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Golf guide • France • Loire-Atlantique

Golf in La Baule: 45 holes between ocean, pines and the Brière marshes

La Baule, a seaside resort in Loire-Atlantique an hour from Nantes, is the gateway to a three- to five-day golf break: the two eighteen-hole courses of Golf International Barrière, Lucien Barrière and Diane Barrière, eight kilometres from the beach, Henry Cotton's course at La Bretesche and the rolling layout at Savenay. Golfers come to play in the forest and on the edge of the Brière, then dine facing the Atlantic, ideally from April to June and in September and October.

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La Baule was born with the railway: the train arrived at the end of the 1870s, and developers then anchored the dunes beneath a pine forest, where half-timbered, neo-Basque and Art Deco villas sprang up. The resort has kept a beach more than eight kilometres long, shared with Pornichet and Le Pouliguen, its blue-and-white striped beach tents and a life that never quite stops out of season. Golf, for its part, settled a little inland, towards the marshes of the Brière.

Golf International Barrière, opened in 1976 and extended until 2001, now has 45 holes across 220 hectares between La Baule, Saint-André-des-Eaux and Guérande. It is enough for two days' play on its own. Half an hour to the north, La Bretesche adds a 1967 course around a 15th-century château, and Savenay, towards the Loire estuary, a more demanding layout, hilly and punctuated by water.

Between rounds, the Guérande peninsula is covered in minutes: the intact ramparts of Guérande, the salt marshes where salt is harvested from June to September, the rocky coast of Le Croisic and, inland, the thatched cottages of the Brière. Three to five nights are enough to play all four courses without rushing, while keeping a day for the sea.

The courses

Green beside a pond with reeds, fairway framed by maritime pines and oaks in late-day light

Golf International Barrière La Baule, parcours Lucien Barrière

  • Architect: Peter Alliss, Dave Thomas
  • Opened 1976
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The red course is the estate's original layout, designed by the British pair Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas when it opened in 1976. Narrow, fairly flat fairways lined with oaks and pines, mid-sized greens: this is a positional course, 5,981 metres for a par 72, where the driver often stays in the bag. It bears the name of Lucien Barrière, who ran the hotel group that owns the golf club and the resort's grand hotels. It suits every level and plays beautifully late in the day, when the light slips between the trees.

Official website

Golf International Barrière La Baule, parcours Diane Barrière

  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The blue course, named after Diane Barrière, Lucien's daughter, grew out of the extensions of the 1990s and 2000s. Longer, at 6,197 metres for a par 72, it claims an American inspiration: plenty of water, wide bunkers and large, well-defended greens, on the edge of the Brière regional nature park. More open than the red, it calls for a solid long game and a careful reading of the wind coming in off the ocean. Both courses start from the same clubhouse, so 36 holes in a day is easy to arrange.

Official website

Golf du Domaine de la Bretesche

  • Architect: Henry Cotton
  • Opened 1967
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

At Missillac, half an hour from La Baule, Henry Cotton laid out a forest course in 1967 around the Château de la Bretesche, a listed 15th-century monument reflected in its lake. This par 72 of just over 6,000 metres winds through a 200-hectare wooded estate, with greens often raised and water in play on several holes. The layout is easy to read and approachable without being easy: you have to place the ball to attack the flags. The course is open all year, and the estate's hotel is a few steps from the first tee.

Signature hole. The 9th, a par 5, finishes on a green set beside the château, one of the finest viewpoints on the course.

Official website

Golf Bluegreen Savenay

  • Architect: Michel Gayon
  • Opened 1991
  • 18 holes
  • Par 73

Opened in 1991 to a design by Michel Gayon, Savenay lies between Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, near the Loire estuary, about thirty-five minutes from La Baule. It is the hilliest course of the trip, a par 73 of 6,250 metres laid out through a small wood of oak and chestnut, with several lakes. Morning mist is common in autumn and gives the opening holes a particular atmosphere. A technical course, best suited to consistent players, complemented by a compact nine-hole course.

Signature hole. The 17th is a par 3 with water running along the right of the green: aim for the left side and be content with two putts.

Official website

Where to stay

Hôtel Barrière L'Hermitage

Built in 1926 facing the bay, L'Hermitage is La Baule's historic grand hotel, now a five-star within the Barrière group, which also owns Golf International. The beach lies at the foot of the hotel. Ask for a Prestige sea-view room with a terrace for the view across the bay, and keep a late afternoon for the spa and its indoor and outdoor pools. The course is around fifteen minutes away by car.

