What would you do if you were driving and encountered a warning sign indicating that you can only cross a road during specific times, as outside of these times, it vanishes? If you’re driving on this road during the initial moments of its disappearance, you must follow certain safety guidelines to avoid getting lost. This may sound like a fantasy, but it is a reality in France, where a unique and hazardous road called Passage du Gois appears only twice a day for a few hours, while the rest of the time it is submerged under water at a significant depth.
The Passage du Gois, a 4.1-kilometer road, is located in the Vendée department of France, on the Bay of Bourgneuf. It connects the French mainland to the picturesque Île de Noirmoutier, home to over 10,000 residents. Discovered and mapped for the first time in 1701, it is a narrow causeway formed from silt deposits accumulated over centuries, making it passable on foot. By 1840, people began using it with horses and carriages instead of boats. What sets it apart from other roads is its unique phenomenon of appearing only twice daily. During the rest of the day, it is submerged under a depth ranging from 1.3 to 4 meters due to tidal factors. When the waters recede, it reappears, covered in slippery seaweed.
Naturally, you can only access the Passage du Gois after the tide has receded. Before entering, you must carefully follow the digital warning signs placed at both ends of the road, which are regularly updated to indicate whether the road is safe at that time, based on the sea level. These signs will also remind you of speed limits and the fact that crossing is at your own risk. Therefore, it is crucial to check tide times and exercise extreme caution during crossing to avoid slipping on seaweed. Stopping your car on the side of the road is strictly prohibited to prevent slipping into the water, and you should drive very slowly to avoid sudden braking. For the rest of the day, the road is completely submerged, but if you need to visit the island during its disappearance, you can use the Noirmoutier Bridge, which connects the island to the mainland and was built in 1971.
The Passage du Gois is accessible only during low tide, which lasts about an hour, with an additional half-hour before and after low tide, giving you only two hours to cross safely. Due to this unique phenomenon, the road attracts thousands of visitors annually who come to witness its remarkable appearance and disappearance. Some adventurous drivers attempt risky crossings or ignore warnings, resulting in lost vehicles and sometimes lives. To mitigate these risks, authorities have installed rescue pillars along the road that individuals can climb and stay in if they become trapped by rising waters until the tide recedes or rescuers arrive.
The Passage du Gois is a prominent French landmark, named for its unique characteristic. Its French name, Passage du Gois, translates to “path of wet shoes” due to its distinctive feature. It has been featured several times in the French Rally races and hosts an annual marathon where runners cover the 4-kilometer stretch during the period between tides, some of whom encounter water up to their knees, as depicted in various French literary works.
One of the most famous incidents occurred in 1936 when Clément Charpentier and his servant tragically died while driving, surprised by the rising tide. Another notable incident happened in 2009 when a body was discovered on the island’s rocks, and an empty car was found across the causeway after the tide receded. Finally, in 2020, a woman died while driving on this road with friends. They managed to escape to rescue towers, but the current swept her away.
