La Rochelle tourist information
The fortified town, La Rochelle has built its splendor on and around the ocean. The cultural and architectural heritage of this one-time fishing village sheds light on its maritime vocation: the towers on the lookout over the entrance to the ancient port, the large clock, the Renaissance abodes of the old-time shipowners, the arcaded shop-lined streets, the museums and even the giant aquarium... A rebel in the depth of its time-chiseled stones, the capital of French Protestantism is suffused with its glorious past. It is when promenading along the port of the Minimes , a cable's length or two from the isle of Ré , that one is best impregnated with the maritime renaissance of La Rochelle. Given over to yachts and schooners, the most venerable European port of the Atlantic seaboard attracts the comeliest sailboats in the world.
