Rivedoux Plage

Rivedoux-Plage is located at the eastern part of the island of Ré, at the edge of Sablanceaux. When coming to the island of Ré, we first land in this township. In fact, the famous Ré bridge, main road to the island, links Rivedoux-Plage and La Pallice on the mainland coast.

The town always used to be the main access point to the island of Ré long before the construction of the bridge in 1988. When ferries were liaising with the Charente coasts, Rivedoux-Plage was the main boarding and landing harbour of the whole island although the other towns also have ports.

As a gateway to the island of Ré, the place offers insight into the beauty and splendor of the entire island. This overview does not only concern the landscape, but also cultural heritage, history and traditions.

As far as the landscape of Rivedoux-Plage is concerned, it is characterized by the presence of wide sandy beaches, surrounded by a large bay. You can also admire small cliffs and traces of ancient fish locks. These are glimpses of ​​the diversity of the whole island’s landscape.

Rivedoux-Plage played notable roles in the history of the island of Ré although it is the county’s most recent municipality (before 1928, it used to be a small village attached to Sainte-Marie-de-Ré) . For example, let’s talk about a major historical fact concerning the island of Ré: the siege of 1627 during which the English troops of the Duke of Buckingham landed on the island to be defeated a few months later. It was precisely at Rivedoux-Plage, on the edge of Sablanceaux, that they landed on the 22nd of July.

Furthermore, just as Saint-Martin, where Vauban built the famous fortifications of the citadel, the defenses of Rivedoux-Plage were revisited by this renowned engineer of Louis XIV by building the Redoute of Sablanceaux, one of the strongholds of the island. Vauban even qualified the place as the second most important in the defense of the island after Saint Martin.