We will be staying in La Rochelle for a week at the end of April and would love recommendations for what to see & do in the town as well as the surrounding area.
We haven't decided if we should rent a car, so recommendations on that issue would also be great.
Thank you!
Ile de Re, I suppose, though I don't know what it's like in April. You'd certainly want to pick a (comparatively) nice day. In high season there's good bus service over the bridge; I don't know about April. Ile de Re is a pleasant place, but I found it less interesting than other islands I've visited that have more variation of terrain. (I'm not a beach-goer, but then no one without a wetsuit would go in the water there in April.)
I though the town of Saintes was a worthwhile side-trip (over an hour by train), but I like picking places with nice historic architecture and just wandering around.
Poitiers is farther, requiring over 90 minutes by train. It's an historic city with some very old churches and a very pretty, hilltop historic area. Nary a foreign tourist is sight during my late-June 2019 visit.
I think La Rochelle is primarily a beach resort. It has a nice feel to it; it seems to get overwhelmingly French visitors. I'm not sure it's long on traditional sightseeing, though I enjoyed quite a few hours just walking around.
Food:
As of 2019 La Rochelle had a chocolate-macaron shop (called, fittingly, Cacao et Macaron). I can't remember whether I ever got around to trying the macarons, but the artisan chocolates were good. Not cheap, but they didn't seem to be overpriced because of the location in a beach resort. Just normal $$$ pricing for artisan chocolates or a bit less.
I also enjoyed a meal at La Salle a Manger in La Rochelle. Limited menu, nice food, not overpriced. (I'm not an expert on food, but I like interesting flavors rather than eating the same thing all the time.) I tried to go back for a second meal, but it was the day they were closed. https://www.lasallamanger.fr/la-carte
Thank you so much for your detailed suggestions!
Darlene, in reviewing my earlier response, I see it had a typo that really changed the meaning of what I meant to say. I originally wrote that La Rochelle seemed to get "overwhelming French visitors"--which sounds as if I thought the tourist load was really unpleasant. What I meant to write was that La Rochelle's visitors seemed to be overwhelmingly French, as opposed to foreign--which to me is a point in its favor.
Edited to add the critical "ly", which was missing yet again. My keyboard isn't the best. If I don't pound on the keys, the letters don't show up!
Hi La Rochelle is not a beach resort but an historic town and a normal french town, with four harbours, (a fishing harbour, an important marina, a trade harbour,and, near the center, the old harbour). That said, there is a relatively good beach, the beach named "la plage des minimes", near the marina. To go to this beach, take the "bus de mer" (sea bus), a little boat near the tower, in the old harbour. If you have a car, visit Ré island, (hire a bike if the weather is good). The country side around la Rochelle is flat, marshy, and not very interesting. At an hour from la Rochelle, the quaint villages of La Tremblade and Mornac sur Seuldre may interest you. A little further, in the estuary of the Gironde, Meschers and Talmont sur Gironde worth the visit. If you want to eat in an other place than the old harbour, go where many Rochelais go, in "le port du Plomb", in l'houmeau, at 5 km north of la Rochelle, there are some sea food restaurants.
Darlene, How was your trip? I am planning a 5-day trip this July.
