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Visiting La Rochelle in France (1)
If you haven't been to La Rochelle yet this is one place well worth a visit. In fact it is not surprising that La Rochelle is the third most visited city in France, with more than three million visitors a year. |
| The stage (photo above) and the huge crowds (below) during a Francofolies concert by Olivia Ruiz. |
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Yet the inhabitants still retain the fast-diminishing charm of the provincial people who still find time to talk to visitors and do not let the stress of modern living get the better of them.
Besides it is just a bridge away from the Island of Ré, the equally popular holiday destination for the French themselves. These two places are well worth a visit at any time of the year but particularly so in July or August to enjoy swimming in the sea.
| The city is at its best during the yearly week-long French songs festival, popularly known as Francofolies, which will next be held from 11th to 15th July, 2012. It normally coincides with the fireworks display along the whole of the esplanade at Avenue Michel Crepeau round midnight every July 14 to commemorate Bastille Day (French National Day). So if you are at La Rochelle on that day you will be able to enjoy the concert as well as the gigantic fireworks display. |
In fact, its strength as a tourist destination is that it allows for leisured strolls either along the old quarter or in its shopping area. There is little trace of the hustle and bustle of city life and during my four-day stay there recently I could not recall a single instance when I heard car honks from impatient motorists!
Compared to the famous French Riviera on the south of France, the well-kept beach at Port des Minimes in La Rochelle is still relatively unspoilt by the big spenders. To go to the Minimes beach you can either take the "sea bus" (bus de mer) from the vieux port (old port) near the Chain Tower end for 1.70 euros or a numberless bus simply called ILLICO from the bus terminus at Place de Verdun for 1.30 euros. But watch out, this bus doesn't run on Sundays and public holidays in which case it is replaced by local bus number 43.
However, if it is a sunny day and you intend to spend a whole day on the beach it is worth making the trip out of La Rochelle to the neighbouring Island of Ré (Ile de Ré) which has a number of really good beaches to offer. It will also enable you to have a leisurely cycling holiday (you can easily hire bicycles there for the day) as there are cycle paths criss-crossing the island's countryside. The roads are flat and children cannot be safer on bicycles than here.
It is possible to go to Ile de Ré by bicycle, car or bus over the bridge from La Rochelle but there are also boat cruises from the old harbour which take you there as well as to other islands such as Ile d'Aix, Ile d'Oleron or just to have a close look at Fort Boyard, location of a popular TV adventure game.
Of all the cities in France La Rochelle is the one that is most concerned with ecology and the quality of urban life. It has recently even started using solar energy for its parking meters.
| Click on photo to see an enlarged version. | ||
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 Early every morning a tractor combs every inch of the sandy beach at Port des Minimes to ensure that it is spotlessly clean for the sunbathers who will come in throngs later in the day. |
 The same attention to cleanliness applies also to the ports where the sailing boats are moored. A motor-boat goes the rounds every morning to remove dead plants and stagnant objects that float in the waters. |
 Its obsession with ecology is such that it even encourages bicycle-owners to have their bicycles transported across the bridge to neighbouring Ile de Ré without any extra charge in its "Bus Velos" at Place Verdun. |
It was the pilot city for testing and using electric cars (there are over 250 of these in use today). It was also the pioneer, in 1997, of the first "En ville sans ma voiture" campaign in France forbidding the use of cars in the city centre on that day thus inciting more people to use the bicycle. This idea was eventually adopted by a few other French cities.
In keeping with this strategy it has made bicycles available for free to all and sundry. Foreigners need only leave their passports for safekeeping in order to borrow one of their yellow bicycles for the day (it's free for the first two hours, then you pay one euro for each following hour). There are two such free bicycle parks - one at the bus terminus at Place de Verdun (open throughout the year but closed on Sundays) and the other at the old harbour (this one is open 7 days a week from May to September). But watch out, such bicycles will not be available at all during the week-long Francofolies song festival.
Apart from its touristic attractions La Rochelle is also an educational centre and is proud of its multidisciplinary university opened in 1993 and an international hotel management school (Lycée Hôtelier) near Les Minimes. Surprisingly, there are very few cybercafes in La Rochelle. The ones that I frequented before had all closed and I had to go to Rue Amelot near the market to find one. Another in Quai de Marans only opens at 15h00 in the afternoon. More photos and texts in Visiting La Rochelle (2)