Tourist attractions Fouras

Built by Colbert in 1666, the building is anchored on a timber form comprised of a grid of oak beams. A rare example of 17C industrial architecture, this classical building was the assembly point for rope used on the great warships. The advent of ste..

The Brouage Ramparts, built between 1630 and 1640, are an excellent example of the art of fortifications before Vauban. Forming a square with sides 400m long, they are protected by seven bastions equipped with bartizans. The North side faced the sea,..

The La Rochelle Aquarium, a large vessel made of wood and glass, presents over 10,000 marine creatures from the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Pacific in an original way, and its 65 pools recreate the environments of the species a..

Situated at the end of a narrow bay, the old port is made up of the port entry, the beaching basin or Old Port, the small basin where yachts are moored, and the trawler basin. It is certainly the most well-known view of La Rochelle with its two tower..

The dwellings around the Town Hall, Rue des Merciers and Rue du Palais were built with two ways out; on the ground floor they have a large room often converted into a shop, then an interior courtyard with staircase and gallery; on the first floor a d..

This very busy street is one of the most typical of La Rochelle, with its many galleries and 16C and 17C houses. Half-timbered medieval houses covered with slate alternate with Renaissance buildings sporting fantastic sculpted gargoyles.

Situated at the entrance to the Jardin des Plantes, the museum is set up in two buildings which face each another. The Lafaille Museum is home to the Lafaille exhibition which includes an amazing coquillier , as well as Clément de Lafaille’s furni..

With its green woodland of oaks, pines and tamarisks, inlets and beaches of fine sand on which sit Vauban’s fortifications, this little island (seemingly Mediterranean in character) in the mouth of the Charente is ideal for long walks bathed in ocean..

The shipyard stretched along the Charente River on two levels (they still exist today) separated by slipways or dry docks. It had 11 construction yards and careening basins of which the Old Form is the oldest masonry dry dock in the world. A foundry,..

This museum houses a collection of paintings from the 16C and 17C, and the Romantic and Empire periods, including the Lola Montès portrait by Rouget. There is also a beautiful ethnography collection from Africa and Oceania (with superb Polynesian mas..

Pierre Loti’s house is made up of two adjoining buildings. The interior is magnificent, and quite amazing, with a ‘‘Renaissance’’ dining room furnished in the Spanish style and decorated with Flemish tapestries, a mosque ornamented with items from th..

This museum is a picturesque reminder of the way people once lived, featuring a range of businesses and workshops that were set up in Rochefort between 1900 and 1940 (a Rochefort bar, a hat shop, a pharmacy, a grocery and a forge).

Linked to the mainland by a viaduct-bridge , Oléron is Metropolitan France’s second largest island after Corsica. A place of wild beauty, ocean expanse, ever-changing colours, warm sand and… its famous oysters. Its white houses sit among mimosas, la..

A fully furnished, reconstructed farm recreating the atmosphere of traditional life on the island. On display are the farmhouse with its one room and window, outbuildings (wine storeroom and forge) containing equipment and tools from earlier days, pa..

This site divided into two parts along the Chalutiers Basin recounts the maritime history and life of La Rochelle. The floating museum has ships of all sizes from the ketch on which Bernard Moitissier participated in the first round-the-world solo ..

300 moving figures rival each other in ingenuity to attract the visitors’ attention in this magnificent décor complete with music. It is an astounding place, with amazingly realistic robots and some very successful reconstructions, including one of ..

This slightly leaning tower (total height 42 m) is a veritable fortress. It was built in the 14C and named after the patron saint of navigators. An external staircase leads to the main room, from which other staircases lead to additional rooms. These..

The 15C lantern tower, newer than the others, combines aesthetic and military considerations. The massive tower is topped by a large steeple and a thin stone lantern (once a lighthouse), and has 6m-thick walls at the base. It has four floors of rooms..

This Gothic tower used to be the entrance to the town from the harbour side. The belfry in the centre is topped by a polygonal dome and a lantern light, and houses the clock face and the clock mechanism. The two towers on either side contain maritime..

This composite building is worthy of note for its rich decorations. A Gothic surrounding wall topped by a machicolated wall-walk, and reinforced by a belfry-tower, defends the courtyard. The main façade of the building was built in the Italian styl..