Vendée

A stretch of Atlantic coast in western France whose port of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is one of the country's last great sardine towns, recognised as a Site Remarquable du Goût for its blue fish. Canning here dates to 1887, when a cannery was founded that the Gendreau family acquired in 1903 and has run for four generations as La Perle des Dieux, the last sardine cannery in the town. Sardines are caught within a few miles of the coast between Saint-Gilles, the Île d'Yeu and Noirmoutier, then sorted, cut, and packed by hand by the sardinières. The house is known for its vintage-dated sardines and its artist-illustrated tins, and operates a sardine museum alongside the cannery.