L’île de Ré
We arrived with some trepidation at the base of the 3km bridge crossing to the island of L’île de Ré from La Rochelle. The wind was also a concern as it was blowing at 30kph directly into our faces. Having conserved our batteries on the ride from Marans our beasts were in good shape to tackle the crossing even if we weren’t. The bridge had been designed to accommodate cars, cyclists and walkers with each having their own dedicated paths. So off we went and to our pleasant surprise with the help of some electric boost we had a comfortable crossing although Maggie tried to hug the non-waterside. We were thankful to hit dry land again ……….
…….. and were looking forward to a break from those little red bags and our holiday on L’île de Ré.
Since 1988 when the island was linked to La Rochelle by a bridge, strict guidelines have been imposed to protect the character of the island and over 80% of the island is protected from development. Most of the island’s natural resources, including vineyards, cypress and pine forests and salt marshes, are now nature reserves.
Although it has a very relaxed and laid back vibe which is what makes it so attractive, it’s a very popular island for well-heeled Parisians and now has the nickname of the 21st arrondissement of Paris.
However it wasn’t the need to hobnob with Parisians that attracted us to this little island, it was the 138 kilometres of well signed dedicated cycle paths that criss cross it that had brought us here and having successfully done that, we commenced our 20k ride to our first stop on the far western side of the island at La Couarde Sur Mer.
On the way we passed through some pine and cypress forest with outcrops and underplanting of ferns from which the island derives its name, as the unusual name île de Ré translates to island of ferns. This map shows how the landscape is different at either end of the island. The eastern end is more forested while the western or top end of the island contains lots of marshes and salt pans. The green areas also signify the vineyards which are scattered throughout the island.
Notwithstanding our expectations that there would be other cyclists, we were staggered by the number of them. Sometimes you would have 20 to 30 in a row coming and going in both directions. As you’d expect, it was a mixed demographic of cyclists from family groups with little kids on little bikes, bikes towing cabooses containing kids or dogs, the once a year ever so cautious mum and dad riders ie seniors on rented bikes, a few Lycra clad guys on road bikes, the young invincibles who thought they could overtake at high speed and suddenly pull back in to the single file when confronted with oncoming traffic and the rest being sensible, experienced riders who were frustrated with all the rest. With our fully loaded bikes and the crowded cycle paths, we fell between the latter and the cautious senior rider group, however it was almost impossible to pass the slow coaches. Thankfully the number of people on the trails dropped off considerably once the long weekend had finished.
When we arrived at our destination we mentioned this to our host Victor and he reminded us that it was another bank holiday the third in May and this was one of the busiest weekends of the year for Ile de Re. As today was Saturday we could look forward to two more days of congested bike tracks, markets and restaurants. Victor also told us we had to meet his daughter who had just come back after 4 years working in Australia.
With our last minute planning and not really intending to stay here for so long, we had not booked very far in advance so ended up staying at three destinations on the island, La Couarde in the west for 3 days, La Flotte in the east for 5 days and St Martin de Ré in the middle for 4 days. The island is 30km x 5km so you could stay in one place and pretty much get to anywhere on the island easily, but we enjoyed experiencing the different environments we stayed in as all the little villages have their own unique character.
The next day feom La Couarde we first tackled the western section of the island. A 50km loop on Sunday took us to the markets at Ars-en-Ré then to the lighthouse Phare des Baleines (lighthouse of the whales) at the most westerly point which is one of the tallest in France.
From there we went to the final village of Les Portes-en-Ré at the far end of the island. It was a beautiful day and even though everything was very crowded it was very enjoyable with a variety of environments including beachside paths, vineyards and lots of salt pans and marshes.
Salt harvesting season (June to September) is currently underway and we’ve passed many salt pans along the cycle paths and some little trackside stalls selling their ‘sel’ to passing cyclists through an honesty system. Salt production is one of the main activities in the island. Sauniers (or salt makers) are using most of the same techniques that they’ve used for centuries to harvest salt by hand. As seawater collects in the basins, ,salt is left behind and crystallises after the seawater evaporates in the summer.
Stall at the market in La Flotte selling a wide range of salt products
And at the Le Blois Plage en Ré market
A sweet little shop in Saint-Martin-de-Ré dedicated to the sale of the local salt products
The village of Ars-en-Ré is the old salt capital as many of the salt pans are located on this end of the island. It is also known by the unique slender black and white bell tower of Saint Etienne church which an easily distinguishable landmark from many points of the island.
St Etienne Church bell tower
The town is classified among the Most Beautiful Villages in France, however though it had a nice little harbour and small village, did not float our boat. We’ve seen lots of lovely villages in France and we felt this unworthy of its classification.
