Île d'Oléron

Two coastal islands to savour.

You will find these same few sentences at the start of our notes about both the two 'Îles' off the Charente Maritime coast. That seems the only way to convey perhaps the most important observation about Oléron and Ré (see our Area Île de Ré) being that they are different! Superficially - from a glance at a map - they seem almost mirror images. They are two long thin islands running on an axis from south east to north west. They are part of the greater geology of the west of France following strata that form the Gironde estuary to the south and another 'similar' island off the coast of Vendée - Île de Noirmoutier - to the north. But spend some time on each of the two currently under discussion and you will find a quite different atmosphere on each. If you like (or dislike) one you may well not feel the same emotion about the other. Both islands, incidentally, are joined to the mainland by road bridges. You'll be charged 15 Euros in the summer to travel to Ré but you get to Oléron for free.

Palm trees and villas at St Pierre-d'Oléron.

The scent of pine trees in the sun.

Exclude Corsica and Oléron is the largest of the islands off the coast of continental France. Many descriptions of it are based on one made by the local boy, writer Pierre Loti (1850 -1923) which is loosely translated as "The sky over the golden sands of the great beaches is generally blue. The scents of the mosses and the trees wafts through the pine forests. Beyond the meadows are carpeted with wild flowers...." It is all of those things but one factor that distinguishes it from many islands is that it has a large enough resident population to create a varied and viable community. There are about 20,000 inhabitants of whom some 6,000 live in the principal town of St Pierre d'Oléron. Take note, though, during the summer season they welcome in the region of 250,000 visitors.

Oyster boats crowd the harbour at le Château-d'Oléron

Mimosa in a Mediterranean climate..

That fact alone may be enough to colour one's opinion about the suitability of the isle for a property purchase. A holiday home here might provide peace and tranquillity in spring and autumn and a good letting income in summer. A permanent residence, on the other hand, could find your patience being stretched to the limits by the congestion and razzmatazz of the holiday season. But that inconvenience is a very modest one when one can savour a near Mediterranean climate with short winters and mimosa flowering at the start of each year. The island has far more forest than one expects and one is unlikely to run out of space for long walks or bicycle rides. Beaches abound - particularly on the south west coast.

One of Oléron's beaches. Photo courtesy of Camping la Campière.

An island of wealth and history.

The expanses of golden sands are vast - that at le Grand-Village-Plage on the south west corner nearly two miles long - and one has to admit that this is a paradise for family summer holidays. Indeed were it not for the French insistence of delineating a precise holiday season from July to the end of August one could well imagine a significantly longer season here. Nevertheless the consequence is that those not confined to visiting during school holidays will benefit from the treasure trove that is the Île d'Oléron in relative peace and tranquillity. It is rich in history and both sea and shore provided wealth long before beautiful bodies came along with their bank-rolls.