Travel Guide L'Ile-D'Olonne

L'Île-d'Olonne is part of the Sables-d'Olonne agglomeration. It is located 10 km from Les Sables-d'Olonne. It should not be confused with its neighbour, Olonne-sur-Mer. L'Île-d'Olonne is a quiet little village where life is good, and where you can go for nice walks in the marshes, the Olonne state forest or cycle along the paths alongside the vineyards of Domaine Saint-Nicolas, owned by Thierry Michon, who produces organic wines. It is also a village much appreciated by wildlife enthusiasts, who will go bird watching from the Observatory of the Bird Reserve of Ileau. Managed by the ADEV, in addition to observation and commentary, it offers thematic walks. The history of the Île d'Olonne is that of a small village that has lived, over the centuries, isolated in this corner of the Olonne marshes. The presence of prehistoric man is attested to by cut flints left by ploughing. A few fragments of tiles reveal the Roman occupation. At the exit of the town, towards the marshes, stand the ruins of the Gueffard mill, built on a "mottée", an elevation of land where the Normans set up their watchtower. In 846, the Vikings invaded the area via the Gachère estuary. From the 10th century onwards, the cartularies of the surrounding abbeys provide interesting documents on the life of our ancestors. But during the following centuries, there is little trace in the writings or in the memory of the great events