Pretty holiday home with a sheltered courtyard in the village of Sainte-Marie

Sainte-Marie is the first village you’ll come to when taking the south route around the island. It has managed to maintain its rural identity and is home to many oyster farmers and wine growers.

Easily recognisable from afar thanks to its superb gothic church tower, Sainte-Marie offers a range of activities to visitors: bathing, surfing at Les Grenettes, walks on foot or cycling along the wild coastline or through moorland and vineyards.

In 2002, the village became a Green Holiday Resort and is an ideal spot to recover from city life in a family oriented ambiance, either alone or with friends.

“Two faces, one village” is the motto of Sainte-Marie, host to a number of festivals, two markets, flea markets, long rambling footpaths and numerous cycle paths. What is surprising is that this small village is 5km long, stretching from the renowned seawater treatment centre to the east, to the Grenettes area to the west, passing by the church square, the market square of Place d’Antioche and through the Tilleuls square with its restaurants and various shops.

The transition from the rural landscapes of the vineyards and bramble filled moors to the seascapes of medieval fish locks which trapped the fish as the tide went out, and low water rock shelves is seamless.

In a nutshell, Sainte-Marie provides a perfect holiday home backdrop for those who enjoy living in the country and long rambles through the vineyards to those who prefer the more urban attractions of La Flotte or Saint-Martin.