France – Rochefort (En)
Rochefort has many vestiges of its glorious maritime past. It owes its fame to the military arsenal, where 550 ships were built over two and a half centuries. This is where the Hermione, the legendary frigate on which the Marquis de La Fayette travelled, was born. The replica was completed in 2015 after 18 years of work. You can also enjoy the built heritage (which has earned it the distinction of a Historic-Artistic City), the marina and its natural spaces, such as the “Jardin des Retours”, the banks of the Charente and the Bégonia Conservatory.
Where to stay
We stayed in a motorhome parking area (45.9468, -0.95998 lat, long) next to the port. The parking lot has no services and costs 6 euros, but it is next to the port and a 5-minute walk from the centre. I recommend it for a day and a night, as you sleep well without noise. We were two motorhomes staying there.
What to see
We first saw the harbour next to the car park. The harbour has pleasure yachts and is surrounded by summer apartments bars and restaurants.
Then we went to the city centre to the town hall square where they had set up an ice skating rink, lots of Christmas and winter decorations, a market, and bars around the square, which had a great atmosphere. You can also take a free little train that takes you all over the city, but it was full and there was a queue waiting.
From there, you go down a street and reach the “Jardin des Retours“, where the National Museum of the Navy is located in the Cheusses palace, one of the oldest buildings in the city. Here you can see a hundred models and collections on the history of the Arsenal. Next door is the Royal Cordage Factory, housed in a splendid 17th-century building 374 metres long, where the ropes for the Royal Navy were manufactured, and now houses the International Maritime Centre.
This is how our visit to France ended, as it was very cold and we decided to go to Spain the next day, where our first stop was Amposta, synonymous with culture and heritage in the province of Tarragona, next to the Ebro River. You can see it in the next blog!
