Before you read this column, think about the following question: “What would be your top five cycling destinations worldwide?” Look away and think for a moment.

I bet you included Amsterdam and Copenhagen in there. Maybe the Alps, Majorca, even CenterParcs or exotic Asian trips like Hanoi to Saigon.

But what about Île de Ré? This small island off the Atlantic coast of France is joined to La Rochelle on the mainland with a 3km road bridge. I’d heard it was pretty and unspoilt, a favourite with Parisians and Brits in the know. A bit like Cornwall, but flatter and with slightly more reliable weather.

Campsites in Provence and the Côte d’Azur were full, and the Dordogne was ruled out on account of its lack of beaches, so we booked into a static caravan on Île de Ré and arranged to ‘camp’ near a bunch of other friends with similar-aged kids.

With a baby and a toddler, driving halfway down France didn’t appeal, so we flew. Car hire for two weeks can cost as much as the accommodation itself, so we went car-free instead. A great decision, as it turned out.

Île de Ré is a short taxi ride from La Rochelle airport, and even as we approached over the bridge, we passed dozens of bikes whizzing along the ample cycle lane. Ageing racers and elegant mademoiselles, German tourists with sensible electric bikes, all on their way to the island’s beaches.

Hire bikes across the whole island are very decent. Most have hub gears, hub brakes and even shaft-drives instead of chains – a sensible precaution against sand-destroying moving parts.

We rented two adult bikes with child seats plus a two-berth trailer, which the kids preferred and which doubled up as a shopping trolley.

We ventured out across the island and I have to say, the cycling took us totally by surprise. The island is a veritable rabbit warren of Dutch-quality two-way cycle tracks linking every town, village and beach. There wasn’t a single location inaccessible by fully segregated cycle tracks. Busy junctions even had cycle-info cabins, handing out maps, and ready with pumps and spares. Often bikes had exclusive use of lovely routes along sea walls and through ancient fortresses and gates.

The infrastructure was so good and so comprehensive that even the families we were holidaying with barely used their cars, even to reach beaches 10km away. Bicycles by far outnumbered cars on the adjacent roads, and cycling was clearly the first choice of tourists and locals alike.

The best part of the holiday by far was the fun and the freedom of whizzing along pretty lanes or exploring whitewashed villages by bike. Any reader, whether a Lycra warrior or an urban utility cyclist, would find satisfaction on Île de Ré.