Best Car Rental La Rochelle

History of La Rochelle

L a Rochelle is the most famous city of France. It is a historical city and the importance of the city is because of its historical values. The city was founded in 10th century deep in marshes. It was known as fishermen?s village. In 12th century, the city became a very important port. Because of the services of Guillaume X, duke of Aquitaine, the city became a free port in 1137. After fifty years, Guillaume de Montmirail was elected in La Rochelle as the first mayor of France. Aldermen and Shipowners are the two mayors of next two century, which took a great advantage from the conflicts between France and England. They increased their forture and Privileges. During the thirteenth century, the city made a great progress in trade in salt and wine. La Rochelle was considered as the most important port on the Atlantic coast in fifteenth century. The city regained its prosperity because of maritime trade. La Rochelle made regular links with Canada and West Indies between 1630 and 1635. The intellectual and artistic influence gained strength in 1694. The trade with other countries also flourished in this period. During French Revolution and the Empire wars, the city lost its identity. Now La Rochelle is the most prominent city of France.

Weather

The warm season in La Rochelle is during the months of June of September, and temperature ranges between 24C ? 17C, and the cold season is during November to March, during this the temperature ranges from 3C - 9 C.

In summers the temperatures can spike up to 33C which may be hot, but it also makes the trip more enjoyable for outdoor trips. Consult the weather chart for more information.

Arrival to La Rochelle

La Rochelle is one of the beautiful destinations of France. The city offers more facilities to tourists as compared to the other cities of France that is why it has become the first choice to spend the vacations for visitors. There are three main mode of transportation to get in the city including train, car and plane. A large percentage of visitors come into the city through aeroplane. The La Rochelle airport serves for more than 15 cities in France. This airport is also used for Internationalflights. The telephone number of La Rochelle airport is 00 33 5 46 42 30 26. The flights from cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Southampton are landed on the La Rochelle airport. You can also get in the city via train. The French National railway (SNCF) is the best way of transportation, which serves La Rochelle from all major cities in France. The trains serves mostly serves for the cities like Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Marseille. Four trains for Nantes, 6 trains for Bordeaux, 4 trains for Toulouse and 4 trains for Marseille are travelled daily. Train services are more convenient and inexpensive. Some people want to use road to get in the city. However, only a small percentage of people use this mode transportation because this transportation is expensive as compared to other way of transportations.

City transport

If are going to spend your holidays in La Rochelle, then you must be thinking about the mode of transportation in the city. La Rochelle has a well-developed transportation system. The public transportation is easily available in the city and useful for getting around the city. Public transport in the city is inexpensive and easily affordable for any tourists. Metro is the fastest way to move around the city. Metro system includes a well-developed network of buses and trams. Buses stop on their specific Terminal s and have a strict schedule. You can get the tickets from any information office and bus stops. Electric trains also move to all the areas of the city. However, this mode of transportation is more expensive as compared to buses and trams. If you are planning to visit only through train then you can get train travel cards or passes, which allow you unlimited transport in a specific duration. Taxis and private cars are also available in the city. It is better for you to confirm about the routes of the taxis before hiring a taxi. If you can manage your Budget with high expenses and want a comfortable journey, then private cars and taxis are the best options for you. However, it is difficult to find private cars in the city. Therefore, you should go for a car hire La Rochelle to make you journey more comfortable and safe.

Attractions

La Rochelle is a sea-coast situated on the Bay of Biscay in the west of France, and has many attractions all around it, it also has good sea-food. Some great places to visit this city is Old Town & Old Harbour, which has beautiful streets built in the past centuries, here you will see medieval houses from the Renaissance era as well. Town Hall which is also called as the Hotel de Ville is also another building protected by the beautiful Goth facade which represents the city's history and architect; it is located on Place de l'Hotel de Ville, La Rochelle.

The three Towers of La Rochelle is also another sight-seeing place to visit, it is located on the Tour Saint-Nicolas, Vieux ports rue de l'Armide, La Rochelle. The Maritime Museum is also another museum worth watching; located on the Place B. Moitessier, La Rochelle.

Besides this Re Island is also another worth watching place, La Rochelle Aquarium, Fouras, Plage de Chatelaillon, Cathederal St-Louis and Le Bunker de La Rochelle.

Exploring

This city is also called as the rebel city sometimes, as it has gone through many changes throughout the years. When you visit La Rochelle you will find that this city has many intellectual and artistic capabilities, the places here brim with such signs. These capabilities are seen in their food, pubs' interior décor and anything that you can name of.

Besides the main attractions if you want to further explore the city there is a small island; Ile d’Aix and Oléron that you can reach by boat or the Re Island that you can reach by a bridge as well. This may make your visit to La Rochelle more enjoyable, you can also visit the world famous university for marine biology when you are in this city.

Eating

As La Rochelle is situated by the sea, therefore it makes it automatically a pioneer in the sea-food dishes. La Rochelle is not only famous for its sea food, but it is also famous for its other regional dishes which contains various fruits such as melons, their local liquor and goat cheese as well.

Andre is a restaurant which is located by the beach and they specialise in serving large fishes, with their special local wines, Andre is located on the 5 Rue, St-Jean du Perot, La Rochelle. Another place for diners is the Richard Coutanceau which serve sea-food and specialises in oysters and prawns and curried turbot, it is considered as one of the finest restaurants in La Rochelle,; they are located on the Plage de la Conurrence, La Rochelle.

Les Fiots is also another restaurant which the dining enthusiasts would love, they do not have any particular special type of cuisine, but they have a varied amount of menu which can serve a diner having any taste.

