Ile de Re
Flat Island Of White Houses, Salt Marshes And Cycle Paths Off La Rochelle, Reached By A Toll Bridge; The Vauban Fortifications Of Saint Martin De Ré Are Part Of A UNESCO World Heritage Site (2008) · Saint-Martin-de-Re, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
The Île de Ré is a long, low island in the Atlantic just off La Rochelle, about 30 km from end to end and joined to the mainland since 1988 by a curving toll bridge. It is flat, sunny and almost entirely given over to bicycles, with around 100 km of cycle paths linking ten villages of whitewashed houses with green shutters and hollyhocks growing from the pavements. The main town, Saint-Martin-de-Ré, has a harbour ringed by cafés and star-shaped ramparts and a citadel by Vauban, part of a UNESCO site; the citadel is still a prison. To the north-west, Ars-en-Ré has a church spire painted black and white as a sea mark, salt marshes where fleur de sel is still raked by hand, and a nature reserve for birds, and at the tip the Phare des Baleines lighthouse can be climbed. The south coast has long sandy beaches facing the ocean. Oysters, early potatoes and salt are local products. In summer the island is very popular and the bridge often jams.
Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, Saint-Martin-de-Re, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
The island, its beaches, cycle paths, villages and salt marshes are open at all times. The toll on the bridge is paid only on the way onto the island, and it has been set noticeably higher in the summer season than the rest of the year, with cyclists and pedestrians crossing free; confirm the current rates and dates. The Phare des Baleines lighthouse and its visitor centre are open most of the year with longer hours in summer and shorter hours or closures in winter; the climb closes in bad weather, so confirm. The salt museum at Loix, the Musée Ernest Cognacq in Saint-Martin and the Lilleau des Niges reserve centre keep seasonal hours, often closed on one day a week outside summer. Village markets run on set mornings, daily in summer at Saint-Martin and La Flotte. Many restaurants, bike rental shops and hotels close for part of the winter. On summer Saturdays and at the start and end of holiday weekends, traffic on the bridge can back up for hours in the afternoon and evening, and village car parks are paid and often full by midday.