La Rochelle is a port city on the French Atlantic coast. Over the centuries, the city has been an important city where ship traffic dominated. La Rochelle gained the status of a free port in 1130, and in the 1150s trade opened to English ports through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to the English king. The presence of the Knights Templar was a third factor that made the city one of the most important ports along the coast.

Unlike other cities in western France, La Rochelle’s location did not allow access by river to the interior of the country. Nevertheless, the city maintained its importance as a port city with a large fishery in the western Atlantic and a lot of trade with America. In the years around the Napoleonic era, La Rochelle experienced a decline in trade and economy, which was not least due to the fewer French colonies in North America.

During World War II, Germany established a submarine base at La Pallice in the main port of La Rochelle. It was a stronghold of the Kriegsmarine, and La Rochelle also became the last French city where the Germans capitulated. An Allied siege of La Rochelle took place between 12 September 1944 and 7 May 1945, when the German surrender became a reality. The next day, French troops entered the city.

You can still see the German submarine base as one of the city’s attractions a little west of the city center. The maritime element occupies a lot of space in the city and its history, and this can be explored at the maritime museum, Musée Maritime de La Rochelle. Close to this you can visit the popular Aquarium La Rochelle, and both places are within walking distance of the city center, where the fortified entrance to the inner harbor Vieux Port is the city’s landmark. Here stands the Tour Saint-Nicolas to the east and the Tour de la Chaine to the west.

Around the Vieux Port there are cafés and restaurants side by side with lovely views of the harbor. From the harbor you can also go on sailing trips to, among other places, Fort Boyard off La Rochelle. If you take a walk in the city, there are several other buildings worth seeing. These are, for example, the city gate Grosse Horloge, the fortress tower Tour de la Lanterne and the cathedral Cathédrale Saint-Louis.