Île de Ré by Bicycle
Connected to La Rochelle by a 3-kilometre toll bridge, the Île de Ré is flat, fragrant and almost entirely navigable by bicycle — 110 kilometres of dedicated cycle paths thread through salt marshes, oyster-farming villages, pine forests and vineyards on an island that feels like a different, slower world. It is the single best half-day or full-day excursion from La Rochelle.
The Route and Highlights
Rent a bike in La Rochelle's Vieux-Port area or at the bridge foot in Rivedoux-Plage and head north along the coast path to Saint-Martin-de-Ré, the island's fortified capital — a UNESCO-listed Vauban citadel whose ramparts you can walk in full. The town's harbour is ringed with whitewashed houses draped in hollyhocks (the island's unofficial emblem) and the market on Place du Marché runs every morning in summer.
Continue west through Ars-en-Ré, a village of black-and-white church spire and salt-pan lanes, to the Phare des Baleines lighthouse at the island's western tip. The lighthouse has been guiding ships since 1682 and you can climb the current 1854 tower (57 metres, 257 steps) for views back across the entire island and out to open sea.
Salt, Oysters and Pineau
The Île de Ré produces fleur de sel — hand-harvested sea salt skimmed from the surface of the salt pans — that is sold across France as a premium product. You can watch the sauniers (salt workers) raking the pans from the cycle path between Loix and La Flotte in July and August, and buy direct from the producers at roadside stalls for a fraction of the supermarket price.
The island's oyster beds are concentrated around La Couarde-sur-Mer and Sainte-Marie-de-Ré; several producers open their cabanes (wooden huts on the water's edge) for direct sales and impromptu tastings with a glass of local white wine. It is the most convivial and unpretentious way to eat oysters on the entire Atlantic coast.
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