Getting back to La Rochelle is a nice sailing trip in light winds and the “Capitainerie” in the marina directs me to a perfect spot. This marina is the biggest I have ever seen – over 3000 berths and a forest of masts. A number of shops, restaurants and facilities nearby and a nice beach on the ocean side.

Time to dig a bit deeper into the city and buy some stuff that I need. I decide to take the recommended city walk where you get a map and you can follow a trail with descriptions of what you see.

As I like to climb towers – I get very pleased when you get a ticket where you can climb all three of the towers at the entrance of the old port. In all of the towers there are also exhibitions so this will take a while. The first tower is the chain tower where they used to pull chains between the towers to close the port. You get a good view of both the town, the port and the entrance.

Next tower is the Lantern Tower that looks like something picked from Disney. The view from the upper platform is great and I stay for a while.

After a lunch in the harbour, I climb the third and oldest Nicolas tower that have a great view over the town and the harbour. It also gives a nice view of the lively and good outdoor bar Belle du Gabut.

There are a lot of restaurants but I got a recommendation for the blue boat in the harbour that honestly looked like a fast food shack. Very basic in terms of tables and glasses but great seafood to a very decent price in an unparallelled setting in the old harbour.

I decide to get a beer in the nice outdoor graffiti bar Belle du Gabut with an alternative setting and good atmosphere. After enjoying the scene I take a walk on the streets of La Rochelle and enjoy the street life of this nice city.

I spend the last evening on a restaurant on the beach next to the marina. Having mussels overlooking the sun set over the ocean feels like a worthy last day of this nice visit to La Rochelle.