Fasthotel La Rochelle, La Rochelle

Advantages: Plenty to do
Disadvantages: Expensive shopping

...La Rochelle is a town on the West Coast of France. It is a large harbour town, and at one point in its history it was the largest harbour in France. We visited La Rochelle twice during our stay in France, one day was spent in the Aquarium which I have reviewed separately, and one day was spent around the market and the harbour. Driving into the town is relatively simple, the car parks are well signposted, and we decided to park right on the harbour front. The charges for the car park were very reasonable, at least compared to car parks where I live; it was just a couple of Euros for a full day. From the harbour car park we walked approximately 10 minutes into the shopping precinct. There was a small outdoor market in the centre, mainly selling fruit and vegetables. There was also an indoor market which also has fruits... Read review

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Advantages: A wonderful experience and day out
Disadvantages: Expensive shop

...Aquarium La Rochelle, unsurprisingly is in La Rochelle on the West Coast of France. It's located in the centre of the town, a few minutes from the station, and within 5 minutes walk of the main shopping area. It boasts 12,000 marine animals, 20 species of shark, 70 aquariums and 3 million litres of water. Opening Times and Prices ********************* Adults are 13 Euro, children aged 3 to 17 years (and students with student card) are 10 Euro and children under 3 years are free If you want a narrated visit (with audio guide), you need to add 3,50Euro to the individual prices. We decided against the narrated visit and it didn't spoil the enjoyment at all, because all the notices and information about the different species is written in English as well as French. The aquarium is open every day of the year, from October to March it's open... Read review

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Advantages: Easy to get to, plenty to see, relatively unknown destination within France
Disadvantages: Gets very busy in summer

...For years, La Rochelle was a place only known to me from hours spent poring over the 'Tricolore' workbook in French class at school. For some reason, most of the people featured in that book were residents of this port on the Atlantic coast, and it has stuck in my mind ever since. However, La Rochelle was added to Ryanair's ever-growing list of French destinations a few years ago, which (coupled with the steady stream of British tourists and emigrants to the central regions of Poitou-Charentes and Charente-Maritime) has seen a rise in tourism to this underrated destination. The construction of a high-speed TGV link direct from Paris in 1993 also now means that it is possible to reach the beach in three hours (and in comfort) from the capital city, and La Rochelle is also easily reached by car, with good road connections leading to the A... Read review

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