Après avoir passé quelques jours chez les parents de Matt, nous sommes partis passer 10 jours en Charente Maritime. Nous avions trouvé un échange de maison avec un couple vivant dans un petit village entre Rochefort et Saintes. Nous ne connaissions pas du tout cette région de France et avions hâte de la découvrir. Les parents de Matt sont venus avec nous quelques jours puis ma mère nous rejoignit aussi.
After spending a couple of days at Matt’s parents, we went to spend 10 days in Charente Maritime. We had found a home exchange with a lovely couple living in a small village between Rochefort and Saintes. We didn’t know that area of France so we were excited to discover it. Matt’s parents joined us for a couple of days, and my mum as well came to visit us.
Lisez plus sur notre expérience d’échange de maisons ici.
Lors d’un de nos jours là-bas, nous avons décidé d’aller visiter La Rochelle. J’y étais allée il y a au moins 20 ans en voyage scolaire et nous avions visité le port et l’aquarium, qui dans mes souvenirs étaient magnifiques. Vu que cette fois-ci nous avions Skye et la chienne des parents de Matt, nous ne pouvions pas vraiment faire de musées et avons donc plutôt marché dans les rues commerçantes et autour du port.
One of the days we were there, we decided to go visit La Rochelle. I went to La Rochelle at least 20 years ago with my school and I remember we had visited the harbour and aquarium, which in my memories were amazing. This time, as we had Skye and Matt’s parents dog with us, we couldn’t visit any museums and have instead walked around the shopping streets and the harbour.
Trouvez plus d’information pour visiter l’aquarium de La Rochelle ici.
La Rochelle est la préfecture du département de Charente- Maritime et est situé sur la côte atlantique. La Rochelle est une très belle ville construite autour de ses ports de pêche et de plaisance. Les rues de la vieille ville sont maintenant le parfait endroit pour aller faire les magasins. Les berges du port sont quant à elle parfaite pour flâner ou manger sur la terrasse de l’un des nombreux restaurants. C’est ville avec beaucoup de charme ce qui en fait une ville très touristique en été.
La Rochelle is the administrative centre of the Charente – Maritime county and is situated on the Atlantic coast. The gorgeous city of La Rochelle is built around its fishing and yachting harbours. The streets of the old town are now the perfect place to go shopping. While the shores of the old harbour are perfect for a little wander or to eat on the terrace of one of the several restaurants. It is a city with a lot of charm, which makes it very touristic during summer months.
Nous sommes arrivés vers 9h30 et avons commencé notre visite par les rues piétonnes avant de nous diriger vers le marché couvert puis de revenir vers le port. Nous nous sommes ensuite arrêtés pour manger un petit plateau de poissons et charcuterie dans un restaurant en bordure d’eau avant de finir notre visite par une promenade le long du vieux port et du quartier du Gabut. Vu qu’il commençait à faire très chaud et que la foule arrivait, nous avons décidé de rentrer à la maison pour finir l’après midi dans la piscine. Je vous laisse donc découvrir la ville en photos.
We arrived around 9h30 and started our visit by the pedestrians streets before walking toward the covered market and then walk back to the harbour. We then stopped for a small cured ham and fishes platter in one of the restaurants by the water edge before finishing our visit by roaming around the old harbour and Gabut quarter. As it was starting to be really hot and people were arriving, we decided to drive back home to enjoy an afternoon in the swimming pool. I leave you to discover this city with my photos.
Avez vous déjà visité La Rochelle?
Have you ever visited La Rochelle?
Retrouvez toutes nos aventures en France sur cette page. Pour découvrir le Royaume-Uni c’est par ici.
Our Lake District Escapades 
Beautiful pictures! It seems that you had a lovely holiday, too.
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Thank you. We had some lovely family holiday indeed.
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Merci pour cette visite virtuelle d’une bien belle ville.
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De rien 😊.
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We went on holiday several times to Charente Maritime and visited La Rochelle. I remember eating fruits de mer on the harbour (pricey, but a treat). I also remember going into la Tour Saint Nicholas and having to carry my daughter (not an infant then!) down the spiral staircase (she still hates them but there’s no way I would – or could 😂- do that now)
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This area of France is very famous for its seafood and fishes. I haven’t been inside the tower. Must have a nice view from the top but yes I imagine but easy to go up. Did you like going on holiday in that area?
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Yes indeed. We holidayed there 3 times.
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I don’t know this part of France at all. It looks lovely.
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It is a nice area but can be very busy in summer. I would recommend to visit during spring or September/October ☺️.
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La Rochelle looks like a lovely place to wander around, especially by the harbour and waterfront. Beautiful captures from your visit. Good call on heading back when it started to get hot and crowded.
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Thank you. To be honest I love any city with an harbour.
Skye (dog) was not really happy with that heat.
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Looks very nice. Never been but I do remember La Rochelle featuring in our French books at school 😁
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A lot of my colleagues told me about La Rochelle being in their french book at school. That is funny 😂. Maybe you need to visit it one day to see if it looks like as described in the book. You have direct flights during summer month from Manchester to La Rochelle 😉.
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La Rochelle semble être une ville pleine de charme et d’histoire. J’ai adoré la façon dont vous avez décrit vos visites, entre les rues piétonnes, le marché couvert, et la détente au bord du vieux port. C’est vraiment une destination idéale pour se balader, profiter de bons repas et découvrir la beauté de la région. Merci pour ce partage et ces superbes photos qui nous donnent envie de découvrir cette ville à notre tour !
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Merci Anna pour ta visite sur mon blog et ton commentaire. J’espère qu’un jour tu pourras visiter cette ville.
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I’m with Shazza on this, La Rochelle featured in the French books we had in school, the book was called Tricolore. It featured characters called Mr Duval and Madame Dupont. Lovely to finally see pictures of the place which featured so heavily in my teens
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I hope my photos reflect what you thought the city might look like.
My English book had characters called Brian and Vanessa. Brian was always in the kitchen 😂.
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😂😂😂
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I agree, very picturesque, lovely photos 🙂
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Thank you 😊
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I’ve been to France many times, but never to Charente Maritime. Given that the region has beaches, a frontage on the Atlantic, an archipelago of islands, and picturesque villages it would be a wonderful place to explore. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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Totally recommend this county if you have the opportunity to go. A lot of things to visit and great food and wine 😉.
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🥰🥰🥰
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