After Corsica, Ile d'Oleron is France's largest island being 30kms long and 6kms wide. Oleron is attached to the mainland via a road bridge so with easy access it's really popular with camping cars.

We've managed to see so much of Oleron with day trips out, thanks to the kindness of Stephanie and Barry (aka Barry's Tours).

To summarise; it's pretty flat with fields of vine yards, sunflowers, hay bales and salt marshes. The sandy beaches go on for miles. Towns and villages are small and picturesque, not a multi-storey in sight and they certainly encourage visitors with free parking located under the shade of trees.

Hollyhocks appear everywhere and have even been painted on the sides of the occasional house!



We visited 'Boyardville' on a really grey and slightly wet day. Unfortunately we found the area to be very touristy indeed, probably due to the fact that it's possible to hop onto a ferry and visit nearby 'Fort Boyard' hence bringing in the crowds.



Le Chateau d'Oleron, located on the east coast was certainly a lovely area to visit as we walked around a kaleidoscope of old oyster farming huts. The majority of them have been renewed and converted into arts and crafts shops. It was a charming little place and a pleasure to walk around.









The port of La Cotinier was a bustling place with plenty of gift shops to browse and cafes to choose from, including a couple of fishing shops and before you ask, yes we did have to visit to buy more fishing gear! Fishing is a major industry on the island, confirmed by the amount of fishing vessels coming in and going out of the harbour.



We've loved being able to spend a month on Oleron and would certainly visit again.