Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
174km²
Area
91km
Coastline
7m
Highest point
21,790
People
20°C
Warmest sea
August
1km
To the mainland
When to go to Oléron Island
Best for the beach from July to August.
The sea is warmest in August (20 °C) and coolest in February (10 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Charente-Maritime, New Aquitaine, France
Oléron Island is an island in France. It belongs to archipel charentais. It covers 174 km², with 91 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 7 m. About 21,790 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1 km away.
Getting there
- La Rochelle Île de Ré Airport (LRH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 29 km in a straight lineCar hire at LRH airport (La Rochelle)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLiaison Maritime La Rochelle - Saint-Denis, Liaison Maritime La Rochelle - Oléron (Boyardville), Passeur - Le Vauban, Passeur-Le Vauban
- 1 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Oléron Island.
- 54beachesPlage de Matha, Plage de la Perroche, Plage de Boyardville and 51 more
- 6viewpointsLe Treuil - ballade and 5 more
- 5lighthousesPhare de Chassiron and 4 more
- 3ferry terminalsEmbarcadère N°1 (Du Chenal), Embarcadère N°2 (Port de Plaisance)
- 11marinasPort du Douhet, Port de Saint-Trojan, Centre Nautique du Coureau d'Oléron and 8 more
- 5castles and fortsCitadelle du château d'Oléron, Forty2, Château de Bonnemie and 2 more
- 2ruins and archaeological sitesDolmen d'Ors dit la Piare
- 1dive centresLes Joyeux Corsaires
- 2surf spotsTake Off Surf
- 75campsitesLa Brande, Pierrire, Camping Barataud and 72 more
- 47hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 178restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Oléron Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Oléron Island, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
20.3°C
Plage des Sables Vigniers
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Plage des Sables Vigniers20.3°C
- Anse du Marais Salécove20.0°C
- Anse de la Fossecove20.0°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 5 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron6,751 people
- Dolus-d'Oléron3,114 people
- Boyard-Ville2,991 people
- Saint-Trojan-les-Bains1,474 people
- Saint-Denis-d'Oléron1,172 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 10 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 10 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Sea (°C) | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 12 |
| Rain (mm) | 83 | 57 | 66 | 52 | 58 | 47 | 45 | 46 | 44 | 77 | 87 | 87 |
| Wet days | 14 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | 2.4 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 9.1 | 9.2 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 22 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 22 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.6 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +1.2 | ±0.0 | +1.2 | +1.0 |
| 2021 | −0.6 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.2 | −0.4 | +1.6 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.8 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | −1.7 |
| 2022 | −0.9 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +1.9 | +0.7 | −0.2 | −0.4 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +1.5 | −0.4 |
| 2023 | +0.6 | −0.5 | −0.1 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +1.9 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +2.7 | +2.8 | +0.5 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | +0.2 | +1.7 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.9 | +0.2 | +0.7 | −0.2 |
| 2025 | −0.3 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.8 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
France1.2 km²15 m13 km away
Isle of RéFrance85 km²20 m32 km away
Île d'YeuFrance24 km²27 m120 km away
Isle of NoirmoutierFrance50 km²20 m140 km away
HœdicFrance2.2 km²23 m199 km away
Belle ÎleFrance88 km²63 m214 km away
Île d'ArzFrance2.5 km²6 m218 km away
Île aux MoinesFrance3.2 km²19 m221 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q292568) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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