fashionable resort, Loire-Atlantique département, Pays de la Loire région, western France. It lies along the Atlantic coast near the mouth of the Loire River, west of Saint-Nazaire. Facing south and protected from the north wind by 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of dune-stabilizing maritime pines, it is on a crescent-shaped bay in the centre of a fine sand beach 5 miles (8 km) long. Headlands at each end of the bay shelter the town from east and west winds. Created in 1879, it and Biarritz are the best-known Atlantic resorts. Behind the line of the seafront hotels, luxurious villas are dotted among the pines. The town has a park, an open-air school, a casino, golf and tennis clubs, and a yacht harbour. Nearby are salt marshes. Pop. (1999) 15,831; (2005 est.) 16,300.