The harbour at Ars en Ré
The following day was a shorter 30km loop ride north to the village of Loix. With the high tides and gradually sloping sea beds, the sea views are always different - at high tide the waters are blue with lots of boats bobbing in the water while at low tide there are often mud flats and the boats are left sitting on their flat bottoms.
On the way back from Loix we stopped at a trackside oyster shack for lunch. The island is renowned for its seafood and there are many oyster/seafood shacks beside the riding paths overlooking the sea. While we enjoyed the ambience on a beautiful day, we didn’t find the oysters to be as nice as our own Aussie oysters.
An oyster farmer’s kit
After three nights in La Couarde we moved to a lovely little apartment at La Flotte for five nights which had sea views (just from the upstairs bedroom window) and 50m from the beach via a little walkway beside our place.
From there it was a pleasant 10 minute stroll along the beach promenade to the little port lined with cafes, restaurants and shops.
We loved the quiet ambience of the port at La Flotte compared to the crowds at some of the other villages. Along with Ars en Ré it is also listed as one of France’s Plus Beau Villages and this one did float our boat, though the same can’t be said of the boats in the little harbour which were left stranded at low tide.
La Flotte also had a beach which when it was not low tide was nice enough to tempt us to swim one hot afternoon. We didn’t have any swimmers so we were the only swimmers in shorts and tees. Keith thought Maggie could have won the wet tee shirt competition but as there were no other candidates it was a moot point!
The tidal range was very large and swimmers were replaced by people looking for shellfish when the tide was out.
Having conquered our fears of crossing the bridge, one day we crossed it again from La Flotte, a 40k return ride into the port city of La Rochelle on the mainland. We had been there before in 2017 but nonetheless we were still impressed with its lovely old buildings and arcaded walkways.
Porte de la Grosse Horlage - The gateway linking the port to the old city. Gothic-style clock tower with a 12th-century base and 18th-century top.
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Arcaded walkways are a feature of the old town
The impressive Hotel de Ville - a beautiful Renaissance-style building enclosed by a Gothic-style wall
La Rochelle, a vibrant city with a busy restaurant scene lining the port and all the little laneways
After our 5 day sojourn in La Flotte we migrated 4.5km to St Martin de Ré which is the capital of the island and most visited and touristy of the island’s villages. Cyclists and pedestrians enter the fortified village, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its 17th century ramparts, through impressive portes. Interestingly, St Martin en Ré is twinned with an Australian town.
Another lovely little port with boats going up and down with the tide, some shopping for Maggie and plenty of portside restaurants. It was also well located on the island for visiting other villages which we did every day.
There are ten little villages dotted around the island, each with a slightly different character but all with narrow cobbled lanes lined with small whitewashed cottages with shutters in various shades of green and the iconic colourful hollyhocks for which the island is famous, growing defiantly in small patches of dirt beside their walls. We think it must have been the end of the hollyhock season as in all our roaming we could not find that perfect picture postcard cottage with a healthy display of hollyhocks as on the postcards. Here are a few that we thought worthy of sharing that still showed the character of the little houses. .
While we think we had missed the best of the spring hollyhock display, we know we missed the fields of poppies which are dotted around the island in dense displays of red during May. Here the remains of one, with a photo from the internet below showing what we would have seen had we been here just a few weeks earlier
A nice display of poppies in front of this cottage in the village of Loix
We have absolutely loved our stay on this little island. Not only has it provided some nice downtime for us with its relaxed vibe, with charming villages, quaint ports, great seafood, good wine, great little markets and a varied and interesting landscape, but it is also a paradise for cyclists with 138km of well signed bike paths criss-crossing all over the island. During our twelve days here we have done much criss crossing and added a further 275km to our count.
Here is a snapshot of our stay on île de Ré from the handlebars of a bike
Discovering this little island and its different landscapes and villages by bike is part of the island’s charm but it has also enabled us to discover other aspects of its character that contributed to our overall enjoyment of the island.
We’ve discovered (and stopped at) several oyster shacks where we’ve whiled away an hour or two enjoying the local oysters and wine.
We’ve enjoyed strolling through the various markets, discovering the local produce and crafts and chatting with locals and other holiday makers. Everyone has been so friendly.
Who doesn’t enjoy riding on île de Ré?
We passed this little family on the bridge as we were coming back from our day trip to La Rochelle and waited at the foot of the bridge to see them arrive on the island. They were very heavily laden and we think that Dad had another enfant in the caboose he was towing. We felt very pleased for them to be about to experience some time on this delightful little island and hope they enjoy it as much as we did.
Here’s to île de Ré!
This featured blog entry was written by themaggiej from the blog Maggie & Keith’s Electrifying Bike Tour.
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