Overview

Saint Martin de Re is the largest town on Ile de Re, a little island just of La Rochelle, on the French Atlantic Coast. It's a chic location for Parisians in the school summer holidays. It's considered the French equivalent of the Hamptons. Saint Martin has a large port area which is surrounded by shops, cafes and restaurants. There is also an Old Town area and some Fortifications surrounding the town.

Transport & Parking

I used Béatrice Taxis from La Rochelle and on the way there I was in a people carrier, on the return trip I used the same taxi company and they had got me a people carrier with a pull out step, which made it easier to get in and out. The driver was extremely helpful and took my luggage into the hotel. Alternatively there is buses which run throughout the day connecting Ile de Re to La Rochelle. The nearest bus stop is Saint Martin de Re Le Port and it is a 1 minute level walk to the Port. In the Spring - Autumn if you are driving to access the port area requires a code, which your hotel should give you and there is a charge for the car parks. There are direct flights in the summer season from Gatwick to La Rochelle with an actual flying time of 1 hour 10 minutes.

Access

Most of Ile de Re is flat and is popular with cyclists. Likewise much of Saint Martin de Re is also flat. The area round the harbour side is flat. The harbour is quite large and without distractions, will take about 15 minutes to walk the entire length. The area round the port is mainly pedestrianised as few vehicles use the road round the port. The road surface is large, quite flat and smooth cobblestone and the pavements are smooth limestone. Throughout the harbour there are benches to sit on. Surrounding the harbour are cafés and restaurants, all of which have some outdoor seating. The port area is very much a place where people relax and people watch. La Martiniere, which is an ice cream stall on the harbour front. The stall is directly onto the pavement, so is step free, but the counter is at standing height. There is an impressive selection of ice creams in an amazing variety of flavours, which can be served in a cone or tub. The stall has no seating area, but there are benches nearby. I also ate at La Sarrasine, which is a creperie, serving sweet crepes and savoury galettes, omelettes and impressive ice cream sundaes. The restaurant had outdoor and indoor seating, all with moveable chairs and tables. Hotel Les Colonnes has a restaurant which serves a variety of food including crepes and galetttes. I ate outside when I went here so I can't comment on the indoor area. Le Marco Polo, is a pizza and creperie at the opposite end of the port from the bus stop. Although I ate outside I used their toilets and noticed that here were a couple of ramps so step free to the toilet. Le Phare is a pizzeria and again I ate outside, but there was also indoor seating. Cafe De La Paix has a general tourist type menu, with seating inside and out, again I ate outside. There are a number of small shops, some very exclusive clothes shops, with more tourist type shops in the little streets leading off from the port area. The some of the shopping streets are on an incline. These streets are also pedestrianised. The shops sell a range of things from clothing, bags, to more specialist produce of the area, sea salt, salted caramels, soaps, etc. The shops tend to be small and filled with produce and some maybe easier to go into than others. Continuing up the incline you reach the old town with limestone and timber framed houses with shutters and the church of Saint Martin de Re, which had stepped entrance but I think a 2nd entrance is more accessible. The church is nice but nothing special. It has a tower, lots of stairs to a viewing point, which I didn't see. On the bus stop side of the port is a park, with grass area, with a light house, some of the fortifications, there's flat bits and slopey bits, so need care to navigate, but some of it was doable. It's a nice area, there are some benches and was quite quiet when I visited. In the school summer holidays the donkeys with trousers offer rides to children. One day I had about a 30 minute level walk to one of the entrance gates of the fortifications, via Cours Vauban with a couple of benches to rest on the way, and next to the gate was a field with some of the local donkeys that have shaggy coats, they were not wearing their trousers. There were a couple of benches and it was very pleasant just sitting watching the donkeys and having a rest after the walk. Also in the port area opposite the bus stop is a tourist information office, the lady in there was very helpful advising me, in English, about where I could visit easily on public transport. Also by the bus stop is Musee Ernest Cognacq, the step free, local history museum which I have written a separate Euan's Guide review for as well as the hotel I stayed in.

Toilets

Musee Ernest Cognacq had a disabled accessible toilet, with one grab rail and no emergency cord. Likewise the restaurant Le Marco Polo. The one grab rail, often raised toilet and no emergency alarm seemed to be typing of accessible toilets during my holiday.

Staff

As this is a general review of the area, the staff who were most helpful was the lady at Musee Ernest Cognacq, the lady at the tourist information office and one evening when I was at Cafe De La Paix, a lady in a wheelchair came in and the waiters were very proactive in moving the table to enable her to seat there easily. No one was unhelpful.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

This is a very general review about Saint Martin de Re, it's a charming resort, the port and old town are very picturesque. At the port there are luxury boats and some fishing boats. The town and harbour are quite small, during the midweek off peak visit in June it was atmospheric but not too crowded, however on the Sunday when I arrived it was extremely busy. This is a good choice if you want to go somewhere with charm and character which is off the main package holiday radar. It's very relaxing and somewhere you can potter about and then spend time sitting by the harbour people watching/ eating/ drinking. There's enough places that if you want you can have a different restaurant every night for a month or 2 before running out of choice.

Photos