La Rochelle harbour and old town
Many of the highlights of La Rochelle can be found around the harbour and in the streets immediately behind the harbour - this can be accessed most impressively by the large clock tower, although many other entry points are possible.
Around the edge of the harbour itself is a broad boulevard, ideal for promenading and for seeing much of the action of the town. There are also a lot of market stalls here, and a wide range of restaurants.
Note that the restaurants along the harbour front are mostly 'cheep and cheerful' seafood type restaurants - for more upmarket La Rochelle restaurants follow the street into the town that runs from the end of these harbour-front restaurants - as it leaves the harbour, the whole street is lined with quality restaurants.
Things to see around La Rochelle harbour and old town
Perhaps the most impressive of all the historical monuments in La Rochelle is the Town Hall - a lovely 17th century building with turrets and elaborate carvings, inside a fortified wall.
The House of Henry II, although really just a facade of a house overlooking a small garden, comes a close second. It has a highly decorative appearance with numerous columns and dates from the 16th century.
See also:
- the Clock Tower
- the Church of Saint-Sauveur - a melange of different styles dating from different centuries and periods of construction. A gothic chuch on the site of an earlier 12th century church was pulled down during the wars of the 16th century, although the belltower remains. rebuilt again in the 17th century, the replacement chuch burned to the ground except for the facade, and was rebuilt in the early 18th century. Hence the church we now see dates from the 15th, 17th and 18th centuries!
- the Cloister of the Dames Blanches and the adjacent protestant temple. Exhibitions are also sometimes held in the attractively planted cloisters, dating from 1706.
- the cobbled, arcaded street of Rue d'Escale, which leads to...
- the House of Nicolas Venette, a house with numerous gargoyles and busts of doctors from antiquity. Nicolas Venette, an important scientist, was better known for his book 'The Table of Conjugal Love'.
Of passing interest also are the Cathedral on Place du Verdun, the Chamber of Commerce and the Law Courts.
All these fine buildings are in a lovely setting, with numerous townhouses and pretty streets, and much to enjoy as you explore.
This part of the town also has numerous boutiques and other shopping opportunities.
