48 hours in La Rochelle

Around the Old Port, arcaded streets, half-timbered houses and private mansions - everything from the Rue de l'Escale to the Rue des Merciers and the Cloître des Dames Blanches bears witness to the town's longstanding prosperity. In addition to the legendary towers that formed the fortifications - de la Lanterne, de la Chaîne and Saint-Nicolas - the town hall (15th-16th and 18th centuries), the cathedral (18th century, classical style) and the Hôtel de la Bourse, now home to the Chamber of Commerce, are all worth a visit. Not to mention the many cultural and exhibition venues, including, of course, the Maritime Museum. But to feel the heartbeat of La Rochelle, you'll have to let yourself be carried along by the flow: to the Vieux-Port district, with its mythical rue transverse Saint-Nicolas, and along the quays to the Tour de la Chaîne, where thousands of tourists stroll every day. To widen the circle, at the end of the rue Saint-Jean du Pérot, aka the rue des restaurants, you'll find the famous Plage de la Concurrence - right in the center of town - and, overlooking it, Christopher Coutanceau's no less famous table (4T, 17/20). To the west, the Promenade du Mail, to the north, the Parc Charruyer and the animal park... Although La Rochelle has a long history (Protestantism, colonial trade and the slave trade), its image today is that of a lively city where life is good. It was also France's first bicycle-friendly city, under the impetus of then mayor Michel Crépeau. A forerunner in urban ecology, in 1976 he made these memorable yellow bicycles available to residents. It was the same Michel Crépeau who, a true visionary, brought in Jean-Louis Foulquier to launch the Francofolies festival in 1984. The four-day extravaganza, in the truest sense of the word, attracted the whole of France to its remarkable line-up, making it one of the major events in French song. A mecca for water sports, La Rochelle also knows how to be gourmet. Of course, you can't miss the old market, under the 19th-century halles, and its surroundings, where the best local craftsmen are concentrated. Depending on the time of day, the city offers all the advantages of a privileged tourist site. For brunch, we recommend the Palem Café, close to the Halles, and for an aperitif, the Prao, in the Saint-Nicolas district. And two addresses that are always very hot: Ze Bar, on rue de la Chaîne, specializing in natural wine and the small plates that go with it, and Chez Hortense, on rue des Carmes, in the same lively district, where you can enjoy life late into the night.