Ask the average Londoner where they’re heading on their holiday to France and they’ll likely regale you with stories of their favorite spot in Nice (the one they return to each year), wax lyrical about the weather in St. Tropez at such a time of year, or show you pictures of the cerulean Corsica waters. But ask a Parisian where they’re planning to holiday in their home country, and they’ll likely give you a singular response: île de Ré.
The 19-by-3-mile island lounges just off the French Atlantic coast, a rich tapestry of white-washed villages, calm beaches with fewer visitors, memorably mouth-watering seafood, and a more authentic flavor, untouched by mass tourism. This dainty stretch of land manages to emulate the chic feel of its larger siblings in the South of France while offering an altogether more intimate, family sort of feel.
île de Ré is known for its salt marshes and pine-backed beaches, and holidays here are peppered with meals taken at rustic oyster shacks, leisurely vineyard bike rides, and days spent meandering around the 10 traditional villages, the jewel in the crown of which, the main town of St-Martin-de-Ré, has the 17th-century Fortifications of Vauban and a string of marina-side cafés and boutiques.
If you’re planning a trip to the island where the sun (almost) never stops shining, here are the best places to stay.