The Île de Ré List

We’ve been to Île de Ré three times now, and next year we hope to rent a house for a week, which must mean we really like it. Yes, our French friends tell us it’s too Parisian and too expensive…but for us, not being French, honestly, we can’t tell! Besides it being achingly beautiful, it has a rhythm that you can’t help but fall into immediately: you’re either riding a bike to a market, lunch, or a beach…or you’re enjoying all of those, and then at the end of day you’re walking around, eating/drinking, watching the sunset, eating an ice cream or a cotton candy. It’s a very simple, laid back lifestyle, and feels completely caught in time. For us, and so many of our friends who visit it, the bike is what creates the magic—that feeling of freedom and the wind in your hair….sigh. Then there’s the fantastic seafood platters that you eat in front of the sea, the morning markets in every town and the wide lovely beaches. Since I’m just giving you my list of favorites here, I’m going to do something that may seem a bit unconventional, but is actually what I do for my friends: I’m going to include some links to stories that I think will give you more of a full picture of the island, because god knows I can’t know it all, or fit it all into this single post. I quite liked this article from Lonely Planet for the first-time visitor, this clever Condé Nast Traveller piece, this NY Times piece on the great salt of the island, plus this story we did with Clare V back when I was at Traveler (it’s more than five years old but still has good tips!). And now that I’m off the hook for giving you the history and the overview, here’s my list!

STAY

We’ve always stayed in Saint-Martin-de-Ré, the biggest town on the island, because we’re never there for more than three days and we prefer to be in the center of it all. But next year if we rent, we’ll probably stay in Le Bois-Plage or Ars-en-Ré.

Le Sénéchal: Several of our friends stay here every time they come to the island, and they adore this place, which is in the sweet (and a little more off the beaten path) town of Ars-en-Ré. The decor is understated (our friends described it as like a Le Labo store!), very well curated, with a small pool, and they rent out houses as well. They have a sweet little cafe and food store just down the road. We’ll definitely stay here next visit!

La Lanternon is in Saint-Martin-de-Ré and I just wrote about it in last week’s newsletter…I love it!

La Baronnie: I met sweet Marta, an IG follower, on the street in Saint-Martin-de-Ré. She’s been coming to the island for 15 years and this hotel is her favorite. I can tell you she has great taste, so I trust her! I’ve been in the public spaces and the gardens which are gorgeous. And it seems like the rooms are lovely—lots of toile moments.

Villa Clarisse: A sister property to Le Toiras (see below), we stayed here several years ago and really enjoyed it. It’s a five-minute walk up the hill from the center of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, so it’s quiet, the rooms are very airy and light, the gardens are lovely and there’s a pool in the back. I do remember there being quite a few kids doing cannonballs into that pool, so if you’re a couple who might be put off by that, I’d look elsewhere.

Les Clés d’Ars: I haven’t stayed here, but every time I walk by this bed and breakfast, I take a photo, because it’s so charming. From their site, it seems like a good option in Ars-en-Ré: very small (only three rooms), the owners have an extensive background in the luxury hotel/concierge world, their breakfasts are all organic, and the decor looks lovely.

Le Toiras: I’ve stayed here twice, and the first time I loved it: the most central location, well decorated, just the right amount of modern updates, and a nice breakfast served in a lovely garden. A couple of weeks ago when we stayed there, we had a very different experience. On one hand, they had all these great updates done during the lockdown: a new brasserie-style restaurant called George’s that really takes advantage of their amazing location facing the harbor (previously their restaurant was in the garden and the food was a bit too Michelin fussy for me), a reworked lobby interior that has much better flow, and a sweet bar. However, we had some issues: the air conditioning wasn’t working consistently, the bar only had a real bartender one out of the three nights we were there, so the other two Matt had to teach the server standing behind the bar how to make a Negroni and a gin and tonic, and the staff just seemed very distracted (room service trays stayed in room all day). I hope it was just a weird blip of a week for them, because I really do like the property.

Le Collectionist: I quite like their edit of homes in general. The properties they have listed here on the island are really nice, but for a first time visitor, I would suggest staying in a town to really get a feeling for the island.

EAT/DRINK

Ré Ostrea is our go-to for lunch. It’s an oyster farm with a restaurant right on the water that just serves platters of the freshest seafood. There are no salads, vegetables, fries, pasta…so if you’re with non-seafood-eating people, avoid this place! Also, don’t expect great service—the wait staff are mostly kids doing summer jobs.

La cabanajam is just down the way from Ré Ostrea, and isn’t right on the water—the bike path is in between the restaurant and the sea, so you see it but aren’t right on top of it. I think the quality is better here (the oysters are from Gillardeau) and they have a great wine list (they even have Ruinart on the list, which my French friend said means it’s a restaurant for Parisians).

Le Bistrot du Marin is right in the center of Saint-Martin-de-Ré and is a nice break from seafood if you need one. Matt likes their côte de boeuf.

George’s is the chic new restaurant at Le Toiras, and we had a great meal there, and excellent people watching.

Le Tout du Cru is just off the main square in Saint-Martin-de-Ré and is more low-key

Chez Remy: Our friends who stayed in Ars-en-Ré said this place looks like a tourist trap, but the food is really delicious.

Le Tour de Sénéchal: The same friends ate dinner here twice and loved it…it’s more tapas style, very casual, and right across from the cutest carousel (perfect for families)!

Aux Frères de la Côte: Right on the water in Ars-en-Ré, make sure to reserve well in advance and order the moules frites.

La Patache was recommended by a follower and it looks fantastic. Right on the beach (albeit a bit far out) and has many more options than the oyster farms do!

La Martinière: You can’t miss this excellent ice cream stand—it’s the spot on the port in Saint-Martin-de-Ré where everyone is congregated. They have other outposts throughout the island as well.

Les Copains Babord: If you’re staying in Saint-Martin-de-Ré, it’s the most lovely bike ride to this very casual seafront oyster/seafood spot. Next door is another one and it is also great, should this one be too crowded.

AND…

La Magasin de la Republique is quite possibly the cutest store exterior we’ve ever seen. Then you go inside and you want to redo your whole apartment because it has such great vintage lamps and furniture. We have bought so many treasures there that live in Maison Medoc

Madeleine & Gustave is a design store in Ars-en-Ré that is so well-curated and with prices that make you wish they had an outlet in the States.

M&A is a great military surplus store in Ars-en-Ré. We always pick up a deadstock striped shirt or jacket.

Cooperative de Creation (Ars-en-Ré) has a great collection of bags and jewelry.

L’Heure Bleue is an antiques store in La Couarde-sur-Mer that came highly recommended to us, a day after we left! More reasons to come back!

The Loix market has a great vintage stall, and along the way there you’ll pass several salt stands, where you should definitely pick up a bag of salt. A couple of them also sell maceron, which is the wild pepper that you see growing everywhere. Get that too!

As for beaches—we went to the one in Le Bois-en-Ré and loved it. For sunsets, everyone loves Saint-Clément-des-Baleines Beach of the Conche. But this is where I would ask around, as everyone has their own ideas about what they want from a beach!

ARMCHAIR TRAVELER

Bicycling With Molière is a French comedy shot on the island from 2013.

Yolo in France playlist!