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Aquarium La RochelleLa Rochelle's state-of-the-art, family-friendly aquarium is home to 12,000 marine animals and 600 different species. Visits begin by descending in a…
Must see attractions in Charente-Maritime
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Tour de la LanterneEasily mistaken for an ornate church spire, the conical 15th-century Tour de la Lanterne is La Rochelle's beauty queen. It was so named because of its…
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Musée MaritimeIn a series of boldly coloured, red, blue and yellow canopied hangars at the Bassin à Flot, the Maritime Museum evokes the history of La Rochelle port,…
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Phare des BaleinesFor an overview of the island, follow the crowds to Phare des Baleines, the island's scarlet-tipped, 59m-tall lighthouse on its northwestern tip. Scale…
- CClocher Observatoire
A hike up the 117 steps inside the bell stone of fortified Église St-Martin rewards with a mighty fine panorama of St-Martin-de-Ré and the coast. The well…
- RRéserve Naturelle Marais d'Yves
An easy 15km drive south of La Rochelle, this nature reserve runs a free nature centre where you can peer through telescopes to watch some of the 192…
- TTour St-Nicolas
The only tower to be decked out like a house, this 37m-high pentagonal stone tower has leaned slightly to one side ever since building was complete in…
- TTour de la Chaîne
To protect the harbour at night in times of war, an enormous chain was raised between the two 14th-century stone towers at the harbour entrance to La…
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La Rochelle's role as a departure point for North America is interpreted at this museum, housed in an elegant courtyard-clad mansion built in 1750.
- MMusée des Automates et Modèles Réduits
This small museum displays 300 automated dolls from the last two centuries, including a near-life-size re-creation of bygone Montmartre in Paris, right…
- MMusée des Beaux-Arts
La Rochelle's Museum of Fine Arts, housed inside a stunning neoclassical building, hosts an impressive collection of 15th- to 20th-century art.
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This small museum, opposite the tourist office at the entrance to St-Martin de Ré, explores island history through art, ceramics and maritime curiosities…
- TTour de la Grosse Horloge
The gateway to the old city, Tour de la Grosse Horloge is a steadfast Gothic-style clock tower with a 12th-century base and 18th-century top.