Must-see attractions in Charente-Maritime

  • Entrance of the Aquarium of La Rochelle, France in summer.

    Aquarium La Rochelle

    La Rochelle

    La 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…

  • Harbour and maritime museum in the Port of La Rochelle, France.

    Musée Maritime

    La Rochelle

    In 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,…

  • Phare des Baleines lighthouse.

    Phare des Baleines

    Île de Ré

    For 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…

  • Tour de la Lanterne

    La Rochelle

    Easily 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…

  • Réserve Naturelle Marais d'Yves

    La Rochelle

    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…

  • Tour St-Nicolas

    La Rochelle

    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…

  • Clocher Observatoire

    Île de Ré

    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…

  • Tour de la Chaîne

    La Rochelle

    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…

  • Musée des Automates et Modèles Réduits

    La Rochelle

    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…

  • Musée du Nouveau Monde

    La Rochelle

    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.

  • Musée des Beaux-Arts

    La Rochelle

    La Rochelle's Museum of Fine Arts, housed inside a stunning neoclassical building, hosts an impressive collection of 15th- to 20th-century art.

  • Musée Ernest Cognacq

    Île de Ré

    This small museum, opposite the tourist office at the entrance to St-Martin de Ré, explores island history through art, ceramics and maritime curiosities…

  • Tour de la Grosse Horloge

    La Rochelle

    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.

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