Hôtel Le Saint-Christophe

A hundred metres from the beach, behind the market, Le Saint-Christophe gathers four Belle Époque villas in a century-old garden; the first was built in 1913. Thirty-nine rooms with the retro feel of a family home are spread across Saint-Christophe, Saint-François, Sainte-Claire and Ker Janik. Ask for the Alphonse Daudet suite, whose balcony looks onto the church with the ocean beyond, and dine in: the menu changes every week. Golf Barrière is fifteen minutes away.

Domaine de la Bretesche

At Missillac, this five-star Relais & Châteaux occupies the former outbuildings of a 15th-century château, on a 200-hectare estate beside its lake. Ask for a lake-view room, and save an hour for the Cour Carrée spa and its pool beneath a glass roof. You sleep beside Henry Cotton's course, half an hour from the beach: the base for those who want to play more than they swim.

Half-timbered Belle Époque manor with a slate roof in a park of tall pines, wicker armchairs on the lawn

Where to dine

La Mare aux Oiseaux

On the Île de Fédrun, in the heart of the Brière, Éric Guérin cooks the produce of the marsh and the Loire estuary in a thatched house surrounded by gardens. One Michelin star, creative and highly personal cooking. Book one of the rooms on stilts at the edge of the marsh so you need not drive back, and note that the house only opens from Wednesday evening to Sunday. Twenty-five minutes from La Baule.

L'Océan

Founded in 1981 by the Louis family, who still run it, this house on the rocks of Port-Lin in Le Croisic serves fish from the boats in the harbour: sole, sea bass, turbot, scallops in season, lobster from its own tank. At night you dine under the glass roof facing the floodlit rocks. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, when the family's Bistrot next door takes over.

Crêperie du Derwin

On the wild coast of Batz-sur-Mer, twenty minutes from Golf Barrière, this crêperie has clung to the rocks since 1955, run by several generations of the same family. Buckwheat galettes, seafood platters and Derwin mussels, whose sauce remains a house secret. No bookings: come before opening and wait with a drink in hand, facing the rocks. Open from Easter to the end of September only.

Beyond golf

Guérande and its salt marshes

Ten minutes from La Baule, Guérande has kept its 15th-century ramparts in full: 1.3 kilometres of walls, six towers and four gates, including the Porte Saint-Michel. Below the town, the salt marshes cover more than 5,000 hectares between Guérande, Batz-sur-Mer and Le Croisic. From June to September, the salt workers, or paludiers, harvest coarse salt and fleur de sel; several salt farms open their pans to visitors.

The Brière by flat-bottomed boat

Created in 1970, the Brière regional nature park protects one of France's great marshes, just behind the golf course. It is best discovered by chaland, the local flat-bottomed boat, from the Île de Fédrun or Saint-Lyphard, among reeds, canals and birds. The area has around 3,000 thatched cottages, the highest density in France, best seen in the village of Kerhinet.

The wild coast of Le Croisic

West of the bay, the peninsula ends in a rocky coastline followed by a footpath between Batz-sur-Mer and Le Croisic. The port of Le Croisic, with its quays and fish market, livens up the end of the day, and the walk to the point shows the region's other face, wilder than La Baule's long beach.

Whitewashed thatched cottage beside a marsh canal, black flat-bottomed boat and reed beds at sunset

When to go

The oceanic climate is mild, with around 2,000 hours of sunshine a year. April to June and September to October are the best times to play: pleasant temperatures, courses in good condition and tee times easy to come by. July and August are bright but very busy, on the beach as on the tees. Winter remains playable on the forest soils, with more rain and wind; morning mist is common at Savenay in autumn.

Getting there

Nantes Atlantique airport (NTE) is about an hour's drive from La Baule. The TGV links Paris-Montparnasse with La Baule-Escoublac station in around three hours, with no change on many trains. Once there, a car is essential: Golf Barrière is fifteen minutes away, La Bretesche thirty, Savenay thirty-five.

Frequently asked questions

How many holes does the La Baule golf club have?

Golf International Barrière La Baule has 45 holes: two eighteen-hole par-72 courses, Lucien Barrière (red) and Diane Barrière (blue), and a nine-hole course, the François André.

Where is the golf course in La Baule?

In Saint-André-des-Eaux, about eight kilometres from the centre of La Baule, on the edge of the Brière regional nature park. The 220-hectare estate also extends into La Baule and Guérande.

What other golf courses are there near La Baule?

La Bretesche at Missillac, designed by Henry Cotton in 1967, half an hour away, and Savenay, laid out by Michel Gayon in 1991, about thirty-five minutes away.

When is the best time to play golf in La Baule?

From April to June and in September and October: a mild climate, courses in good condition and fewer people than in July and August.

How do I get to La Baule for a golf trip?

Fly into Nantes Atlantique, an hour's drive away, or take a direct TGV from Paris to La Baule-Escoublac station in around three hours.

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