Transport
Getting there
| By Train | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Via | Time | Time |
| Calais | A16, A28, A11 | 7 hours | via Paris (station change) and Nantes: 7:45 hours |
| Paris | A11, A83 | 5 hours | on TGV to Nantes, change there: 4 hours |
| Dieppe | A28, A11 | 5:30 hours | No feasible connections |
| Le Havre | A28, A11 | 5:30 hours | via Paris (station change) and Nantes: 7:50 hours |
| Cherbourg | A84, N137 | 4:45 hours | via Paris (station change) and Nantes: 8:20 hours |
| Marseilles | A61, A62, A10 | 10 hours | via Paris (station change) and Nantes: 8 hours |
Air: There is no airport on the island of Noirmoutier. The closest international airport is at Nantes some 85 kilometers away.
Ferry: There are no ferries serving the island. The closest ferry harbour serving the UK is Cherbourg, while Saint-Malo services the Channel Island.
Bus: No long distance buses arrive at the island. The village has shuttle buses during the tourist season to Nantes. Click here to see the timetables and dates (of course, it’s in French only).
Within Noirmoutier-en-l’Ile
Walking the village requires no transportation. It’s flat and small. There are several rather big public parking spaces on the outskirts of the village.
Furthermore, the village operates shuttle buses during the season to bring you to other parts of the island. See the link above for the buses for timetables.
Restaurants
The village is made for tourists, so you’ll find a large number of restaurants in the village. There are some 75 restaurants to be found, but do watch out when you are going there. In season often you’ll need to reserve, and out of the season, they may be closed.
There is one 2-Star Michelin restaurant, the “La Marine“, however, it’s in the neighbouring village of L’Herbaudiere. This restaurant has earned its reputation not only with great seafood, but also vegetarian (and even vegan) meals.
Hotels
There are “only” 12 hotels in the village, ranging from B&Bs to Deluxe hotels. There are also several camping grounds available on the island.
Things To See/To Do
- The Castle (museum) of Noirmoutier ( Click here to read our review of the castle).
. - Eat at one of the local speciality restaurants. The specialties include (obviously) different kinds of seafood, especially the Saint Gilles Croix de Vie barbecue grilled sardine, baked tuna, mouclade (a special mussels dish) and Mojette beans.
. - Walk or cycle the marshes
- Bird watching in the bird sanctuary
- Watch salt being “harvested”
- Visit the Tourist Office
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