The islands Île de Ré, Île d’Oléron and Île-d’Aix in the Atlantic

16 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

The island Île de Ré

Île de Ré - Saint-Martin de Ré © Brice Rothschild

Île de Ré – Saint-Martin de Ré © Brice Rothschild

Île de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d’Antioche strait. The island highest point has an elevation of 20 m ; the island is 30 km long and 5 km wide. A 2.9 km bridge, completed in 1988, connects it to La Rochelle on the mainland.   read more…

Cognac on the Charente

29 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Museum of the Arts © Mayhem2006

Museum of the Arts © Mayhem2006

Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France with 19,000 inhabitants. It is a sub-prefecture of the department, some 120 kilometres north of Bordeaux. The inhabitants of the town are known as Cognaçais.   read more…

Rochefort on the Atlantic coast

23 April 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

The L'Hermione © Dimimis/cc-by-sa-3.0

The L’Hermione © Dimimis/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.   read more…

The seaside resort Royan

29 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Royan Harbour © Cobber17/cc-by-sa-3.0

Royan Harbour © Cobber17/cc-by-sa-3.0

Royan is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, along the Atlantic Ocean, in southwestern France.   read more…

La Rochelle, the french Geneva

9 July 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

The Harbour at night © Eric Pouhier

The Harbour at night © Eric Pouhier

La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a 2.9 km (1.8 mi) bridge completed on 19 May 1988. Its harbour opens into a protected strait, the Pertuis d’Antioche. The city has beautifully maintained its past architecture, making it one of the most picturesque and historically rich cities on the Atlantic coast. This helped develop a strong tourism industry. La Rochelle possesses a commercial harbour in deep water, named La Pallice. The large submarine bunker built during World War II still stands there, although it is not being used. La Pallice is equipped with oil unloading equipment, and mainly handles tropical wood. It is also the location of the fishing fleet, which was moved from the old harbour at the center of the city during the 1980s. La Rochelle also maintains strong links with the sea by harbouring the largest marina for pleasure boats in Europe at Les Minimes, and a rather rich boat-building industry. La Rochelle has a very big aquarium, and a small botanical garden (the Jardin des plantes de La Rochelle).   read more…

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