France Travel Guide

La Rochelle Travel Guide

La Rochelle was a fishing village established in the tenth century on a rocky plateau in the middle of swamps. It became the most important port from the beginning of the twelfth century. Power of La Rochelle for many long years was based on salt and wine trading. Its independence allowed La Rochelle to absorb new ideas of reformations naturally. In the beginning of the seventeenth century the city falls into decay after devastating hunger and a siege of Louis XIII, its trade economy was destroyed, strong fort walls were destroyed too. Only in the eighteenth century it finds its former glory of the centre of sea commerce, architecture and an intellectual life again.

Part of a rich historical heritage of a city are medieval houses the architecture, rich stone facades with sculptural carving XVI-XVII of centuries, strict and noble private residences of ship-owners of the eighteenth century.

To understand that La Rochelle is a truly sea city, is enough to walk on quays. In La Rochelle four ports: Old port and its medieval towers protecting once sea trade; the deep-water trading port constructed in the end of the last century: tourist port of Minim, the biggest at the Atlantic coast with three thousand walking yachts and the fishing port equipped with the advanced technologies.

Among numerous museums of a city are most remarkable: an aquarium with thousand versions of representatives of sea fauna of the world, “Neptune” a sea museum open-air with a rich collection of the ships which can be examined during entertaining walk. The Tower-beacon, or “the Tower of 4 sergeants” in height 70 m which during all existence served as a beacon and prison.