© Teddy Verneuil — Corsica
France’s coastline holds a scattering of islands, each shaped by its own geography, cuisine, and history.
Brittany’s granite outposts weather the Atlantic’s swells, the marshy islands near La Rochelle trade in oysters and salt, and the Mediterranean chain off the Riviera offers pine forests and turquoise coves within sight of the mainland.
Access defines the experience as much as the scenery does. Some islands connect to the mainland by bridge and fill with day-trippers by mid-morning; others require a proper ferry crossing and empty out again once the last boat leaves, leaving only the guests who stayed the night. Cars are banned or heavily restricted on several of them, which slows the pace down to bicycles, footpaths, and the occasional cart used to move luggage between the port and a hotel.
Car-free streets, private beaches, and centuries-old fortresses set an island summer apart from a stay on the coast. These five are worth considering for a summer vacation detour in France.
1. Belle-Île-en-Mer
The largest of Brittany’s islands lives up to its name (literally “Beautiful Island on the Sea”). Belle-Île’s western shore, known as the Côte Sauvage, drops into the Atlantic in sheer cliffs, while the eastern side settles into sheltered beaches and fishing villages. The famous theater actress Sarah Bernhardt fell for the island in the 1890s and bought a small fort at Pointe des Poulains, where she spent her summers for the rest of her life, and the ruins are still open to visitors.
Ferries leave from Quiberon and take about 45 minutes to reach Le Palais, the island’s main port. A rented bike covers the terrain well. The island is small enough to circle in a day but varied enough to reward a longer stay, with lighthouses, hidden coves, and the fortified town.
2. Île de Ré
Connected to La Rochelle by a long bridge, Île de Ré draws a steady stream of French vacationers every summer, and the appeal is easy to see once the whitewashed villages and hollyhock-lined streets come into view. Saint-Martin-de-Ré, the island’s old fortified port, anchors the north coast with cafés and a working harbor. La Flotte holds a smaller version of the same charm.
Salt has shaped the island’s economy for centuries, and the marshes around Ars-en-Ré and Loix still produce fleur de sel by hand. Oyster farms line much of the interior coast, and most restaurants serve the day’s catch within a few hours of it leaving the water. Cycling is the preferred way to see the island with flat terrain and a long network of dedicated paths connecting nearly every village.
3. Porquerolles
Part of the Îles d’Hyères, Porquerolles sits within the Port-Cros National Park and bans cars almost entirely, which keeps its pine forests and eucalyptus groves calm even in August. Plage Notre-Dame, on the island’s north side, is often ranked among France’s best beaches for its clear, shallow water and pale sand.
© Christelle Gandolph — Le Lavandou Tourisme
A short ferry from La Tour Fondue, near Hyères, reaches the island in about twenty minutes, making it an easy day trip from the Var coast. Those who stay overnight get the better version of Porquerolles: once the last boats leave, the village square empties out and the island reverts to something close to its 19th-century self, when it operated mainly as a military outpost and farming settlement.
4. Îles de Lérins
Just off Cannes, the two Lérins islands offer a contrast to the city life within a few hundred meters of open water. Île Sainte-Marguerite holds Fort Royal, the state prison where the Man in the Iron Mask was reportedly held in the 17th century, along with eucalyptus-shaded trails and the lively beach club restaurant La Guérite. Île Saint-Honorat, smaller and quieter, belongs to a Cistercian monastery whose monks have made wine and the herbal liqueur on the island since the Middle Ages.
© Anthony Lanneretonne — featured in the July/August 2023 issue
Boats run frequently from the old port in Cannes, and the crossing takes under half an hour to either island. Neither has permanent lodging for tourists, which keeps visitor numbers manageable and makes a day trip the standard way to see both.
5. Corsica
For a dedicated French island vacation, Corsica is the ultimate trip. Mountains run through the interior and drop into the Mediterranean along both coasts, producing landscapes where alpine forest gives way to white-sand beach within an hour’s drive. Bonifacio, perched on limestone cliffs at the southern tip, and Calvi, with its citadel overlooking the bay, count among the most gorgeous towns on the island, while Palombaggia’s pine-backed beaches in the far south draw comparisons to the Caribbean.
© Teddy Verneuil — featured in the July/August 2022 issue
Ferries run to Corsica from Nice, Toulon, and Marseille, and direct flights connect most major French cities to Ajaccio, Bastia, and Calvi. A rental car makes the most sense here: one of the best parts of this destination is the slow drives along the coast and taking detours into hillside villages.
If you’re looking for chic French travel essentials, you’ll want to check out our Bon Voyage August Box — get yours here.
Bon voyage!
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