since 1990, the Confrérie de la Sardine has been the ambassador of the little silver fish.
Monday to Friday on the slipway of the fish market: sale of sardines by boat (Bozo). Fishing return times vary.

You're standing in front of the Port La Vie harbour office. With 1,000 moorings on pontoons and 160 berths, the strength of the Saint Gilles Croix de Vie marina lies in its accessibility at all times of the tide. Located opposite the Ile d'Yeu, it has been one of France's leading ports on the Atlantic coast for many years now.

The Hope is the star of Port La Vie's old rigs. Built in 1943, this former caseyeur with red sails was used for trap fishing in the waters around Saint Gilles Croix de Vie and Ile d'Yeu (prawns, lobsters, etc.) until the end of the 1960s, when it was decommissioned. Since 1997, the Hope has been listed as part of the Maritime and Industrial Heritage of the Vendée. The owner, the town of Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, has entrusted the management of the boat to the Suroît association.

Terminal 6 tells the story of the canneries. On Quai des Greniers, the former sardine cannery (marker 5) stands out for its industrial architecture. Today, this unusual building has become the town's cultural centre. At marker 4, you can discover the Chantiers Bénéteau shipyard.

Panoramic view of the Quai du Port Fidèle.

These walls, made up of a wide variety of stones, reveal the cartography of the port's maritime routes, from the time when European maritime trade was the dominant port activity in the 16th century. Since ancient times, coastal shipping along the coasts of France, from Portugal to the Nordic countries, has brought cargoes of wine, grain, salt and wood through the ports of Croix de Vie and Saint Gilles sur Vie in exchange for iron and tin, leather, wool and cloth. To keep their balance, the ships had to take on board 10% of their total weight in the form of ballast stones or goods. These stones were sold to make up the ships' ballast.

Discover the history of fishing in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie. The Fisherman's House takes you back to the 1920s, with antique furniture, period clothing and everyday objects...

The origins of the Petite île district, known as "Morocco", go back to the town's maritime past. In the 16th century, descendants of the Spanish Moors, known as Moroccans, fled their country because of religious conflicts. These newcomers taught the local fishermen a new technique: fishing with a straight net. This technique would profoundly change the economic life of the region.

Sainte Croix church, built in the 19th century in the Romanesque-Byzantine style, is decorated in a very maritime style. Henry Simon, one of the region's leading painters, ceramists and decorators, created a stained-glass window entitled "La vierge au filet" ("The Virgin with the Net"), as well as a fresco depicting the story of Little Louis. The monumental pulpit is a real eye-catcher. It was created by Arthur Léon des Ormeaux, a self-taught sculptor.
On Place Kergoustin, enjoy the market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings and buy fresh sardines in season.

For 4 generations, the Gendreau group has been perpetuating ancestral know-how and craftsmanship. La Perle des Dieux is the group's top-of-the-range brand. The network of shops sublimates this know-how to offer the best of the sea.

Saint Gilles Croix de Vie owes its vocation as a seaport to Marie de Beaucaire, Baroness of Riez, who initiated the first harbour works to establish the town's economy.
- Between 1601 and 1610: Marie de Beaucaire had the Quai Neuf de Madame built on the Baie de l'Adon, the outer harbour of Saint Gilles sur Vie.
- In the 1950s: development of several docks
- 1995: construction of a fish market to European standards
The Josephine Tower was built in 1850 as a tribute to Josephine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French.

- Around forty boats for around a hundred fishermen
- Main species fished by small coastal boats:
- Line: whiting, conger eel, pollack, sea bass
- Trap: crab, spider crab, lobster, shrimp
Net: glass eel
- Types of fishing: the fleet is made up of a wide variety of boats, including caseyeurs, longliners, trollers, elver boats and trawlers.