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One of France's foremost seaports from the 14th to 17th centuries, the city has arcaded walkways, half-timbered houses protected from the salt air by slate tiles, ghoulish gargoyles and a fabulous collection of lighthouses – all rich reminders of its magnificent seafaring heritage.
La Rochelle. The gateway to the old city, Tour de la Grosse Horloge is a steadfast Gothic-style clock tower with a 12th-century base and 18th-century top. Discover the best attractions in La Rochelle including Aquarium La Rochelle, Musée Maritime, and Tour de la Lanterne.
La Rochelle's state-of-the-art, family-friendly aquarium is home to 12,000 marine animals and 600 different species. Visits begin by descending in a clunky old 'submarine' to the ocean floor, where you're greeted by the pouting fish of the North Atlantic and serenaded by the sound of crashing waves and classical music.
To protect the harbour at night in times of war, an enormous chain was raised between the two 14th-century stone towers at the harbour entrance to La Rochelle, giving rise to the name Tour de la Chaîne (Chain Tower). There are superb views from the top and an insightful exhibition on French migration to the New World, hence Quebec, in the 17th ...
La Rochelle. This small museum displays 300 automated dolls from the last two centuries, including a near-life-size re-creation of bygone Montmartre in Paris, right down to the Moulin Rouge and the funicular railway.
Tour St-Nicolas. The only tower to be decked out like a house, this 37m-high pentagonal stone tower has leaned slightly to one side ever since building was complete in 1376.
An easy 15km drive south of La Rochelle, this nature reserve runs a free nature centre where you can peer through telescopes to watch some of the 192-hectare reserve's 250 bird species amid the wetlands.
Discover the best shopping in La Rochelle including Prao Boutique, and Espritvoiles.
Easily mistaken for an ornate church spire, the conical 15th-century Tour de la Lanterne is La Rochelle's beauty queen. It was so named because of its role as the harbour's lighthouse (lit by an enormous candle) and is one of the oldest of its kind in the world.
La Rochelle's Museum of Fine Arts, housed inside a stunning neoclassical building, hosts an impressive collection of 15th- to 20th-century art. A combined ticked with the nearby Musée du Nouveau Monde costs €9.
