Tourist attractions Ile d'Oléron

This 33-acre zoo is set in the magnificent forests and dunes of La Palmyre. A marked trail, dotted with lakes and ponds, takes visitors past some 1 600 animals from every corner of the globe. Carnivores live next to small pandas and suricates. Parrot..

The Brouage Ramparts, built between 1630 and 1640, are an excellent example of the art of fortifications before Vauban. Forming a square with sides 400m long, they are protected by seven bastions equipped with bartizans. The North side faced the sea,..

A fully furnished, reconstructed farm recreating the atmosphere of traditional life on the island. On display are the farmhouse with its one room and window, outbuildings (wine storeroom and forge) containing equipment and tools from earlier days, pa..

Linked to the mainland by a viaduct-bridge , Oléron is Metropolitan France’s second largest island after Corsica. A place of wild beauty, ocean expanse, ever-changing colours, warm sand and… its famous oysters. Its white houses sit among mimosas, la..

With its green woodland of oaks, pines and tamarisks, inlets and beaches of fine sand on which sit Vauban’s fortifications, this little island (seemingly Mediterranean in character) in the mouth of the Charente is ideal for long walks bathed in ocean..

Rebuilt three times since 1895 on account of shifting dunes, the Coubre Lighthouse stands imposingly on Coubre Point, marking the Gironde approaches. From the top (around 300 steps and a metal ladder!) there is a superb view of the Cordouan Lightho..

The shipyard stretched along the Charente River on two levels (they still exist today) separated by slipways or dry docks. It had 11 construction yards and careening basins of which the Old Form is the oldest masonry dry dock in the world. A foundry,..

Pierre Loti’s house is made up of two adjoining buildings. The interior is magnificent, and quite amazing, with a ‘‘Renaissance’’ dining room furnished in the Spanish style and decorated with Flemish tapestries, a mosque ornamented with items from th..

The castle is what remains of a citadel built by Richelieu. It was enlarged and modified by Louis XIV in 1666 to protect the newly built port of Rochefort . During the Revolution, political deportees were its unwilling occupants.

Brightly coloured oyster-farm huts house exhibitions on the island’s traditional activities: the history of salt in Saintonge, the écluses à poisson (fish retention locks) and oyster farming. A salt works has been conserved around a cabane à Sau ..

Some green oaks and broom vie with the prevailing sea pines in this 2,000ha forest, excellent for walks and bike rides.

Best on a windy day when high foaming ocean waves break on the shore, creating a stunning view .

Depending on your preferences and what happens to take your fancy, you might want to head for the Grande Plage (3km to the west) which stretches out as far as the eye can see, the Pointe de Manson (2.5km to the South) which affords views of the v..

This is a reserve where migratory birds nest and spend the winter: herons, egrets, pelicans and barnacle geese can be found in enclosures resembling their natural habitat.

Here one can see black crested loris from New Guinea, crowned yellow crested cranes, macaws and toucans.

On display in this museum of local crafts and traditions is a reconstruction of a local kitchen complete with figures in costume. There is also a collection of local seashells and displays about the island’s economic activities (oyster farming, agric..

Loti spent his holidays here as a teenager, with his maternal grandparents. In 1923 he was buried in the family garden with his childhood bucket and spade. The time the writer spent here is also evoked by a bust of him in front of the town hall.

This beach is situated between two rocky outcrops and provides nice views of the Côte Sauvage (coastline) and the often stormy seas.

The 32m high steeple acts as a landmark for seamen. Climb up to the viewing platform for a panoramic view taking in the whole island, the islands of Aix and Ré, as well as the Gironde estuary.

This lantern tower was built in the 13C, during the English occupation, in the early Gothic style. Spare and slender, it is topped by a pyramid added in the 18C. Inside, the staircase leading up to the signal light has been preserved.