Last Updated on July 29, 2025 by Karis Tavernier-Nicholas

Set in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France, La Rochelle is a city steeped in architectural and maritime history. With just enough to see but not enough to overwhelm your itinerary, La Rochelle is perfect for a quick weekend trip away or a slow, gentle holiday. You can read more about our time in La Rochelle here. Here’s a photo diary of how we spent our short break in this coastal city.

All pictures in this article are by Vivian Ma unless marked with an asterisk *.

As soon as we landed… we were met with rain. Non-stop all day rain. So, after finding our footing, we dashed into one of the nearest cafés we stumbled upon in the city. But, however nice it looked, our meals (pictured above) weren’t greatly enjoyed.

Having managed to locate our hotel (a bit out of the centre of town, but mercifully within walking distance), we made our way back into the centre of La Rochelle in search of a supermarket and much needed coffee.

As we walked along, we stumbled upon an unassuming little café, Le Temps de Tartines. While small, the café had a friendly atmosphere; the owner, Remi, was welcoming and engaging, and we were in conversation with him throughout our visit. As well as the coffees being one of the best we’ve had, we also enjoyed one of the most delicious cheesecakes, which Remi had made that day. The cheesecakes were very light, refreshing and just yum. In addition to this, he also serves a delicious brunch. So if you’re ever in La Rochelle, be sure to visit this place!

La Rochelle is a town that closes down quite early, and so when you’re done lounging in a restaurant or bar, there’s little else to do. Which was just as well because we were all severely sleep deprived from our early morning flights and hardly any time to catch our breath, so we headed back to the hotel and tried to prepare ourselves for the next day.

As we end the day, so we begin the next – with coffee.

The Covered Food Market (La Pallice) in La Rochelle

The food market in La Rochelle was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the trip. There were too many things to choose from and too little time to try them all.

A Day Spent at La Rochelle’s Vieux Port

The official gateway to the city is via Grosse Horloge, separating the town from the port.

Midway through walking around the harbour, we stopped for a bite to eat at Le P’tit Bleu, a moored boat selling fresh seafood – definitely a place we’d recommend.

The Three Medieval Towers

The three towers are part of La Rochelle’s historic fortifications – Tour Saint-Nicolas, Tour de la Chaine and Tour de la Lanterne – structures built in the middle ages.

Ice Cream at Ernest Glacier

Another stop for food, this time at Ernest le Glacier. After hearing that this place was one of the best ice cream parlours in La Rochelle, we couldn’t pass it by. The weather was surprisingly warmer than expected (at times, a little too warm) and so we were grateful when we got our hands on a couple of spoonfuls. With such a wide selection of ice creams to try, it was difficult to choose just one!

A Visit to Saint-Sauveur Church

Saint-Sauveur Church was built in the 12th century in La Rochelle, originally built by monks from the island of Aix. As with much of the architecture found throughout the city, the church’s facade is gothic in style.

Day three of our trip was largely spent in Ile de Ré, which you can see here. You can also read a more detailed summary of our visit to the island here.

During our final day in La Rochelle, we managed to pack in quite a bit before our flight later that day.

First things first, we stopped for a final visit to the Covered Market (of course). The range of food on offer was wild; it was quite literally possible to buy your breakfast, lunch, dinner and pudding there.

That day being a Tuesday, we managed to catch the outdoor market too. Again, I had to remind myself that I couldn’t buy all these fresh fruits to try since my flight was only in a couple of hours.

Hotel de Ville

There was just enough time to finally visit this historic building in the city. Hotel de Ville had been more or less at the top of my list of things to see in La Rochelle, and so with the final few hours I had left in the city, I made sure we did. While we didn’t have enough time to step inside, fans of gothic architecture will no doubt enjoy a short wander around the courtyard.

A Revisit to an Old Haunt

We made sure there was enough time to visit this café again and enjoy one last cheesecake and a coffee. A brunch dish was also enjoyed and received rave reviews.

Cloister des Dames Blanches

Especially known for its tranquil courtyard, the Cloister des Dames Blanches was built in 1629 by Franciscan monks. Nestled not too far from Hotel de Ville, Cloister des Dames Blanches is now used as an exhibition space in the summer months but is a great place to enjoy your baguette without receiving disapproving looks by the locals for eating on the street (a big no-no in France) – just mind the nesting pigeons as you do.