Île d’Oléron | Spring vacation 2017

Sailing lessons, the Marais aux Oiseaux, Les Jardins Botaniques de la Boirie, and the Eglise Saint-Georges were the highlights of our spring 2017 trip to the Île d’Oléron. We last visited in 2015; that preceded our shorter trip to the neighboring Île de Ré in 2016.

We prefer the Île d’Oléron. The larger size makes for better cycling options. The landscape supports a more diverse and robust economy.  And thanks to the generosity of a friend, we have a great place to stay there — convenient to a daily market, a good-enough grocery store, and a bakery at the corner.

Plateaux de fruits-de-mer are available at a small shop down the street. Pretty decent take-away pizza is a short bike ride away. One disadvantage: it is slightly more remote, making a day trip to La Rochelle and (off-season) planning challenge.

And in case you missed it, a few more images of the trip are on Instagram.

His sailing partner on day 1 is Inès.

He told me I need to pay to take his photo.

Fort Boyard is on the horizon.