The oldest village on the island and one of the liveliest all year round, between vines, flower-filled lanes and a wild coastline.
The first settlement on the island, Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is also its most populated village all year round: schools, shops, craftsmen and clubs sustain a genuine everyday life here, with nothing staged about it.
On the property side, this is the village that opens the island to you: village houses in the flower-filled lanes, family houses around La Noue, a few fine properties looking on to le platin. The best balance between the gentleness of Ré and a budget kept in hand. BARNES has handled more than ten sales here in recent years.
This is where the history of Ré begins: the old town grew up around its church, whose fortified porch tower, visible from far off, served as a landmark for sailors and as a refuge for the inhabitants in time of war.
On the foreshore, les écluses à poissons, the crescent-shaped stone fish traps kept up by devoted associations, carry on one of the oldest fishing traditions on the Atlantic coast. The vines, everywhere around the old town, recall the other centuries-old pillar of the Sainte-Marie economy.
The oldest place of worship on the island, listed as a Monument historique, with a fortified porch tower from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Climbing its 91 steps opens a rare panorama over the vineyard and the pertuis, and its maritime ex-votos keep alive the memory of the people of the sea.
The stone fish traps of the foreshore, la Salée, la Jalousie and la Paillarde among them, a living heritage kept up by the Maritais, to be discovered at low tide on the guided visits run by the ADEPIR.
The hamlet of shops, with its market and its terraces: the second heart of the village, a step from the sea.
The south coast, rocky and wild, with its seaside paths and its open horizons over the pertuis.
Housed in a former lime kiln facing la plage de Montamer, this community venue brings nature and tradition together: exhibitions, birdwatching outings and visits to the fish traps, from Easter to All Saints' Day.
The vines that encircle the old town, worked by the island's winegrowers: a farming landscape that has remained intact.
Sainte-Marie lives all year round, and you can feel it: daily markets in season, shops open through the winter, a busy school and thriving clubs. The sea is at the end of every lane, the vines at the end of every street.
That authenticity, long kept quiet, now draws buyers in search of real island life; the growth of year-round living, felt across the whole island, is particularly visible here.
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♡At BARNES Île de Ré, €6,150/m² on average, around €6,000/m² in observed prices. Village houses in the lanes and family houses around La Noue form the core of the market; properties facing the platin and frontline sea views sell well beyond, up to over €20,000/m².
First because supply is wider: Sainte-Marie is the largest commune on the island, with the largest housing stock (over 3,500 homes according to INSEE). Then because there is no harbour, and the beaches near the centre are fishing beaches, on the rocky platin coast, rather than swimming beaches. The result: the best balance between the Île de Ré way of life and a controlled budget.
Yes: division is possible, in compliance with the local urban plan (PLU), and this is the village where large plots, now rare elsewhere on the island, can still be found. A construction or division project is prepared well in advance; we support sellers and buyers on these projects.
It is the island's most lived-in village all year round: daily markets in season, shops open in winter, school, craftsmen and associations. Two village centres, the village around the church and the shopping hamlet of La Noue, and La Rochelle a quarter of an hour away over the bridge.
A free and confidential valuation, carried out on site by the BARNES consultant for your village.
Request a valuationDreaming of a life in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré? BARNES Île de Ré offers a selection of village houses, family houses around La Noue and properties close to le platin, in the oldest village on the island… See prices village by village · Our properties for sale in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré
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