La Rochelle

[wolfpackmom]

Our ship (Celebrity Infinity) will be stopping here for two days in early October. I really do not want to take an organized tour and prefer to just get off the ship and explore the town.

 

I don't know there the town is in relationship to the port, and was wondering if anyone knew? Can I just walk into town, or do I need a taxi, or what?

 

Thank you for your help.

[Turtles06]

We are on the Infinity TA after your sailing, also calling at La Rochelle. I've never been there before, and had the same question you raised. From my research here on CC, what I've gleaned is that the ship docks at a commercial port a good way out of town. There may be a shuttle bus run by La Rochelle, and/or by Celebrity, no one seems to know exactly. Hopefully, there will at least be taxis.

 

La Rochelle does seem like a good DIY walking around port (once you can get into town!). Historic Old Port area (Vieux Port)...

 

If you haven't already found this site, the downloadable street maps are great:

 

http://www.holidays-la-rochelle.co.uk/city-maps

[Marie-Claude]

We are on the Infinity TA after your sailing, also calling at La Rochelle. I've never been there before, and had the same question you raised. From my research here on CC, what I've gleaned is that the ship docks at a commercial port a good way out of town. There may be a shuttle bus run by La Rochelle, and/or by Celebrity, no one seems to know exactly. Hopefully, there will at least be taxis.

 

Hi Judith,

I just emailed the Tourism Agency to find out what was the deal when a ship is in port... hopefully I'll get some answers that I can share with everyone! We know it's a great city... we just need to find out how to get there!!!:p

 

MC

[Hlitner]

Not sure we would want to spend 2 days walking around La Rochelle :). This is a great getaway port to explore the wine district of Bordeaux and perhaps visit the charming little town of St Emillion. For us, this port is where we want a rental car.

 

Hank

[TourDeCruise]

We will be on the Infinity September 6th cruise. We are planning to take the ship or La Rochelle shuttle to La Rochelle from the port on the first day. For the second day we are planning to go to Ile de Re and rent bikes to get around there. Does anyone know if the public buses run on Sunday from La Rochelle to Ile de Re? The last time I looked, the bus schedules for September were not available yet.

 

On a France land tour this past June, we spent two nights in Bordeaux city and toured Cognac, St. Emilion, and Bordeaux city and agree they are lovely.

 

Kathy

[soccerref]

Our ship (Celebrity Infinity) will be stopping here for two days in early October. I really do not want to take an organized tour and prefer to just get off the ship and explore the town.

 

I don't know there the town is in relationship to the port, and was wondering if anyone knew? Can I just walk into town, or do I need a taxi, or what?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

 

We were in La Rochelle in 2012 and this is what I wrote in my review which may be helpful to you.

We decided to do 1 ship’s tour and that was to Ile de Re just outside La Rochelle. We chose this one because a French friend holidays there regularly and we wanted to see the places he talked about. We also chose this one because it did not have ‘compulsory walking’ and I have some mobility problems.

La Rochelle

The dock is approximately 5 miles from the centre of La Rochelle and is a controlled area.

· There was a free shuttle bus to the dock gates but there is nothing to see there and it is a very long walk from there into the town.

· There is a small terminal building with a shop, toilets and tourist information desk.

· FO ran a shuttle bus into the centre of La Rochelle for £10pp with unlimited transfers. These run from the car park outside the terminal building

· The town is easily walkable with some pretty streets, an interesting small harbour area, outdoor cafes and many shops. Unfortunately, many things were closed or opened late as it was the end of the holiday season.

· The Ile de Re tour was quite interesting. We saw the best of what was on offer including the Monastery ruins and some pretty fishing villages - La Flotte, Sainte-Marie-de-Ré and Saint-Martin-de-Ré were the most notable. There was 45 minutes free time in Saint-Martin-de-Ré which was definitely not enough to explore the quaint streets and pretty harbour.

[TourDeCruise]

Thanks, soccerref, for your helpful information. What time of the year were you there? We will be there 10-11 September and the poster you quoted will be there in early October. Hoping that places are open for our business!

 

Kathy

[soccerref]

We were in La Rochelle at the end of October so everything should be open for you. Have a lovely time.