Van Life France - La Rochelle and Île de Ré - Nudist Beach - Sunset - Nature

During Roman times, Île de Ré was an archipelago consisting of three small islands. The space between the islands was progressively filled by a combination of human activity (salt fields gained from the sea) and silting.
The island became English in 1154, when Eleanor of Aquitaine became queen of England through her marriage with Henry Plantagenet. The island reverted to France in 1243, when Henry III of England returned it to Saint Louis through a treaty. In 1360, however, with the Treaty of Bretigny, Île de Ré briefly became English again, until the 1370s.
In 1987, a two-point-nine-kilometre (1.8 mi) bridge was built to connect the island to the mainland. Previously, the island was connected through roll-on roll-off ferries (called "bacs"), which could accommodate vehicles and passengers. In peak summer time periods, the waiting time to board a ferry could reach several hours. The bridge was built by Bouygues. Since then, tourism on the island has developed considerably, with real estate prices reaching high levels. The easier transportation system has stimulated the purchase of holiday homes by people from as far as Paris, who can visit for week-ends, mostly in spring and summer. Using the bridge requires the payment of a toll (either €8 or €16 return for a normal car depending on the season) and makes it the most expensive road to use per kilometre in France. The Paris-La Rochelle high-speed train (TGV) trip takes around three hours, and then taxis or buses can be taken to the island. Île de Ré can also be reached from Paris by plane. It takes only 85 minutes to fly from Paris to La Rochelle airport which is five minutes from the bridge, assuming no traffic delay.