La Rochelle : So much charm
For my last week in France before summer hit, I traveled to La Rochelle to discover a new city and all its charm.
One could describe it as the south of France's Mediterranean area minus the luxury plus all the charm...what a great formula ! It's a beautiful, relaxing, charming area of France.
While in La Rochelle, we roamed the streets, ate AMAZING food (our favorite was the crêperie, l'épi de blé and other restaurants on rue du port !), visited this adorable (free) outdoor park with animals (not quite a zoo), enjoyed a good book while tanning on a bench by the beach, and strolled through vieux port downtown & by the 3 towers of La Rochelle (Tour Saint-Nicolas, Tour de la Lanterne, Tour de la Chaîne).
I would recommend staying in the port/old harbor area; there's lots of restaurants, a great view of the harbor, easy access to the aquarium and the military museum (musée maritime) and it's a great central location.
If you have a car (or even local transport) traveling to nearby cities (and islands) is very accessible !
Our day trips:
Rochefort
L'île Madame
L'île de Ré
Royan
L'île d'Oléron
Our first island stop was at l'île Madame, an unpopulated island with an area of 4 square miles. This petite island is only accessible by a small, walkable pathway when the tide is low. We went on a few hour hike, while stopping to enjoy the scenery of grassy fields and a beautiful ocean view scattered with fisherman huts.
Our next island trip, l'île de Ré ! A much bigger island than the first, île de Ré offers many cute island towns including 3 towns we visited La Flotte, Ars-en-Ré, and St-Martin-en-Ré. We also checked out the lighthouse, walked along the beautiful beach and a fort called Fort la Prée.
One of my favorite days was when we visited Royan. It has adorable beaches and the port is much more touristy, but understandable with gorgeous beaches !!
We spent only a half day in Royan and then decided to check out another island, l'île d'Oléron. This time we went up the 224 steps (I counted !) of the lighthouse (phare de Chassiron) to a nice view !
La Rochelle offered a calm, relaxing vacation with lots to discover and enjoy:) Though it wasn't warm enough to swim just yet, visiting La Rochelle in the beginning of May does have its advantages : less tourists, less crowded, cheaper prices, nice weather, and still lots to do !
I would definitely recommend La Rochelle and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region to all !
Regional specialities to try : Oysters, mussels, sea salt, cognac, caramel, cider, galette/crêpe
Until next time...bisous,
Lyndi
Not done reading? Check out my other blog posts on the right side of the page! Then click the follow button up at the top to get more recipes, travel tips, and adventures right to your inbox - bisous!
One could describe it as the south of France's Mediterranean area minus the luxury plus all the charm...what a great formula ! It's a beautiful, relaxing, charming area of France.
While in La Rochelle, we roamed the streets, ate AMAZING food (our favorite was the crêperie, l'épi de blé and other restaurants on rue du port !), visited this adorable (free) outdoor park with animals (not quite a zoo), enjoyed a good book while tanning on a bench by the beach, and strolled through vieux port downtown & by the 3 towers of La Rochelle (Tour Saint-Nicolas, Tour de la Lanterne, Tour de la Chaîne).
I would recommend staying in the port/old harbor area; there's lots of restaurants, a great view of the harbor, easy access to the aquarium and the military museum (musée maritime) and it's a great central location.
If you have a car (or even local transport) traveling to nearby cities (and islands) is very accessible !
Our day trips:
Rochefort
L'île Madame
L'île de Ré
Royan
L'île d'Oléron
Our first island stop was at l'île Madame, an unpopulated island with an area of 4 square miles. This petite island is only accessible by a small, walkable pathway when the tide is low. We went on a few hour hike, while stopping to enjoy the scenery of grassy fields and a beautiful ocean view scattered with fisherman huts.
 |
| Birdseye view of l'île Madame Source |
Our next island trip, l'île de Ré ! A much bigger island than the first, île de Ré offers many cute island towns including 3 towns we visited La Flotte, Ars-en-Ré, and St-Martin-en-Ré. We also checked out the lighthouse, walked along the beautiful beach and a fort called Fort la Prée.
 |
| Plage de la Conche des Baleines |
 |
| Waiving from across the Atlantic near the lighthouse, phare des baleines |
One of my favorite days was when we visited Royan. It has adorable beaches and the port is much more touristy, but understandable with gorgeous beaches !!
 |
| Still a little frigid so just let the water kiss my toes ! |
We spent only a half day in Royan and then decided to check out another island, l'île d'Oléron. This time we went up the 224 steps (I counted !) of the lighthouse (phare de Chassiron) to a nice view !
La Rochelle offered a calm, relaxing vacation with lots to discover and enjoy:) Though it wasn't warm enough to swim just yet, visiting La Rochelle in the beginning of May does have its advantages : less tourists, less crowded, cheaper prices, nice weather, and still lots to do !
I would definitely recommend La Rochelle and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region to all !
Regional specialities to try : Oysters, mussels, sea salt, cognac, caramel, cider, galette/crêpe
Until next time...bisous,
Lyndi
Not done reading? Check out my other blog posts on the right side of the page! Then click the follow button up at the top to get more recipes, travel tips, and adventures right to your inbox - bisous!
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