Atlantic. Ars-en-Ré, La Flotte and Saint-Martin-de-Ré are also well-known pleasure ports, while the river ports of Marans on the Sèvre niortaise, and Rochefort, on the Charente, had disused port basins that have become home to pleasure boats, and can each take more than 200 craft. The Île de Ré lives totally by tourism and can accommodate up to tourists during the summer season. This "invasion" is even more pronounced on the Île d'Aix which accommodates up to tourists each year, even though it does not have a car bridge. Aunis has also developed its cultural and urban tourism with its two great historical towns of La Rochelle and Rochefort. The small towns of the interior are not without interest and have enhanced their heritage sites, like Surgères (Notre-Dame church, castle, renovated town centre) and Marans (port and river site), Tonnay-Charente (management of Charente quays). Aunis has made huge efforts to put in place green tourism and has developed, notably at Aigrefeuille-d'Aunis, quality tourist bases (lac de Frace, tourist complex of La Taillée). Demography In 2006 the region had inhabitants, nearly half the total population of Charente-Maritime (47.9%). In 2010, the northwest of the department had ten of the seventeen towns of over inhabitants, and 31 of the department's 60 communes of over inhabitants. The region covers , 21.8% of the whole department. The population density of the region is more than twice that of the departmental average: , compared to for Charente-Maritime as a whole. It is nearly thrice that of the Poitou-Charentes region at and is higher than the national average, which in 2006 was . The ratio of urban to rural population is comparable to the national average, which is 3:4. This is considerably different from Charente-Maritime as a whole, where the ratio is nearer 3:5. The region became considerably more urban after World War II, though the population is unevenly distributed. Above all, the Aunis coastal towns have expanded to provide the larger part of employment and leisure. La Rochelle and Rochefort are the most populous urban areas not just in Aunis but in all Charente-Maritime. The two towns are becoming twin cities with many suburbs, connected by regular railway trains. This heavily built-up area is now home to over inhabitants ( inhabitants in 2006). This urban area is second in the region after the "Clain corridor", which runs between Poitiers and Châtellerault. Near the coast the