Tell me about La Rochelle?

[soyouthinkyoucandance]

how to get there, where to stay, where to visit, where to eat, with a 5 yr old.

You have to go to the sealife centre, it's fantastic!

Don't know if I have seen this to late but...

How to get there:

Train -TGV into La Rochelle
Plane - Ryanair (eeek)fly to La Rochelle
Drive - We always drove from Calais.

Where to stay:

I've never stayed in La Rochelle we stay on I'le D'Oleron, 45 mins away. here

What to do:

Loads!
As mentioned the Aquarium is great, Marrennes is a local seaside town, home to a lot of oyster collecters.
Islands of I'le De Re and I'le D'Oleron.
Lovely beaches!

Hope that helps...

We did the train via Paris and it was much quicker than our friends who drove down. Ile de Re was lovely- beaches, cycling, eating.

I went to the Sunshine coast many years ago and the weather was absolutely amazing. I was further up the coast near Rochfort. I remember eating set meals which were amazing. France is wonderful but my mum went earlier in the year and said it was damned expensive - euro bits again.

We drove from St Malo I think, good smooth drive.

Hi - don't want to hi-jack your thread, but wondered if anyone knows how this area has fared following the dreadful storms earlier in the year? We are thinking of going to Ile de Re or Oleron in May, but wondered if things are back to normal yet. Claire - if you see this - can you recommend which parts of Ile d'Oleron have the best beaches? (Sand, surf and beachcombing would be ideal!)

Hi sorry only just seen this.. ok...

Storm wise, one year that we were there there was horrific stors in the February, killed three people. By June they had everything tidied and ready to go. Was pretty sad to see all the piles of pine trees that had been chopped.

Ok... Personally I would recommend Oleron over Re simply for the fact that Oleron is a fair bit cheaper and slightly quieter in high season.

Beaches - for calm, relaxation St Trojan Les Bains has a fab beach - the hotel we stay on is based here. The beach is long and protected as it faces the coast of mainland France. Surfiny - you want to be facing the Atlantic, beaches north and south of La Cotineire are very good and also at the north of the island.

If you could like to know anything else hotels/reataurants/things to do please do not hesitate to ask or feel free to email me at clairemichelle2301 at yahoo.fr

Hope that helps
Claire

You can fly to Bordeaux and then get the train to La Rochelle (about 1hr). It migt be cheaper than flying to Paris etc...

If you have a car, a day trip over to Ile de Rey is fantastic - walks on the beach, a lovely little play area on the promenade at La Flotte and a cute little village at the northern tip. It's a lovely, lovely little town and you'll have a great time.