After breakfast Tuesday morning in La Rochelle, we drove over the bridge to Île de Ré, 19 miles long and 3 miles wide. The Romans built salt pans on the islands, so that over hundreds of years, three islands merged and became one. In the 12th century, a Cistercian monastery was founded on the island. The island became English in 1154, when Eléonore of Aquitaine became queen of England by marriage. The island changed back and forth from French to English. In 1681, the main port was fortified under Vauban, and the citadel was built. Saint Martin became a UNESCO a site in 2008.
We visited Fort La Pree, the Abbey de Chateliers ruins, Saint Martin, the Lighthouse des Balienes, and made a beach stop. The island has dedicated bike paths and bike lanes everywhere, so there are more bikers than drivers. There is agriculture, with wine grapes and other crops. We loved Île de Ré!
