In numbers
1.2km²
Area
15m
Highest point
186
People
20°C
Warmest sea
August
5km
To the mainland
When to go to Île-d'Aix
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.
French commune in Charente-Maritime, New Aquitaine
Île-d'Aix is an island in France. It covers 1.2 km². Its highest point rises to 15 m. About 186 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 5 km away.
Getting there
- La Rochelle Île de Ré Airport (LRH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 18 km in a straight lineCar hire at LRH airport (La Rochelle)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLiaison Maritime Fouras - Île d'Aix, Liaison Maritime La Rochelle - Île d'Aix, Liaison Maritime Saint-Denis - Ford Boyard - Île d'Aix
- 5 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 Île-d'Aix.
- 4beachesPlage aux Coquillages, Plage de l'Anse de la Croix, La Grande Plage and 1 more
- 1viewpointsPointe Sainte-Catherine
- 4lighthousesSémaphore, Phare de l'Île d'Aix and 2 more
- 3ferry terminalsQuai d'Acadie, Jetée Barbotin
- 1marinas
- 6castles and fortsFort de la Rade, Batterie de Jamblet, Batterie du Bois Joly and 3 more
- 1ruins and archaeological sites
- 1campsitesCamping du Fort de la Rade
- 2hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 8restaurants, 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.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 4 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).
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) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 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 | +1.3 | +1.5 | +1.3 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +1.3 | +1.1 | ±0.0 | +1.2 | +1.1 |
| 2021 | −0.7 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.2 | −0.3 | +1.7 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.1 | −0.5 | −1.9 |
| 2022 | −1.2 | −0.1 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +1.9 | +0.7 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +1.5 | −0.9 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | −0.8 | −0.3 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +1.8 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +2.8 | +2.8 | +0.4 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | ±0.0 | +1.6 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −1.0 | +0.2 | +0.6 | −0.5 |
| 2025 | −0.6 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +2.0 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Oléron Island
France174 km²7 m13 km away
Isle of RéFrance85 km²20 m28 km away
Île d'YeuFrance24 km²27 m119 km away
Isle of NoirmoutierFrance50 km²20 m137 km away
HœdicFrance2.2 km²23 m196 km away
Belle ÎleFrance88 km²63 m212 km away
Île d'ArzFrance2.5 km²6 m214 km away
Île aux MoinesFrance3.2 km²19 m217 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q214568) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| 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 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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