GETAWAY A perfect place amid the pines
stayed at Siblu’s Bonne Anse Plage holiday village in Charente Maritime, where a seven-night stay from May 26, 2018 starts from £370, based on a family of four staying in a twobedroom holiday home. To book visit siblu.com or call 0208 610 0186.
BRITTANY Ferries operates the longer routes from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth direct to Brittany and Normandy saving miles of unnecessary and costly driving. Travel overnight by luxury cruise-ferry in the comfort of your own cabin with en-suite facilities or be whisked across the channel in as little as three hours.
MARI travelled from Portsmouth to Caen and back. On this route, May/June 2018 fares start from £159 each way for a car and family of four. Book online at brittanyferries.com or call 0330 159 7000. and cycling on a pine-covered bike path into La Palmyre. A visit to Zoo La Palmyre is a must – it’s considered to be one of France’s best. Expect flamingoes, giraffes, bats, tigers, lions, elephants, hippos, sealions, parrots, and even polar bears.
But the highlight was undoubtedly the recently-built chimp house, which also houses apes and orangutans. You can spend a day here, and it’s good value at €17 for adults and €13 for kids.
Although the area is as flat as a crêpe and doesn’t boast the pretty villages you’d find in Brittany or Provence, Saint Palais Sur Mer – just a few minutes drive further along the coast – is an exception. It has the same old Victorian-style grandeur that you’d find in Deauville on the Normandy coast.
There’s a lovely calm golden beach overlooked by some stately holiday homes and a row of busy seafood restaurants. At Chez Bob we feasted on oysters while watching the comings and going on the beach below.
A day trip to Il de Ré, a small island off La Rochelle, is a must, too.
This chic island loved by Parisians, was a 90-minute drive away but well worth the hike. There are sandy beaches, old ports and a landscape of salt plains and sun-drenched villages. The main town, St-Martinde-Ré, is a picture postcard-pretty 17th century port.
The harbour is overlooked by many fish restaurants, with terraces spilling on to the cobbled streets. We opted for a cheaper, quaint, backstreet bistro where we sat next to a group of ladies who I later spotted running chic shops, and workmen still in their overalls enjoying the three-course fixed price lunch including a fragrant black truffle risotto.
The port of La Flotte was also very charming with its yachts and restaurants, galleries and smart boutiques. Nearby La Rochelle is also worth a visit, and its world class aquarium has 12,000 animals of 600 different species, and is one of the top ten attractions in France.
It was hard to leave Bonne Anse Plage with its pool and pine forest, but the long journey back to the UK was tempered by a trip on Brittany ferries from Caen to Portsmouth. Our cabin was spotlessly clean, with a great window.
But the real highlight was dining in the main restaurant.
What a treat it was, incredible value, and easily one of the best meals we had all holiday.