Island vacation on Ile d’Yeu, off the Vendée coast of western France [Image by L’île d’Yeu – Office de Tourisme on Facebook]Lying just off the Vendée coast of western France, Ile d’Yeu is a lesser-known, gorgeous island, free from the crowds of Paris, or popular islands like Mallorca, Ibiza and Greece. Meanwhile, even though the island is tiny, you can walk for an hour or more without finding a road or another person. This makes Ile d’Yeu the perfect island vacation for those wishing to escape the summer crowds.
Beaches of Ile d’Yeu
[Image by L’île d’Yeu – Office de Tourisme on Facebook]Ile d’Yeu features beautiful nature in surprisingly diverse landscapes rich with flora. Moreover, the island is protected and conserved to protect its nature. On its shores, beaches are found nestling among rocks on the coastline or backed by dunes and pine woods.
Meanwhile, the island boasts 30 beaches, each offering fine sand, great swimming and water sports. The beaches are also popular with surfers who enjoy the island’s waves. Meanwhile, visitors can choose between the small coves and wider, sandy beaches.
[Image by L’île d’Yeu – Office de Tourisme on Facebook]Among the most popular are Plage des Soux and the Anse des Fontaines Bay. When it comes to families, the island offers Plage des Vieilles, which features lifeguards in the summer season. For nature lovers, the long sandy beaches on the north-eastern coast offer salt marshes, rocky bars and the beautiful beach of Ker Châlon.
The beaches here are ideal for family vacations and for water sports. With shallow water, warm water temperatures and no dangerous currents, this is the perfect area for families to enjoy the sand and waves.
Nature and history on Ile d’Yeu in France
Prehistoric ruins [Image by L’île d’Yeu – Office de Tourisme on Facebook]Inland from the coast, the island offers all the charm of a pastoral countryside. For those travelers wishing to hike or walk, the island offers a network of paths, running along the moorland and taking them to small hamlets, chapels, mills and marshes.
Meanwhile, small white cabins line the coast backed by pine woods and the colors of the sea. In summer, the Heritage Department of the Town Council offers discovery visits to the tidal zone and cockle fishing expeditions and heritage tours.
Harbor [Image by L’île d’Yeu – Office de Tourisme on Facebook]Travelers can learn about the history of Ile d’Yeu, while exploring the villages, prehistoric sites and monuments. While the island is small, it offers a huge variety of historical sites to explore. The island was first inhabited 5,000 years ago and visitors can see the prehistoric remains of those people in dolmens, capstones and menhirs.
Meanwhile, the Vieux Château, an old castle, stands on a rocky island, offering travelers stories of the English invasions between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Meanwhile, as part of its maritime history, there are beacons, lighthouses, small ports and quaint villages to discover.
Legends and fairy tales
[Image by L’île d’Yeu – Office de Tourisme on Facebook]Much like the leprechauns of Ireland, the Ile d’Yeu has its own little people, known as the farfadets, or forest imps, and the hunchback of Roche aux Fras in its legends. Throughout the island, traditions, legends and historical relics are there to be discovered.
Visit the island’s official tourism website to learn more about Ile d’Yeu and what it has to offer its visitors.