🏖️ AN ATYPICAL SEASIDE RESORT IN THE HEART OF UNSPOILT COUNTRYSIDE 🌼
👨👩👧👦 Population: 1,103 (according to INSEE (equivalent to ONS) in 2020)
📏 Surface area: 8,80 km2
You’re in the heart of the Ile de Ré, on the edge of all the land.
Come and discover La Couarde-sur-Mer with its population of around 1,100. Here you’ll find all the charm and authenticity of Ré la blanche! With its incredible labyrinth of flower-lined alleyways, this village will delight you with its privileged location in the heart of the Île de Ré, the ideal starting point for all your cycling tours. Don’t forget to pay a visit to the bandstand at the foot of the church, where you can enjoy a number of concerts throughout the summer. As far back as the archives go, the village of La Couarde is mentioned as far back as the Middle Ages as marking the boundary of the “barony”, i.e. the western extremity of the fiefdoms of the Sires of Mauléon. This is why, of the many hypotheses put forward as to the origin of the toponym La Couarde, the one relating to the geographical location of the village, “Coe” meaning tail, seems the most convincing.
Heading north again, you’ll come to the nautical base and its 2-hectare lake, where you can learn to sail in complete safety. The Goisil channel, a picturesque and bucolic little port, has inspired and continues to inspire many painters and photographers.
To the south, behind the dunes lined with pine and tamarind trees, stretches an immense beach of fine sand. From the Plage des Prises to the Plage des Follies, it’s a single stretch of sand 5km long, where you can enjoy all kinds of seaside and water sports activities: sailing, kite surfing, jet skiing, water skiing, stand-up paddling, fishing or just lazing around… The Plage de La Pergola, meanwhile, is a favourite surfing spot with surfers from all over the world! A coastal path, built along the dune, allows you to walk along the beach with a breathtaking view of the Pertuis d’Antioche.
🏖️ THE BEACHES 🏄♂️
No less than 5 km of fine sand, or 8 different beaches, stretch along the southern part of the village. The beaches of La Couarde are reputed to be among the most beautiful on the Ile de Ré, and indeed on the entire Atlantic coast! In fine weather, when the sun shines through the crystal-clear waters, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in another part of the world…
Thanks to its extensive beaches, “the gold of bathers” helped to make La Couarde the first renowned seaside resort on the Île de Ré at the very beginning of the 20th century.
🧘♀️ HERITAGE AND CULTURE 🍇
Despite the current amalgamation of the four original islands, La Couarde is still the pivotal village on the Île de Ré. It is here, on the northern coast of the village, between La Moulinatte and Le Martray, that the first salt marshes can be seen, foreshadowing the salty land that characterises the north of the island.
In the “derrières” of the village, the many remains of mills and old residences (Les Marattes, Les Prises, La Davière, etc.) bear witness to a rich historical past and a flourishing economic activity based on the exploitation of salt marshes and vines. Today, while wine-growing remains the main activity, oyster farming has also developed considerably on the wide foreshores of the Fosse de Loix and the Anse du Martray.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the five kilometres of fine sandy beaches along the south coast have been frequented by “bathers” (including Mistinguette, a famous French dancer and singer, who rented the chalet Macabiou for several years in a row), making La Couarde the leading seaside resort on the Île de Ré.
