Whale Lighthouse
The site houses two prestigious sentinels: the current Grand Phare (1854) and Vieille Tour built in 1682 on Colbert's orders. Site open all year round....
The first tower built under Vauban and put into service in 1682 and 1854, is classified as a Historical Monument. It was restored between 2005 and 2007.
The current Grand Phare was inaugurated in 1854. It was built between 1849 and 1853 at the northwest tip of Ile de Ré, in the alignment of the Baleineaux lighthouse.
With its 57 m, it is one of the highest in France: 257 steps to climb to get an exceptional view of the island and the ocean! The range of this giant Retais is 50 km, making it one of the most powerful lighthouses on the Atlantic coast.
A space for museum activities on lighthouses and their history, at the foot of the old tower.
Maritime bookshop - Boutique Déco marine - Souvenirs - Models - Posters.
Opening: Every day
October to March: 10:30am - 5:30pm
April to June + September: 10am-7pm
July-August: 9:30am-9pm
Fort La Prée
Fort la Prée is the oldest military fort on the island. Come and discover it with family or friends.
A compulsory landing place between La Rochelle and the island until the middle of the 19th century, the site of La Prée was chosen to be the site of the first royal fortification in 1626. A major work for the island's reconquest of the English in 1627, the fort is an important link in the strategy of encircling La Rochelle put in place by Louis XIII and Richelieu. The only military building preserved on the island after the victory over the inhabitants of La Rochelle in 1628, this outstanding example of the fortification at the beginning of the 17th century is partly destroyed according to Vauban's wishes in 1685, only the keep and the small stranding port of the original building are then preserved. The monument then underwent many transformations between the end of the 18th century and the middle of the 20th century when the fort was occupied by a holiday camp.
Opening:
Early April to late September + All Saints' Day Holidays
> April, May, June, September and All Saints' Holidays: from 10am to 1pm and from 2.30pm to 6.30pm.
> July and August from 10am to 7pm.
Guided tour at 10:30 am and 4 pm on opening days (reservation recommended). Duration ≈ 1h15.
Ticket office closed 45 minutes before the total closure of the site.
Weekly closing on Saturdays from April to mid-May then, opening to the public from Monday 14h30 to Thursday evening until the end of September, the site being privatised by our newlyweds.
Throughout the summer, come and discover the fort's adventures with your family thanks to summer activities such as the treasure hunt! You will find the program on Fort La Prée's Facebook page and on the website.
Aqua'Ré Aquatic Centre
"Aquaré, the pool of your dreams!"
Located between St Martin de Ré and La Flotte, 10 minutes by car from the bridge, the Aquatics Centre welcomes you 7 days a week, winter and summer.
Aquatic Centre of the Community of Communes of the Island of Ré, it opened its doors in July 2009, it is the only Aquatic Centre on the island that delights both Retais and tourists.
On the island of Ré, put yourself in a bathing suit even in winter.... Come and enjoy a 25m swimming pool and a covered play pool. The little ones can have fun in the big paddling
pool, while the older ones will slide down the slide. And for parents, a small relaxation area awaits them in the spa area which is composed of a sauna, a hammam and a spa. It is the ideal place to come with family, friends or simply to swim! From the first rays of the sun, an outdoor play pool with a wooden beach and a solarium will allow you to tan as if you were at the beach.
Sauna, hammam, Jacuzzi.
The Salt Marshes
In the 19th century there were more than 1000 sauniers on the Ile de Ré, today there are only a hundred left.
Salt producers, called sauniers on the Ile de Ré, today perpetuate centuries-old techniques, the functioning of a salt marsh having hardly changed since the Middle Ages.
On Île de Ré, a salt marsh is composed of 3 large groups of basins: the mudflats, the metières, and the marsh field. These basins were cleverly dug into the natural clay so that the water passes from one to the other by gravity. Every day, attentive to the slightest change in weather, the saunier increases or decreases water flows between each of the basins.
Salt formation is therefore totally dependent on weather conditions and the harvesting season generally only lasts from June to September. It only takes one shower to destroy several days of harvest....
