Normally I have used the preposition à before a city, as in je vais à Paris. You don't use au Paris. In this exercise, we have a city with a plural name, namely Les Sables d'Olonne. Apparently, one must use aux Sables d'Olonne in stead of à Les Sables d'Olonne. So, is this a general rule: à + name of a singular city and aux + name of a plural city name?
Appropriate preposition before a city
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If the article is part of the place/city name, the normal rules of contraction or otherwise with a preposition apply.
See attached lesson - Le Havre and La Rochelle as examples.
À = To/in and De = From/of with cities in French (French Prepositions of Location)
Thanks Maarten, I now remember this lesson and, in fact, had it bookmarked. I have put grammar on a back burner to favor listening comprehension. I guess I will have to revisit certain grammar points from time to time. BTW, sorry for the misspelling of rote. Your answers are greatly appreciated.
Hi Frank, this isn't so much a grammar point but just that à + les = aux. You need the article les in this case because it forms part of the name of the city.
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