La Rochelle, le fin

The 15th century  Hôtel de Ville (town hall) is undergoing extensive renovations - we didn't go in, just admired the amazing details from outside. You can see the marine heritage showing through, and the fleur de lys emblem of the French kings.

This plaque was on the perimeter wall. It's a memorial to Léonce Vieljeux, the mayor from 1930 to 1940. Originally an army officer he remained in the reserves when he started working in his father-in-law's shipping company. He actively resisted the Nazi occupation, refusing to hang the swastika from the hôtel de Ville when he was asked to, and helping Resistance members to escape. He was expelled from the town in 1941; when he returned in 1944 he was arrested and then executed, aged 79.

Double-decker carousel in the square where the bus  station is. I was hoping to capture the sound on the video, but it doesn't come through, sadly.

La Rochelle again...

We walked out to the pleasure marina, which is possible the largest in Europe with 3,300 berths. On the way we passed the maritime museum. C didn't want to go and see it, saying it couldn't possible be as good as the one in Barcelona. I think it's a pity we didn't walk further down the quay, though, as apparently Cousteau's Calypso is moored just beyond the museum ships. There's a municipal bike hire scheme in La Rochelle - you can see some of the bicycles in the second photo.

Porte des Minimes

We walked along to the end of one pier in the marina.

 Quick snaps around the town - not quite sure what the first one is all about!!

Cinema and café in the square where the bus station is.

La Rochelle continued

With its importance as a port dating back so far, the harbour entrance is well fortified .

On the approach to the tower in the third photo (La Tour de La Lanterne,  used as a prison for Dutch, Spanish and English sailors  between the 17th and 19th centuries , and apparently with interesting graffiti from that time, though we didn't go inside), you can walk along the old walls. It's actually pretty much a street till you get to near the end, with some lovely houses along it.

Rue sur les murs / Road on the walls

I can't help wondering was it always so tidal!! It doesn't seem that such major fortifications would have been necessary if that had always been the case. I'm sure the ferry captains are well used to navigating the narrow channels at low tide, and they were well buoyed, but still...
You can see the modern part of the city to the left in the first photo.

La Rochelle

Our visit to La Rochelle was photo-heavy. Being a lovely bright sunshiny day helped!
It was founded in the 10th century and by the 12th century was already an important harbour. In its early history there were a couple of periods when it was part of England's territory in France, and it was the last city to be liberated from the Germans at the end of WW2.

The big clock tower at the entrance to the city from the harbour front is a pretty dominant feature - first seen from inside the city (as our bus dropped us at at square fairly near the centre), and then from outside the city walls.

 

A shop just beside the clock tower inside the city walls (l'horloge is French for clock)  - great graphic design:

Another feature of the city is the stone arcades along some of the streets:

Guy-Victor Duperré (1775 - 1846) was an admiral and three times the Naval Minister for France. His name is one of the names inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. I can't believe I don't have a  digital photo of the Arc de Triomphe to link to  - it's definitely time we paid another visit to Paris.