Travel guide: Île de Ré. It was holiday time for me last week, when I jetted (or should I say drove, through the beautiful countryside of Normandy, Picardie and the Loire) off to the sunny island of Île de Ré, just off the coast of La Rochelle. Île de Ré is a stunning 30km-long island– completely unspoilt– with picturesque harbours, fields of cornflowers, wild hollyhocks and Farrow & Ball-inspired shuttered houses. In fact, the main town of Saint Martin de Re is a Unesco World Heritage site and the shutters can be painted one of 16 shades, limited to the palette of blue and green. There wasn’t even any seagulls! We set up camp in La Flotte, a short cycle ride from Saint Martin, in an old shabby-chic chateau. The place had a garden for breakfast and a swimming pool that we had to ourselves for the whole trip (Unfortunately the owners have put the house on the market, but if you want to have a sneaky peek, check it out here).
We went to Saint Martin for the day, which is the touristy brother of La Flotte, with a big harbour, old city walls and restaurants spilling onto the cobbled streets. We stopped off for coffee at Le Bistrot du Marin, popular but on the quieter side of the port, and had moules frites for lunch, which were the freshest and juiciest of moules. We then escaped the crowds at Villa Clarisse, an 18th century private mansion that has been converted into a boutique hotel, the sister of the more well-known Hôtel de Toiras. The pool provided the perfect port of call for a glass of rosé.
On the morning when we arrived in La Flotte there was a brocante market, which now equals my favourite way to pass time in France. I picked up some gorgeous vintage wine glasses and a jug, perfect for flowers on the living room table.
The food market at La Flotte was also the best on the island, with the plumpest tomatoes and the juiciest flat peaches. We cooked sebaste one night (which translates as red fish and not sebass as you would think) with fennel and haricots verts.
If that wasn’t enough, we also went on a cycle ride to an abbey near La Flotte. It was like an impressionist painting, with the sea on one side and cornfields on the other. Truly idyllic.
All images my own
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