La Rochelle – La Ville Blanche

My visit to La Rochelle last month (July 22) was split over two days, with a short time before I caught a train to Nantes and some time when I got back before flying home. You can read about the other parts of my trip here, here and here. Unfortunately, the timings meant I didn’t have a great deal of time to spend in La Rochelle, however I did fall in love with the city and will definitely be returning.

Getting from La Rochelle airport to the city itself is fairly simple, with a bus running every 30-minutes or so from outside the terminal to the main bus station, train station and various points throughout the town. Deciding to start down by La Rochelle’s harbour front, I jumped off at the ‘Dames Blanches’ stop which is just a couple of hundred meters from the harbour.

The main attraction of La Rochelle is the Vieux Port or Old Harbour, a feature of the city throughout its history that has developed over the centuries. Since medieval times, three large towers have guarded the Vieux Port: The Lantern Tower; The Chain Tower; and Saint Nicholas Tower, the latter two of which have become the image of La Rochelle.

The Lantern Tower has guided seafarers from the city since the early 13^th century, whilst the Chain and St Nicholas Towers were constructed in the late 14^th century to strengthen the defences of the port. At times chains were stretched from the Chain Tower (hence its name) across the entrance to the harbour, whilst the St Nicholas Tower was named after the patron saint of sailors.

The quayside of the Vieux Port is also full of cafés and restaurants, allowing both tourists and locals to enjoy Petit Dejeuner with a view of the boats coming and going, including the tours to the Île de Ré and Fort Boyard (yes THAT Fort Boyard). I decided to follow the motto of ‘when in Rome’ and sat down to enjoy a late breakfast of a croissant, bread with butter and jam and a Café au Lait. Most of the restaurants had a breakfast deal where this was somewhere between €8 & €9.

Following breakfast, I continued my walk around the harbour front (or fronts) of La Rochelle, crossing over the entrance to one of the smaller docks to see the Bureau du Port and the Phare Rouge de La Rochelle (or Red Lighthouse of La Rochelle). The former is a grand 19^th century building that houses the harbour offices whilst the latter’s duties are pretty obvious, with the light towering above the quayside to guide the local sailors.

With my route starting to take me towards the station, I wandered along another of La Rochelle’s many quays, this one Quai du Gabut, which was home to many more restaurants, with these overlooking the city’s Yacht marina. There was also a bicycle rental shop, Greenbike, which judging by the number of their well branded bikes I’d seen around, was a popular choice for exploring the city.

As with many tourist destinations, La Rochelle has various traders trying to sell hand crafted souvenirs, although unlike many other places, La Rochelle has provided a semi-permanent market opposite the Tourist Information for them to set up shop. The advantage of this is that there aren’t lots of traders hassling people as they relax around the harbour, and it does provide a bustling area of a market for those that are interested.

Following my morning spent wandering around La Rochelle, I headed to the station and caught a train to Nantes to spend the afternoon and evening there before heading back to La Rochelle the following morning. Arriving back about 1000, I had around four hours to explore some more and grab some lunch before heading back to the airport.

Having had it recommended by a friend, I decided to first visit La Rochelle’s aquarium which is situated just beyond the Tourist Information if you’re heading from the Vieux Port. Entry to the aquarium cost me €20 including an audio guide (about £16.80), and although a bit pricey than most things I do on my solo trips, it was definitely worth it and I’d certainly recommend visiting. The only thing I’d suggest, if at all possible, is avoid visiting during the school holidays as it was absolutely chaos.

The aquarium is split into zones, starting with the local marine habitat and eventually leading you around the globe with each zone covering a different sea, ocean, or climate. Whilst there is the usual wide range of marine species, the aquarium is also home to some that are less common in captivity, such as a shoal of sardines or a large tank of Piranhas. Whilst a common species of fish, sardines are rare in captivity owing to their delicate skin making them hard to catch without harming them and requiring a tank with a fast current and lots of light.

If the aquarium hadn’t been so busy then I could have spent hours looking around and reading all the information in detail, however I worked my way round quicker than I usually would and still spent about 90 minutes admiring the different species. Deciding it was time for an early lunch, I decided to head back toward the Vieux Port and see what the various restaurants had to offer, eventually settling on Brasserie des Dames on the western quay.

Enroute to the restaurant I passed another of La Rochelle’s many towers and lighthouses, the Phare du Quai Valin, an automated lighthouse adjacent to the Yacht basin and a listed Monument Historique since 2011. Unlike the rest of the city’s towers and lighthouses, the Phare du Quai Valin is not independent and is incorporated into the body of a house, which itself is part of a terrace.

Settling down for lunch by the sea, I decided it was only appropriate to have seafood and so opted for my favourite dish, mussels, of which this restaurant had options for four different sauces. I also decided to try a local speciality, oysters from the Île de Ré which were lovely and fresh and quite reasonably priced as oysters go. In fact the restaurant had a deal of four oysters and a glass of local wine for €9, something I certainly took them up on.

Lunch took much longer than planned as I enjoyed a relaxing meal watching the world go by and so there was limited time to explore much more of La Rochelle. There was time for one more site though, one that had been close by throughout lunch, the Grande Horloge. One of the old city gates, the Grande Horloge was constructed at the start of the 12^th century and subsequently became home to a clock and bell in 1478, becoming the city’s belfry. For a period in recent times, it hosted a small archaeological collection, however it doesn’t seem if that is still there, and the interior is currently closed to the public. Since 1978 it has been a listed Monument Historique.

With my time in La Rochelle drawing to a close it was time to head back to the airport. La Rochelle is a beautiful, small city with plenty to explore and do. With me not having had time to visit sites such as the Cathédrale Saint-Louis or any of La Rochelle’s museums, I definitely want to head back. There’s also plenty to do on the sea as well, with numerous boat trips heading out from the Vieux Port, so if you’re planning on visiting, I’d suggest a long weekend at minimum.