Ile d'Aix

Aix is small, a crescent about three kilometres long and six hundred metres wide, and no private cars are allowed, so movement is on foot, by bicycle or by horse cart. Vauban fortified it and Napoleon had it strengthened further; he came here in July 1815 after Waterloo, spent his last days on French soil in the commander's house, and surrendered to the British from the shore. That house is now the Musee Napoleonien, kept with his furniture and effects, and an African museum stands beside it. The Fort Liedot on the island later held prisoners. Two lighthouses and a beach complete a walkable circuit.

What you actually see

• The Napoleon museum - the house of his last days in France, with his effects.
• The car-free lanes - bicycles, walkers and horse carts only.
• Fort Liedot - a nineteenth-century fort used as a prison.
• The island circuit - a walkable loop past beaches and two lighthouses.

When to go

May to September; ferries run year-round with reduced winter service and cancel in rough weather. Bicycles are hired on arrival and the island is walked in a few hours.

Honest expectations

Facilities are limited to one village with a handful of places to eat. Ferries fill in summer. There is no vehicle access, so luggage must be carried.

Nearby

Fort Boyard lies offshore; Rochefort is inland.