Museums and tourist attractions

An incredible 300m² bunker right in the heart of the city where you can discover the history of La Rochelle from 1939 to its liberation on 8th May 1945! Built secretively in 1941 to protect German submarine commanders from the bombs, it has remained intact since 1945, and is finally open to the public! Educational booklets.

Come and discover the ports of La Rochelle in the great galleries of the pavilions: models, photos, engravings, records and objects will take you on a voyage from the year 1000 to the life of modern harbour jobs. A heritage to be experienced, ships to visit: France 1 - weather ship classified as a historical monument, a true...

In the heart of the town, opening onto a charming garden, this museum is dedicated to the history of Protestantism in La Rochelle and the surrounding area of Aunis-Saintonge.. OPENING HOURS : Open from June 22nd to September21st: from Monday to Saturday from 2.30-6pm. For the rest of the year, by arrangement. (minimum...

Nestled between the Marais Poitevin and the Bay of Aiguillon, the Maison de la Baie du Marais Poitevin provides many different ways to discover the marsh area: mussel farming museum, Pointe St Clément, and the fortified church. Open during school holidays in February and april and from 01/06 to 30/09/2018

La Rochelle was one of the main ports for trade and emigration towards the New World: In the prestigious Fleuriau hotel, a former 18th century town house, the museum will take you on a journey through paintings, engravings, drawings, sculptures, old maps and objects of decorative art from the West Indies to New France, and you...

Saint Nicolas Tower : This military building facing the ocean symbolises the power and wealth of La Rochelle. Both a true keep, 42 metres high, and a residence, it was constructed around a labyrinth of staircases and corridors built within its walls. Chain Tower : From this Tower, entry to the old port, movement of ships was...

The Normandin-Mercier Cognac and Pineau des Charentes house is open for you to visit its old distillery and cellars, and for you to taste its Cognacs and Pineau de Charentes. There are also workshops where you can learn even more about the art of tasting or blending. Visits and tastings from Monday to Friday at 10 am and 2:30...

In the XVII° century the Récollets, Franciscans who settled in La Rochelle after the Great Siege of 1628 built their convent from a large parcel of land. After the Revolution the "Dames Blanches", a women's religious order settled in the convent. In 1988 the town bought the convent and later on the Communauté...

The old gate of the 12th-century wall that separated the port from the city. The solid 14th-century base had two openings, one for pedestrians and the other for carriages until 1672, when a single arcade was made. Similarly, in 1746, its pepperpot roofs were replaced by a dome decorated with pilasters, columns and cupids...

The first building burned down in 1418, so a second one was built in the flamboyant Gothic style. Destroyed at the time of the Wars of Religion, all that remains of it is the bell tower with a fragment of the portal. From 1650 to 1669, Saint-Sauveur was rebuilt. The church burned down again in 1705, except for the façade. At...

Corner of Rue Pernelle and Rue Aufrédy. Gothic bell tower from the 15th century. It belonged to the Church of Saint-Barthélemy, which was destroyed in 1568 during the Wars of Religion. It was here that the election of the Mayor of La Rochelle was held every year, at the Quasimodo.

Since the 13th century, the port of La Rochelle has occupied this location. It is likely that from the beginning it was fortified. The remaining towers date from the 14th and 15th centuries. They survived the destruction of the enclosure after the siege of 1628. On either side of the entrance are the Saint-Nicolas Tower, the...

Rebuilt in the 18th century on the site of the former Courthouse erected by Henry IV, it was completed at the beginning of the Revolution which, after scraping away the fleur-de-lys, inscribed the still visible inscription on the façade: "Temple of Justice under the reign of Liberty and Equality, year II of the French...

The museum of automation and scale models, with its two large exhibition halls (more than 1800 m²) has over 300 moving characters: old and modern automatons, window displays, and historic scenes, that both adults and children will love. Ticket sales end: 1hr before museum closes.

The covered market was built from 1834 to 1836 on the site of the Grande-Boucherie, the town's first meat market. In 1893, side aisles were added to the central nave. On the other side of the square, facing the market, is a half-timbered house and the "Tout-yfaut" dead end, at the end of which opens a Renaissance mullioned...

Headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce from 1760 to 2002. Building of the purest 18th century with two wings joined by a gallery with columns marking out a courtyard where the compass rose on the ground and bas-reliefs on the façade (trophies, anchors, oars, sextants) are tributes to maritime traffic, the source of La...

"It was built for Hugues Pontard, whose son François would become Mayor of La Rochelle in 1567, in a skilful "antique" style that combines columns, pediments and coffered ceilings. However, there was nothing ordinary about this creation in the 16th century, since the "House of Henry II" ... is not a house! Its superimposed...