Ile de Ré in the Charente-Maritime region is a small island just off the western coast of France, and not far from the city of La Rochelle. The chic island has been likened to the Hamptons in the US and is known for attracting celebrities among the thousands of tourists who descend every summer year on year.

Ile de Ré is made up of 12 villages on a small island with just under 18,000 permanent residents. A number of local restrictions ensure the architecture remains unspoilt; new buildings cannot be higher than two storeys and the shutters of all properties can only be painted from one of the sixteen shades of green and blue. The charming allure of this beautiful island is immediately on full display to its visitors, especially the village of Saint-Martin-de-Ré.

The island, with just under 18,000 permanent residents, is the only island in the near vicinity (the others being Ile de Oléron and Ile de Aix) that is connected to the mainland via a bridge, and so the island can be accessed by car, bike (if you’re feeling up to it) or the 150 bus.

However, France can be tricky at best when it comes to timetables, and when you read timetables wrong you can sometimes find you’ve been standing at a bus stop in the baking sun for an hour for no reason at all, as happened to us. Taking comfort in the fact that even French tourists read it wrong (if they couldn’t understand it, and it was written in their mother-tongue, then what chance did we have?), we finally settled on getting to the island via the ferry.

The ferry from La Rochelle was significantly more expensive than the bus (1.50 vs 27 euros for the boat), but my friend reminded us we were on holiday after all and this was something we had wanted to do before the plane had even landed, and so we splurged… which was just as well because the boat trip and visit to Ile de Ré ended up being my favourite part of the holiday.

It takes about an hour to reach the island by boat, specifically Saint-Martin-de-Ré where the boat docked. As soon as we’d arrived, a part of me fell wholeheartedly, irrevocably head-over-heels in love with Ile de Ré.

Saint-Martin-de-Ré, where the ferry docks, is the largest village on the island, with the highest number of people concentrated there. Immediately set around the harbour are a series of low-rise light-stone buildings, most with some blue but mostly mint-green shutters, perfectly in tune with the colours of the surrounding buildings. The fact the island is well-known for cycling being the often-chosen mode of transport quickly became apparent because there were bikes just about everywhere around the harbour. Although by far not the largest area, it felt at every corner there was something new to admire and take a picture of. 

Lunch: It was already after 2pm and we hadn’t yet eaten lunch. One of our goals from before we had even gotten on the plane was to try mussels and frites in the land of the dish. It proved tricky to find a place to eat as after lunch hours (about 1.30pm) many restaurant kitchens closed, but one restaurant on the harbour mercifully remained open. At Café de la Paix, we enjoyed mussels and frites – bowls and bowls of it. 

We set off, walking along the densely bicycle-lined harbour, taking only a few steps at a time before yet again pausing to admire the view across the stretch of water. With so much more to explore but with a limited window, we finally strolled up one winding cobblestone road, brightly lit by the sun despite the narrowness of the lane. We followed the road along, perusing the crowded rows of independent shops. 

At some point along the way, we spotted L’Atelier La Martiniére Saint-Martin-de-Ré and, like a siren’s call, were drawn in by the macarons on display. Macarons as we know them today are typically filled with buttercream sandwiched between two meringue biscuits, but in addition to these on offer were macarons served with a filling of ice cream. Delicious as it was, especially on a very warm, sunny day, I’m still a stickler for the original. 

Up the road, we eventually came to what I’d originally thought were ruins, spotted as the ferry had docked in port, only to find that it was in fact a functioning church. Église Saint Martin has been rebuilt time and again; the part of the building that originally made me think the site was little more than ruins were the remains of an attack by an Anglo-Dutch fleet in 1696. The interior of the church is fairly impressive too, and beautifully lit with decorative features such as stained-glass windows. Église Saint Martin also has an observatory bell tower from which, after you climb its 117 steps, offers views of Saint-Martin-de-Ré and the island of Ré more widely.

With the little time we had left before needing to catch our ferry back to La Rochelle, we had a nose in a couple of shops as we walked back down to the harbour. Although not peak season (we went in late April), there were more than enough tourists (I could only imagine what August would be like on that little island) and more than enough souvenir shops to ensure fridge magnets, tea towels and tote bags were bought.

Back on the harbour, and on our way back to the ferry, I popped into Boulangerie Do Ré Mie, and when considering the amount of patisseries they sold, I think I was quite tame actually… I tried a selection of mini croissants, pain au chocolats, a pain du suisse as well as a slice of pizza (I went a little mad, but that’s not really surprising when you understand my enthusiasm for food combined with a fear of never returning to this beautiful seaside village again). The mini croissants were quickly devoured as we waited for the ferry to set sail again, all the while saluting the locals who waved us goodbye. 

For me, Ile de Ré is undoubtedly worth visiting! Almost as soon as I’d stepped off the ferry and onto dry land again, I more or less fell in love and wished we had holidayed there instead of La Rochelle (which was very nice too, but lacked that je-ne-sais-quoi that Ile de Ré possesses in spades).