2019-02-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

(^52) BEST
WEEKENDS
AWAY
39
Windswept dunes
on the beach at
Rivedoux-Plage
PHOTOGRAPHS: PHILIP LEE HARVEY/LONELY PLANET
February 2019 87
Pick’n’mix
O
This month, in our ongoing short-break series,
we turn to the very best experiences on this
salty, cycle-friendly French island. Choose
your favourites and build your perfect trip
nly 19 miles east-to-
west and three miles
wide it may be, but you
couldspenddayscyclingamong
ÎledeRé’sbeaches,saltpans,
vineyards and smallholdings
without retracing your tyre-
tracks. Sparse and unspoilt,
albeit with fashionable pockets,
it’s a destination beloved of
Parisians, who enjoy their
Atlantic coast rusticity with a
side order of chic. Until a bridge
to the mainland was completed
in 1988, the island was known as
"7Ƥ20'."#12',2'-,5'2&̭,#
2&Ƥ!#,2307$-02'̭!2'-,1,"
excellent oysters; now its towns
and their beaches bustle from
April to November. If tourism
has taken off, development has
not–infact,afunholiday
challenge would be to spot
anything–alean-to,aview,even
adonkey–thatisnotdelightfully
picturesque. Exploring by bike,
,"̭22',%',1-+#130̭,%-0
&-01#Ƥ0'"',%Ơ0#2#00'̭!
groundwork for long lunches,
picnics and sunset drinks.
Ile de
Ré