Island of Re

Access to Re Island

By car, the island of Re is served by the following motorways:

• from Poitiers, Tours or Paris, the A10 is 70 kilometers (44 miles) away;
• from Bordeaux, the A837 highway is 40 kilometers (25 miles) away;
• from Nantes, the A83 motorway is 65 kilometers (40 miles) away.

By train, a bus link is provided from the station of La Rochelle. It is linked by TGV to Paris-Montparnasse in less than three hours. Intercity trains connect La Rochelle to Bordeaux and Nantes.

By plane, a bus link is provided from the airport of La Rochelle-Ile de Ré.

Bridge of Re Island

Since 1988, the island of Re is connected to the mainland by a nearly three kilometers (1.9 miles) long bridge, which is the second longest bridge in France after Saint-Nazaire's one.

There is a toll to cross the bridge, but it is toll-free for pedestrians and cyclists.

Weather

Re island is located in one of France's sunniest spots. Its mild climate contributes to the attraction of the island.

Economy

Besides tourism, economic resources of the island are mainly oyster farming, vegetable growing and vineyards.

The famous salt from island of Re is produced in salt pans. If there were more than a thousand salt workers in the nineteenth century, they are currently less than one hundred. Only one third of the salt pans are nowadays being exploited for salt production.

The islanders

Nearly 18,000 people live in the island year round. During the tourist season, the population is ten times larger.

The ten municipalities of the island are listed alphabetically in the following pages.