Other places to visit if you are looking forward to dine out are:

? La Marine? Les 4 Sergents? Le Thiers Temps? L'Appetit Paradis ? Le Cabanon des Pecheurs

Night-life

During the months of July and September the night-life in La Rochelle can be quite engaged as most of the events are taking place during these months. Many of the areas just become a zone where pedestrians are allowed and no cars are allowed to enter. No matter if you love casinos, or dancing, there is always something to do in La Rochelle.

Corrigans is an Irish pub with some great music that you can enjoy, it is located at 20 Rue, des Clouteirs, La Rochelle. The General Humbert's is another great place to enjoy your night-life as it has a relaxed atmosphere, and best of all it has the signature Guinness Beer to enjoy.

One of the most popular places among the youth is the Le Piano Pub, not only this, it also has a great interior to enhance your pub experience; it is located on the 12 Cour du Temple, La Rochelle. If you are a fan of the beach then you should visit the night-club Oxford, which has one of the unique interior to see and enjoy the events which they host on a regular basis.

Other places that you can visit while in La Rochelle are: Le Mayflower and Fitzpatrick's which are also considered a great place to hang out during the night.

Shopping

Shopping in La Rochelle is a very good experience as this gives you the opportunity to browse through boutiques, antique shops, jewellery shops, and designer shops, or whatever you can name of. There is famous place on the 17 Rue du Temple which is well-known for ladies coming there buying their hearts out. The place is called Acte II, where the boutique sells original design clothes in different types of material, mostly they are wool.

Besides clothes there are shops where you can buy books, and not only normal books, but mangas and other vintage cartoon books as well; this place is located on the Rue Saint Nicholas and is called Librairie Grefine.

Place du Marche houses many colourful indoor markets where you can find many edible items such as fish, sea-food, goat cheese, bread and many other things. There are some open markets as well such as Re Llsad.

Disabled Visitors

Disabled visitors may face some problems in this city when visiting to places for sight-seeing, but this is now radically changing as majority of the airports and trains systems now have special arrangements for people who have mobility problems. Not only on airports and planes, they also have reserved parking systems for the disabled, though some places where you need to walk might prove difficult for them, but you can hire a car, or call a taxi on some occasions. But at the end of the day you will not to worry as majority of the places in La Rochelle have arrangements for the physically impaired people. Major attractions here will surely have special access for the physically disabled people, and also for the people with visual or audio disability.

Accommodation in La Rochelle

There are many apartments, private hostels and hotels present in La Rochelle so, finding accommodation in the city is not a very overpowering task. Special facilities are provided in the accommodations therefore, thousands of visitors visit the city every year. Most of the tourists want to stay in hotels because hotels of La Rochelle provide maximum level of comfort to the tourists. The best-rated hotel of the city is Le Domaine Du Chateau Residence La Rochelle Lagord. It is a four star hotel and located in Lagord. The rate of this hotel is 150 Euro per day. Logis De France Le Yachtman is a three star hotel of La Rochelle. This hotel is very famous because of its facilities. This hotel provides you internet caf?, bars and swimming pools. Some main three star hotel of the city include Masqhotel and Appart'h?tel Archipel. The one interesting about these hotels is that pets are allowed in these hotels. They provide rooms for non-smokers and secure car parking. Another famous hotel of the city is Residence De France. Internet, fax, cable TV and exchange offices are available in his hotel. La Monnaie Hotel La Rochelle is considered as the best hotel for disabled visitors. You can easily find cheap or reasonable accommodation in the city because the cost of the accommodation in La Rochelle is not usually high.

The city of La Rochelle

La Rochelle is the city in south-western France. It is a seaport on the Bay of Biscay which is a part of Atlantic Ocean. La Rochelle is the capital of Charente- Maritime department. The city belongs to the region Poitou- Charentes. The coordinates of the city are 46 degrees, 3 minutes and 34 seconds towards north and 1 degree, 5 minutes and 5 seconds towards west. The elevation of the city ranges from 0 to 28 meters which is equal to 0 to 92 feet. The land area of the city is 28.43 kilometres square which is equivalent to 10.98 square miles. According to the population estimation of 2004, the population of La Rochelle is 78,000. The density of La Rochelle is 2,744 per kilometres square or 7,110 per square miles. La Rochelle is connected to IIe de Re by a bridge. It is the longest bridge in France and its measurement is 2.9 kilometres. Its harbour is considered as the most important and busiest harbour of France. The harbour opens into the Pertuis d?Antioche which is a protected strait. The postal codes of the city are 17300 and 17000. If you want to explore the beauty of the city you can use public transport. However, public transport can be hectic for you because it is usually crowded. So, to move around the city you should get a car hire La Rochelle.

Emergency Contact Numbers

L a Rochelle is a very peaceful city of France. The most appealing thing about La Rochelle is that the crime rate of the city is very less. You can spend your vacation in La Rochelle without any sort of tension. However, for the sake of satisfaction and convenience, you should note the emergency contact numbers of the city. These numbers can help you in any case of emergency. You can also visit to tourist?s information offices present in different areas of the city. These offices are especially built to help travellers. Some of the useful contact numbers are given below:

Emergency contact numbers:

Police station: 05 46 51 36 36

Hospital: 15

Fire emergency station: 18

In case of any emergency: 112

Medical emergencies

Health number: 05 56 96 40 80

Centre Hospitalier: 05 46 45 50 50

Health Urgency: 112

Emergency doctor: 05 49 38 50 50

Other important numbers:

Missing Child: 08 10 01 20 14

SOS Helpline: 01 46 21 46 46

Beach lifeguard station at Chef de Baie: 00 33 (0) 5 46 43 37 38

Beach lifeguard station at Les Minimes: 00 33 (0) 5 46 44 47 79

Beach lifeguard station at La Concurrence: 00 33 (0) 54 6 41 27 80