The pedestrian old town, dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, spreads beyond the whitewashed townhouses of the harbour to a glitzy inland-shopping district, peppered with museums.
Grosse Horloge, or grand clock tower. Impressive 14th century, straddles the entrance to the vieille ville.
Tour de la Chaîne, April daily except Monday 10.00 – 12.30 and 14.00 – 17.30. June daily 10.00 – 12.30 and 14.00 -18.30 September 1st to 15th daily 10.00 – 12.30 – 14.00 – 18.30. 16th to 30th September daily except Monday 10.00 – 12.30 and 14.00 – 17.30. October-March daily except Monday 10.00-12.30 and 14.00-17.30. Entrance is €4.60 all year. It gets its name from the heavy chain slung from here across to the opposite tower, Tour St-Nicolas, which used to be used to close the harbour at night.
Tour de la Lanterne. Beyond the tower, you can follow the steps along the old sea wall.
La Rochelle Aquarium is not-to-be-missed and is home to a massive 10,000 marine animals. Audio tours are available for ¤3.50. It’s the ideal rainy day activity (www.aquarium-larochelle.com). Next door is the Musée Maritime (+33 (0) 5 28 03 00). Open daily July-August 09.00-23.00, April-June and September 9.00-20.00, October-March 10.00am-20.00. Entrance €12, children €9.
Musée des Beaux Arts contains works by Rembrandt, Signac and Delacroix, plus a series by Fromentin, which features on many of the town’s postcards. It’s at 28 rue Gargoulleau (+33 (0) 5 46 41 64 65). Open every day except Tuesday, 14.00-17.00, entrance €3.50, children free.
Musée du Nouveau Monde explores La Rochelle’s relation to the New World and in particular, to emigration and the slave trade via maps, paintings and artefacts (+33 (0) 5 46 41 46 50, at 10 rue Fleuriau. Open Monday and Wednesday-Saturday 10.30-12.30, 14.00-18.00 and Sundays 14.30-18.00. Entrance €3.50, under 18s free.
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La Rochelle is set in the middle of some 450km (280 miles) of Poitou-Charentes coastline along the Atlantic. One of the most delightful day trips from the town is to L’ile de Ré, linked to the mainland by a 3 km (1.8 miles) road bridge. Bus numbers 1 or 50 (Sunday) takes you to Sablanceaux, the first beach on the island. Once you’re there, Rébus operates services around the island.
Alternatively, you can cycle, it takes less than an hour and there are marvellous designated bike trails with great coastal views.
Ile de Ré is known locally as Ré La Blanche for its 70km (44 miles) of fine, white sand beaches. The 30km (16.6 miles) long island is one of Europe’s largest nature reserves with miles of extensive paved bike paths, pine forests, farmland, vineyards and busy towns with vast tracts of untouched sand.
St Martin de Ré. Its population is only 15,000 but in July and August it is popular with French holidaymakers who head to the restaurants at the main town, St Martin de Ré, and the beaches on the south.
All the island’s buildings are strictly restricted to two storeys and features white-washed walls, curly orange tiles and green-painted shutters, giving the place a warm, Mediterranean feel. But out of season, it has equal charm; life in its little ports revolves around the cultivation of oysters and mussels.
It’s certainly worth visiting St Martin, the island’s capital, where whitewashed houses cluster around stone quays. This is very much a working fishing port and it’s fascinating to spend time watching fishermen at work on their trawlers and flat-bottomed oyster boats or simply gazing at fish. Along from the harbour is a web of shop-filled lanes offering Breton-styled fishing wear, nautical gear and a variety of places to eat.
The Musée Ernest Cognacq, within the Hôtel Clerjotte, presents the history of the island with models, paintings and archaeological finds.
Le Martray. Renting a bike is easy in any island town, and with the sea breezes pedalling along the coastal paths and wooded lanes is a holiday pleasure. One of the best routes starts at Le Martray and runs along the northern coast through the island’s trademark salt marsh and bird preserve, a wetlands sanctuary that’s home to herons.
Beaches. Alternatively, take it easy on one of the splendid beaches. If you’re really uninhibited, strip off totally at plage du Petit Bac in Les Portes-en-Ré, otherwise the pine-fringed dunes at plage de la Conche des Baleines are bliss, just near the lighthouse at Gare Bec.
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To discover what’s on, pick up Sortir, a thrice-weekly listings paper from the tourist office. It covers theatre, cinema and mainstream and classical music. Rue St-Nicolas is the place to head for life after dark, bars line the streets, some with live music, all with a lively pace.
La Coursive, 4 rue St Jean du Perot, hosts opera, jazz and classical music concerts (+33 (0) 5 46 51 54 00). During the summer, stroll over to quai Duperré and cours des Dames which are shut off to cars and fill up with mime artists, jugglers, musicians and an outdoor market.
Oxford and Papagayo Discos, behind plage de la Concurrence, pull in a bright young crowd until the early hours.
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