‘I visited the cobbled prison island home to pyjama wearing donkeys and beautiful beaches’

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The fashionable French island of Ile de Ré has wistful cobbled streets, marshes sunbleached walls, as well as a famous donkey population and a well-known prison

I’m on Ile de Ré, the tiny, fashionable French island with a big personality. An oasis of marshes, villages, vineyards and sand dunes, just off the coast of La Rochelle, it’s connected to the mainland by a 1.8-mile bridge. And with just 20,000 permanent residents, life on this Atlantic outpost is incredibly laid-back.

Even when the rich trendsetters from the capital swoop in for the summer – it’s nicknamed the 21st arrondissement of Paris – the island still manages to retain its rustic charm with its beautifully preserved landscapes of cypress trees and pines along with its elegantly weathered buildings.

The coolest crowd on the island, however, are the Poitou donkeys who can be seen strutting their stuff in natty striped pyjamas. Apparently this was first introduced by the wife of a farmer who made them to protect the legs of their donkeys from mosquito bites. Now these donkeys in their PJs are a star attraction and are much loved by tourists. And with its fluffy golden sand, fresh seafood restaurants and full-on French seaside chic, it feels like nothing could ever go wrong on Ile de Ré.

So it came as something of a surprise to learn that, 15 years ago, a man tried to swim across the tidal channel to La Rochelle after breaking free from the island’s notorious prison for hardened criminals.

He was one of the 500 inmates, serving sentences of more than 20years, and he escaped by clinging to the bottom of a fish van. My tour guide tells me that after escaping under the moving vehicle, he took a wind board to La Rochelle, before being swiftly returned to the island lock-up.

Set against Ile de Ré’s wistful cobbled streets and sunbleached walls, this story almost sounds like the opening scene of one of Agatha Christie’s sun-soaked mysteries. A must-visit for tourists is the island capital of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, which is surrounded by eight miles of stone ramparts built in the shape of a star. Within the walls is a citadel that dates to 1690.

The entire town is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site, so every aesthetic is carefully monitored. There’s no new construction or overhead cables. All shutters must be painted one of 16 shades – there are eight blue and eight green to choose from.

Ideal for a gentle stroll, this adorable port town has bags of allure with its restaurant tables set for dinner, elegant hotels and red and white lighthouse. Island visitors also love to join the locals in the food markets. One of the prettiest is La Flotte – officially classified as one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France – which is set in a small open paved square, and is a hive of activity with master producers selling local flavours.

After browsing the market, enjoy a coffee in the harbour where boats cruise in and out, then take a stroll along its curved pier and wander its peaceful flowery alleys. The island is covered by nearly 990 acres of salt marshes and these are an integral part of its history.

Created by monks in the 12th century to preserve fish and meat, there were more than 1,000 salt farmers on the island in the Middle Ages. Now there are around 100 and you can buy their produce from the island’s markets or directly from sauniers on the salt marshes themselves.

One of the best ways to soak in the island’s unique beauty is on two wheels. Its 62-mile network of bike trails weave right into the scenery of sand dunes, salt and oyster beds, meadows and vineyards – while the main roads flit right past.

Taking in much of the best of the island, there’s a 13-mile route that starts in Saint-Martin-de-Ré’s marina and goes by oyster farms and the salt beds of Loix before looping back through vineyards and potato fields. A 10.5-mile route from Ars-en-Ré, another incredibly photogenic village with streets bursting with colourful blooms, to Les Portes-en-Ré covers some of the highlights of the north.

It takes in the wilderness of the Lilleau des Niges Reserve, plus you could add in a trip to the lighthouse Phare des Baleines. The manager of one hotel tells me guests will arrive in a private jet or motorcade of cars, then see the cycling ­opportunities and demand for a bike to be sent over the next day.

For my island visit, I stayed at the five-star Hotel de Toiras, set on the quayside in Saint-Martin-de-Ré. It gets its name from Marshal Toiras, who successfully fought off the English under the Duke of Buckingham in 1627. Colourful, antique-filled rooms, some with stone fireplaces, branch off thehotel’s ­11th century tower or are arranged around its courtyard garden.

George’s restaurant, named after the owner’s son, serves a menu of modern dishes with a strong regional flavour and doubles as a cocktail bar and breakfast room. Attention to detail is everything here and the owner went to every artisan bakery on the island to find the best flaky pastries for the guests, and gets them delivered every morning.

There are also bikes for guests to borrow to get around. Arrive in 90 minutes by plane into La Rochelle, or catch a ferry from the south coast to St Malo and hit the road, and you’ll soon be enjoying balmy afternoons and pearly pink sunsets on this classy French island retreat.

Book the holiday

• Fly from Bournemouth, Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Manchester or Stansted to Nantes; or from Belfast International, Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester and Stansted to Bordeaux.
• Rooms at the Hotel de Toiras, in Saint-Martin-de-Re, Ile de Re, France, start at around £273 a night room-only. hotel-de-toiras.com
• More info at france.fr/en