Holidays in La Rochelle
Hotels
La Rochelle was founded in the 10th century. Initially, it was a tiny fishing port in the depths of a marshy bay. Alexandre Dumas described the siege of La Rochelle as yet another adventure for d'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. Today, La Rochelle is home to a rich historical and cultural heritage. The Old Port evokes a sense of awe: watchtowers stand alongside Renaissance buildings, guarding the peace of numerous pleasure yachts. La Rochelle is a lively town, home to numerous museums, exhibitions, and festivals. From here, you can take a boat trip to the famous Fort Bayard or head to the picturesque Île de Ré.
A three-kilometer bridge connects La Rochelle with the Île de Ré. In former times, the main occupations of the inhabitants of this intricately jagged island were fishing and salt production. Ré enchants with its seaside villages, with their whitewashed houses shrouded in greenery and sandy beaches at the foot of low dunes.
Location: Poitou-Charentes region (Western France), 180 km from Bordeaux, 400 km from Toulouse, and 467 km from Paris. The island of Ré is 3 km from La Rochelle (connected to the mainland by a road bridge).
View:
- - Old Port (Vieux Port, 13th century) – the historic part of the city, home to the Chain Tower and the Saint-Nicolas Tower (14th-15th centuries).
- - Cathedrale – the cathedral. Construction began in the late 17th century and was not completed until the late 18th century. The cathedral's interior is decorated with frescoes (17th-19th centuries). - Eglise Saint Sauveur (15th century) – an ancient church that was repeatedly burned and rebuilt.
- - House of Henry II (16th century) – a unique example of Renaissance architecture.
- - Museum of the New World – an exhibition dedicated to the first colonists who set out for the New World.
- - Museum of Protestantism – a rich collection of manuscripts, old books, maps, portraits, and medals. The museum library contains Protestant bibles translated into various languages (19th century).
- - Perfume Museum – a collection of original bottles (over 1,000).
- - Museum of Fine Arts (since 1844) – an impressive collection of European paintings from the 15th to 20th centuries.
- - Maritime Museum – an open-air museum with a collection of ships and vessels of various purposes: fishing, meteorological, and others.
- - Aquarium – a unique collection of 12,000 marine creatures.