La Rochelle, France
France – a whirlwind away from the southern hemisphere but a remarkable country. What astonished me first was the ease at which I can get there. I live in London and as such have the luxury of an easy trip to anywhere in the world. However, with France, it is lethargically simple. I have the choice of train, boat, coach or plane and it is cheap….cheaper than travelling to a city in middle England anyway! I plumped for Eurostar – not the cheapest but the most comfortable and trouble-free. Arrived in central Paris with not a care in the world about how to get to what station and what to do when I get there….it was all in front of me. A metro ride and I was in Gare Montparnasse to get the TGV to La Rochelle. Another train journey so fast that the countryside looked like a Turner watercolour and then I was in sunny La Rochelle.
La Rochelle is a city on the west coast of France and the Bay of Biscay. It has a fantastic maritime history going back to the 10th century and a fair few bloody battles with the English! I should also say here that the French successfully defeated us during the Hundred Years War. It has been a vital trading port since and was occupied by the Germans during WWII as a submarine base (inspiring the film Das Boot). A great place for sunsets too:
The city is beautiful. Much of the past architecture has been maintained making it incredibly picturesque as well as historically rich. It is marvellous to walk through the centre. There are many sites of historic interest including twin towers which guard the central port. These have brilliantly detailed accounts of what occurred in the city and even graffiti from 16/17th Century prisoners when they were held there!
I think the greatest aspect of La Rochelle is the neighbouring islands of Île d’Aix and Île de Ré. They are stunning, again steeped in history and have fantastic beaches too! Île de Ré is easily accessible by France’s longest bridge connecting it to the mainland. Île d’Aix can only be accessed by boat but both islands have great eateries. And that brings me to the food. In England it can be quite hit or miss when it comes to restaurants. However, in France this is not so. Everywhere I went, even to a place that looked more like someone’s house than a restaurant, the food was amazing. And that is the point is it not? This place has it all. Great food, bars, places to visit and places to relax. Unfortunately, as such, it is taken over by tourists in the summer. So…..go in the spring!
