I was sitting in a waiting room today where I picked up the July issue of "Travel and Leisure" and enjoyed reading this article: Exploring Hidden French Islands.

Has anyone here ever been to Ile de Ré? Is it truly as idyllic as the article makes it sound?

quote:

Île de Ré is the only place I know in France where everything works, nothing tacky offends the eye, no one serving you is in a bad mood, and you can have a good meal without doing six months of research just by passing in front of a restaurant and walking in. (This is how I discovered the classy new L’Avant Port and a local shellfish, vanet, which is like a scallop only 10 times sweeter and 20 times smaller.) Île de Ré is the way you always dream France will be but never is. As a vacation experience it’s completely undisappointing and entirely fulfilling. How many places can you say that about, in France or anywhere else?

- Roz

Ciao Roz, funny quote.
I have been to Ile de Ré and found the pleasant island a little flat. All the nice beaches notwithstanding, after a while the landscape seems to lack dimension, the way the landscape of Provence or Dordogne-Lot or Côte basque or Burgundy or Normandy-Brittany (and one can go on) never lacks dimension.

quote:

Île de Ré is the only place I know in France where everything works, nothing tacky offends the eye, no one serving you is in a bad mood, and you can have a good meal without doing six months of research just by passing in front of a restaurant and walking in.

How can Ile de Ré be the only - the ONLY - place that the author knew in france
- where nothing tacky offends the eye?
- or where one can have a good meal without doing six months of research?
What offended the author's eye along the Dordogne river or in the Lubéron or the Cap d'Erquy (and I can go on)?
And bigre, is it so difficult to find a good meal in France?
In which parallel universe is this country called France, where nothing worked, good restaurants have to be dug up by strenuous research and eye sores cover the land?

Thanks for a dose of reality, Americana. I'm sure Ile de Ré is very nice, but it does sound more like a pretty place to get away from it all than a place with a lot of depth and variety.

I would like to visit that part of France, though. I've read a couple of articles on La Rochelle that make it sound very interesting, and I've never been to Bordeaux either. So maybe that will be on a future itinerary....

- Roz

quote:

Ile de Ré

I'm not sure that it is hidden. It has a bridge that carries 3m visitors per year.

In fact, the bridge will be paid for soon and locals don't want the toll lifted because it will attract even more tourists.
Recent report here.

Peter

I spent a week in May on an island just south of there called Oléron. It was beautiful and a lot of fun even though the fishermen were on strike and the ports were closed. There are some posts on my blog about the Ile d'Oléron, which I'm told is less developed and gentrified than the Ile de Ré.

OK, I'll say upfront that the Isle of Guernsey is in the UK Commonwealth- but it's bilingual, its history is French and it's just off the Brittany coast by St. Malo. It's French/British, just as Alsace is French/German. We spent a week there once and it was delightful, and had lots of definition! There's also a fabulously restored house where Victor Huge wrote Les Miserables in exile. It made me eager to explore other islands in that region. I think it is 2-3 hours from St. Malo by ferry.
Linda

I just read a wonderful novel that takes place mostly in Guernsey, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I've got to go there!!

Roz, we spent 3 weeks in the Poitou-Charentes region a couple of years ago. La Rochelle quickly became one of our favorite cities in France, and I'd say the restaurants there were uniformly excellent -- even though I failed to do "six months of research." We visited the Ile de Ré and found it a nice diversion but much less charming and interesting than La Rochelle. There are other delightful cities and towns in the region, like Poitiers and Saintes and Cognac, and a wealth of lovely Romanesque churches, all of which convince me that the area is one of France's undiscovered jewels. I think you'd love it, and it is so convenient to combine some time there with a visit to Bordeaux or to the Loire.

Last October, we discovered the Ile de Re quite by accident on our way north after 6 weeks in Provence. We were using the Logis de France hotel listings which led us to the Hotel Plaisir in one of the small towns located on this 5 by 30 kilometer island. The price was right for what we had planned to be a one night stay. But after doing a small bit of exploring and reading the very compete tourist guide to the area, we booked for an additional two nights and wished we had even more time. This was the off-season, many restaurants and shops were either closed or open for limited hours, but the Gulf Stream inspired weather was moderate and there were 5 or 6 interesting villages to explore, and footpaths to walk (with more time, we would have rented bicycles). This island was of strategic interest to both Louis XIV and Louis XIII (of Cardinal Richelieu fame) in the 17th century and Vauban engineered many fortifications and towers around the island to poke around and photograph.

The beaches are wide with hard-packed sand, also good for riding bikes. Pineau des charentes grapes (used in making cognac and a local aperitif) are grown here so there’s the option for tasting. And there are many restaurants that appear to get their seafood fresh from the boats that come in and out of the small harbors. Even with a more limited choice than in the summer, we had several delicious (and reasonably priced) seafood meals at small cafes and restaurants here.

Ile de Re is slightly reminiscent of Hilton Head, Cape Cod and Harbor Country, Michigan but with fewer monuments to excess -- maybe what those places were 25 years ago. I think one of the reasons that I like this place so much is that it reminds me of when I was a kid and my family used to spend two weeks on Cape Cod each summer. It's rustic, laid back, has good seafood, and a genuine "outdoorsy" feel.

Is it the most perfect place in France? Of course not -- perfection is in the eye of the individual traveler. But I think it is well worth a visit and an exploration for a few days. We certainly intend to return.

Marilyn

quote:

one of the reasons that I like this place so much is that it reminds me of when I was a kid and my family used to spend two weeks on Cape Cod each summer

That's interesting, Marilyn ... we love the Cape, too, so there's another reason to put it on our list! Thanks,

- Roz

I also think it sounds great. I'll put it on our very long list!
I remember seeing a PBS show a few years ago, about European islands. There was footage shot low from a helicopter of French islands, and I became very enthusiastic. Ile de Re was part of that. I remember being impressed with the west French coast and its islands. I also remember Corsica - stunning. I don't remember the name of the series, but I wish I could see it again.
Linda

Chris -
RE: Isle of Guernsey.
Go. Rent bikes or rent a car. It's amazing, and if you loved that book, you'll enjoy the WWII occupation museums there. I've just started the book.
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/showgallery.php?cat=3973
See photos above. We stayed with friends, so can't recommend an accomodation.
Linda

I love your photos! I saw a mini-series about the occupation a few years ago too.

This will definitely be in our top 3 options as soon as things settle down enough that we can plan our next trip.

People here in Saint-Aignan tell me they prefer the Ile d'Oléron to the Ile de Ré because Oléron is less developed, has a "wilder" feel. I haven't been to Ré, but I did enjoy Oléron. Ré is much more gentrified, I guess -- sort of the difference between Cape Hatteras and Hilton Head.