Velofrancette 2026 - Ile d'Aix

 

Cycling Stats

Walking Route

Cycling Route So Far 

Travelogue 

Today is our final day in La Rochelle. We walked the city yesterday so decided that today, we'd jump on a ferry and visit the island Ile d'Aix which takes about hour and a quarter to get to. And that's what we did.

En route you get a close up view of a "fort in the sea" called Fort Boyard. It's an impressive building, originally created for defensive purposes, but has been more recently used as a prison and most recently as the location for a French TV show of the same name!

On arrival at Ile d'Aix at about midday, we immediately started walking along the coastal path. The majority of the hordes of tourists we'd travelled with or who has arrived on other ferries all seemed to head straight for one of half a dozen or so restaurants and sit down for lunch.

That said, on our 8 km walk, we were rarely alone. It's a small island and it's a wonder it didn't sink under the weight of all those tourists. There are plenty of homes on the island. It's hard to imagine it's a nice place to live in the summer.

On nearing the end of our walk, we'd become peckish and so sat down at a table outside one of the aforementioned restaurants. It was now 2 pm so there were tables free. We didn't want a meal so we just ordered a bowl of salad to share, two bowls of chips (french fries), a serving of homemade aioli and cold drinks. Our waitress also brought us a basket of crusty bread. This all went down very well indeed. And yet something was missing....

Ice cream! The restaurant had a number of awesome looking ice cream desserts available. M2 chose chocolate. I, M1, went for their best selling caramel version. No regrets. Delish.

We found a place to sit in the shade and read for a while and then walked to the quay where we expected to find our return ferry. It was absolutely heaving with tourists, definitely hundreds. And there was no information, despite there being multiple ferries coming and going. In fact, we nearly got on the wrong ferry! Luckily someone had managed to find out where our ferry would dock and so we moved to the right location and all was well.

We had a decent enough day but in truth felt that there was nothing special about Ile d'Aix.

We head north by train tomorrow.

Photos

The Hordes

Velofrancette 2026 - Tourism in La Rochelle

 

Stats 

Walking Route

Route So Far

Travelogue 

Our cycling trip ended yesterday. But not our holiday. We now have two days in La Rochelle, of which today is the first.

As is common with us, we kicked things off with a self-guided walking tour of the city. We're staying in an apartment a stone's throw from the old harbour, so we're well placed for a tour of the key parts of this historic place.

We cycled the Velodyssee route, all the way down the Atlantic coast of France two years ago and we stayed for one night in La Rochelle. But we didn't really see anything of the place. We were staying in a neighborhood away from the most historic and interesting areas and it wasn't until we cycled out of the city the next day that we got a hint of what a lovely place this is.

Our walking tour, led by Ace Tour Guide, M2 (who doesn't let her inability to tell left from right hamper her guiding activities), was very nice indeed. La Rochelle exceeds expectations. The harbour is lovely, with its old fortified towers guarding its entrance, and every street is worth walking down. And of course there's Pain aux Amandes and coffee.

But there's horror awaiting the hapless tourist, too. I'm referring to the paintings in the cathedral, very few of which do not depict torture or death. One painting in particular, portraying the flaying of St Bartholomew, is just horrible. The stuff of nightmares!

And there are oysters. There's a big market and one of the star attractions are oysters which you can buy and eat at a table. That said, both M1 and M2 think oysters are revolting so somehow we managed to resist :-)

We have no plan now other than to relax. It's as it should be. 

That said... A plan of sorts did form. We leave in two days time and will be putting ourselves and the bikes on a train to Nantes. The train leaves at 6:17. Railway stations can be tricky places for those of us with heavily laden bikes to get to the right platform. So we decided to walk to and review La Rochelle station. 

The station is only 600 metres away and should be super easy to cycle to on the day. It's also a very beautiful building that has been recently renovated. Inside there are of course numerous platforms. They're reached by a subway, with lots and lots of steps. Or by a bridge that is accessed via lots and lots of steps. Or.... By elevators that are big enough for one bike at a time! Praise be :-) As long as whichever two elevators that we need (the platform isn't decided until the day) are working, all will be well. If not, we can handle the steps. It's just better if we don't have to. 

Photos

The railway station