Recently saw mention of an island off France called Ile de Re.

Does anyone know of it as a possible vacation site?

Thanks.

it is a lovely island, you can drive to it. We had lunch at the many cafes that flank the harbor. I bought a canvas sac bag for my bike that has the island name.

Cigalechanta,

Where exactly is it located? What is nearest large city? How near to Paris?

As always, thanks.

We stayed at La Rochelle ( in town) and Sables D'Olonne(over looking the beach), but had I known of the B&B s there, we would have spent a night or two.

when you look at the map on the coastline, you go from Normandy and into Brittany, Mt. St Micel is the border, I believe, then you enter Loire Atlantique followed by Poitou Charente and then the Aquitaine. We also did a day trip to the Ile de Noirmoutier.(Nantes inland and St. Nazaire on th coast, to orient you) You cross the most breathtaking bridge to ger their. we visited the salt beds for the Fleur de sel and ate at a wonderful restaurant, called the Fleur de Sel, but a bit of a hike from our parking lot.

I've been researching around Ile de Re for several weeks now as I'll be in La Rochelle in December. According to a couple of guide books I've read it has some of the most popular beaches in France outside of the Mediterranean.

The guides also state that hotel reservations are virtually mandatory if you go in the busy months of July and August.

By TGV it's about 3 hours from Paris to La Rochelle.

Wheee, powell, sorry for my typos.
Indy, where will you be staying/

I figured the Ile de Re would be pretty bleak in December so I opted for La Rochelle. I've found a little 2 star in the heart of the old town, Hotel Francois 1er. Supposedly during the 15th & 16th centuries some French kings stayed in a few of the buildings that now make up the hotel.

I stayed in a beautiful old home(B&B) at rue 33 Thier.

Looks like a pretty good location on mappy.com near Les Halles for food shopping. By any chance do you have an e-mail or website for them?

Thanks cigale!

No, sorry, it was a woman's home and it was called by the name of the street. I tried google but it looks like it's now a cooking school but I'll keep looking and let you know if I come up with anything.

INDY!!! I FOUND IT.
Nathalie and Eric Evennou 33 thiers 1700

[email protected]

For some historical background, read the Philippa Gregory novel Earthly Joys. There's a long section in the book devoted to a disastrous 17th century battle fought between the English and the French (disastrous for the English; thousands died). For the despondent soldiers, it became known as the Isle of Rue.

The Ile de Ré is one of the favourite holiday destinations for (rich) Parisians, and consequently in the summer months it gets extremely busy, so it's advisable to book accommodation well in advance, and avoid going in August as it's just too crowded (in my opinion!).

It is a beautiful place, however, with whitewashed houses, pretty villages, and in June and July, there are hollyhocks of every colour growing everywhere.
The entire island is criss-crossed with cycle paths, and many holiday-makers use bicycles as their main means of transport there. There are bike rental places in practically every town or village.

There are many excellent restaurants (fish and seafood), though a lot of them are on the expensive side.

Beware if you decide to visit the island by car: the toll to cross the bridge is around 18 euros. And if you are trying to leave the island by car on a Sunday evening during the summer months, you will find queues of traffic backed up for miles, as there's only one way off the island - the bridge!

The nearest city is La Rochelle, from which a regular bus service operates to the island. There are some direct TGV trains from Paris to La Rochelle, otherwise you have to change at Poitiers. To get from the train station to the island, if you don't want to take the bus, then a taxi is the only option, but it'll be expensive as you'll have to pay the bridge toll.

We have just returned from France and spent last Sunday on the Ile de Re. The weather was fabulous, clear blue skies and hot and the islands is so light, clean and lovely beach. In the distance you can see every kind of boat. There are cycles for hire and cyle tracks everywhere and it is very flat so not such hard work. The restaurants at Ars en de Re are really good. From the abundance of camp sites it would appear in summer it is really busy but was very quiet last Sunday. It is certainly worth a visit, however, we stayed in La Rochelle where there is more accommodation and in the winter months I would imagine more lively.

ttt for Robin

The town of St-Martin, which is the "capital" of Ile de Ré, is one of the prettiest on the island and has some of the best shops and restaurants. The beaches in summer are very peculiar - you have to wade out for what seems like miles through mud to get into the water when it's low tide. Still, a lovely destination - very crowded in high season - reminiscent of the Greek isles, with bougainvillea and whitewashed houses everywhere.