Discover La Rochelle by Hire Car
La Rochelle is the seat of the prefecture and capital of the department of Charante Maritime and has about 75,000 inhabitants.
The main attraction of the city, which is over 1000 years old, is definitely the old port.
Guarded by two mighty defence towers, it now serves recreational skippers.
Sights in La Rochelle
Besides Trinité-sur-Mer in southern Brittany, La Rochelle is the centre of France’s ocean sailors. Circumnavigators and Atlantic crossers often launch from this port. But also for landlubbers the old harbour has its charm. After an extensive stroll through the arcaded alleys of the old town, you can relax here with a glass of white wine and “Moules-Frites” – mussels with chips.
If you have more time, treat yourself to a seafood platter, which of course includes oysters, fresh from the oyster beds not far south of the city. By the way, you can experience the work of the oyster farmers at first hand during excursions to the Wadden Sea; a unique opportunity that you should not miss.
La Rochelle also has a Franco-German past. During World War 2, the port of La Pallice was a base for the German submarine fleet operating in the Atlantic. Parts of Wolfgang Petersen’s classic film “Das Boot” were shot here.
Exploring the La Rochelle countryside
La Rochelle is the ideal base for excursions to southern Brittany, to Nantes to see the country’s largest shipyards, or to the hinterland. Here you can visit a provincial town whose name you’re sure to have heard: Cognac. The wine metropolis of Bordeaux is also only 2 hours away by hire car.
hire car price comparison La Rochelle
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