Saint-Denis-d’Oléron
The camping 3* Les Sables Vignier with its vast aquatic area and its pretty wooded pitches a few steps from the beach of the same name is an ideal holiday resort in Charente-Maritime. A perfect starting point for a getaway in Saint-Denis-d’Oléron, less than 10 kilometers away.
Discover Saint-Denis-d’Oléron
Facing the ocean at the extreme north of the island, this old fishing village has been able to open itself to visitors while preserving its authenticity as evidenced by the houses with whitewashed walls and shutters painted with the same paint as the boats. In the seven hamlets with houses so typical that make up Saint-Denis, multiple dead ends have been used for centuries to break the force of the wind.
In the squares or in the gardens, there are still about thirty ancestral stone wells from the coast still used by the inhabitants and some grain mills some of which date back to medieval times. The port, born in the 12th century and for a long time dedicated to the wine trade, has today become the largest marina on the island. Saint-Denis is also an essential stopover for daily cruises to La Rochelle, the island of Aix and the famous Fort Boyard which was first a fortress, then a prison and finally a star of the small screen classified as a Historic Monument.
The Oleronians who are fond of nautical leisure activities will also find there their happiness by sailing, offering themselves beautiful catamaran rides, or by practicing kite surfing, stand up paddle, canoeing or sport fishing at sea.
On the side pleasures of the table, Saint-Denis offers a wide range of about twenty restaurants, from gastronomic to convivial brasserie. If the local seafood products are in the spotlight, you can also taste vegan and Asian cuisines, pizzas or fish and ships.
Top 4 beaches in Saint-Denis-d’Oléron
Here, there are beaches for all tastes!
- Starting with the family beach of la Boirie, close to the marina and famous for its pretty painted huts.
- For the dreamers, the beach of Soubregeon offers a breathtaking view of the Ile de Ré, the Antioche passageway and La Rochelle.
- The very long beach of Les Seulières is very appreciated by walkers, swimmers but also by surfers.
- The most sportive people prefer the 5 km long Hut Beach, very exposed to the west winds where bodyboarding, kite and wind-surfing are practiced.
Top 7 visits to Saint-Denis-d’Oléron
From the village to the ocean, some visits not to be missed :
- The church of Saint Denis : built at the beginning of the 11th century and rebuilt a century later after the religious wars. Its facade is today classified in the Inventory of Historical Monuments.
- Remarkable houses : among these historical residences, we must see the 18th century Maison Guillotin and the Villa Tamaris for its typical profile of the 1920s, in full rise of the seaside resorts.
- Les cabines de plages : on the beach of La Boirie, they recall the craze for sea bathing around 1900 and the birth of the first seaside resorts.
- The fish locks : impressive walls over 500 meters long, fixed rooms planted in the ocean also called fisheries.
- Le Grand Marais Papineau : an ornithological reserve full of rare species, which can be appreciated on foot or by bike.
- The beacon of Antioch : a reef topped by a tower intended to limit the number of shipwrecks. It tells the icy story of the fortunes of me.
- The Chassiron lighthouse : at the northern tip of the island, after climbing the 46 m high lighthouse, a walk in the gardens and the museum is a must.
