{"id":1099,"date":"2025-10-23T14:45:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T12:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/our-history\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T17:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:14:00","slug":"our-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/our-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our history"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Journey Through the History of Camping Le Parc de la Gr\u00e8ve<\/span><\/h1>

Don’t wait any longer!<\/p>

Book now <\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/div>
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Our history<\/p>

The story starts in the late 1950s. Every year, many young Vend\u00e9ens would travel to Paris for work and return home for their holidays. With limited lodging options, they sought a place to pitch their tents. Coquineau, Jacques Rio<\/strong>\u2019s grandfather, owned vast woods and meadows in L\u2019Aiguillon-sur-Vie and welcomed campers to enjoy his land during the holidays. <\/p>

As the years passed, more and more campers arrived, making the creation of a dedicated campsite an obvious choice. At that time, there were very few camping options near Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie.<\/p><\/div>

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Once upon a time<\/p><\/div>

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The Early Days: Le Village Gaulois Campsite<\/h2>

Jacques Rio remembers:<\/p>\n

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When it first opened, the campsite offered only tents, with no marked pitches, and had permission for 180 campers. By July 30, it was already fully booked! <\/p>

Initially, the campsite was named Le Village Gaulois,<\/strong> inspired by the comic series \u201cAsterix and Obelix\u201d and suggested by a local craftsman known as \u201cthe druid.\u201d Two years later, following copyright concerns, the name was changed to Le Gaulois<\/strong>. <\/p><\/div>

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Growth and Modernization of the Campsite<\/h2>

The first caravans <\/strong>arrived in 1969, prompting the need to set up individual plots and install electricity and water. Since there was no sewer system, part of the land was sold to create a residential area downhill, enabling the campsite to be connected to utilities. This allowed the campsite to become more comfortable and to expand. <\/p>

Read more<\/p>

Facing Nature and Storms<\/p>

Surrounded by towering cypresses, pines, and holm oaks, the campsite was struck by a devastating storm on February 13, 1972<\/strong>, which tore down nearly 300 trees. Staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to prepare the site and open on time for the 1972 season. <\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Building the First \u201cCahute\u201d<\/h2>

In 1973, the first fully wooden building was built using trees toppled by the storm. Called \u201cLa Cahute,<\/strong>\u201d it served as the bar, games area, and reception. The site hosted dances and barbecues, where campers mingled with the village locals. Later on, the building was reconstructed in stone to provide more comfort. By the end of 1972, a pond had been dug<\/strong>, the southern grove cleared, and the stream channelled, allowing the campsite to host up to 150 pitches.<\/strong> <\/p><\/div>

The current name : La Gr\u00e8ve<\/h2>

The campsite took the name La Gr\u00e8ve <\/strong>in 1981, inspired by the local area surrounding the site. In 1994, Jacques Rio sold the campsite<\/strong>, and today St\u00e9phane and Virginie Bonal<\/strong>, the fifth generation of owners, warmly welcome visitors to this historic, nature-rich campsite in the heart of the Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie region. <\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Journey Through the History of Camping Le Parc de la Gr\u00e8ve Don’t wait any longer! Our history The story starts in the late 1950s. Every year, many young Vend\u00e9ens would travel to Paris for work and return home for their holidays. With limited lodging options, they sought a place to pitch their tents. Coquineau, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1099"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1099"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1100,"href":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1099\/revisions\/1100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leparcdelagreve.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}