{"id":1929,"date":"2021-08-05T18:43:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T16:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T09:43:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T07:43:43","slug":"la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/","title":{"rendered":"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beautiful for its towers, its arcades and its old harbour; rebellious for its history as a besieged Protestant city: La Rochelle is best discovered on foot, between stone and ocean. This guided tour tells you the story of the city of shipowners, privateers and Huguenots, from the Tour de la Cha\u00eene to the arcaded streets of the old town.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-vieux-port-tours-visite-guidee.webp\" alt=\"The old harbour of La Rochelle and its towers at sunset\" title=\"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious \u2013 guided tour with GentleGuide\" class=\"wp-image-1617\" width=\"1600\" height=\"758\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-vieux-port-tours-visite-guidee.webp 1600w, https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-vieux-port-tours-visite-guidee-1280x606.webp 1280w, https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-vieux-port-tours-visite-guidee-980x464.webp 980w, https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-vieux-port-tours-visite-guidee-480x227.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1600px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The old harbour and its three towers<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Tour Saint-Nicolas, the Tour de la Cha\u00eene and the Tour de la Lanterne have guarded the harbour entrance since the Middle Ages. They bear witness to the power of a merchant city that traded with the New World as early as the 16th century and became one of the great ports for salt and wine.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The rebellious city: the siege of 1627-1628<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Protestant stronghold, La Rochelle held out for thirteen months against the armies of Louis XIII and Richelieu. The story of this siege, of the dyke built across the bay and of the surrender of a starving city still shapes the identity of La Rochelle, between independence and openness to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Arcaded streets, shipowners' mansions and the market<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the arcades of the Rue du Palais and the Grande-Rue-des-Merciers, the shipowners' private mansions and the half-timbered houses tell of the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. We end in the market district, the living heart of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Practical information<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Duration: about 2 hours. Tour for individuals, families, groups, agencies and tourist offices, in English, French or Spanish. <a href=\"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/contact-bruno-saint-clair-gentleguide\/\">Contact me<\/a> to organise your discovery of La Rochelle.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beautiful for its towers, its arcades and its old harbour; rebellious for its history as a besieged Protestant city: La Rochelle is best discovered on foot, between stone and ocean.\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_et_pb_page_layout":"et_no_sidebar","_et_pb_show_title":"on","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[46,38,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guided-tour","category-history","category-walks"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious \u2013 GentleGuide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Beautiful for its towers and old harbour, rebellious for its history as a besieged Protestant city: La Rochelle on foot, between stone and ocean \u2013 guided tour with GentleGuide.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious \u2013 GentleGuide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Beautiful for its towers and old harbour, rebellious for its history as a besieged Protestant city: La Rochelle on foot, between stone and ocean \u2013 guided tour with GentleGuide.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GentleGuide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-05T16:43:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-21T07:43:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"GentleGuide\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GentleGuide\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"GentleGuide\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4c03d9defe498b479be14cbf5952026c\"},\"headline\":\"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-05T16:43:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-21T07:43:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":263,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Guided tour\",\"History\",\"Walks\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/\",\"name\":\"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious \u2013 GentleGuide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-05T16:43:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-21T07:43:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4c03d9defe498b479be14cbf5952026c\"},\"description\":\"Beautiful for its towers and old harbour, rebellious for its history as a besieged Protestant city: La Rochelle on foot, between stone and ocean \u2013 guided tour with GentleGuide.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp\",\"width\":547,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"La Rochelle, belle et rebelle \u2013 visite guid\u00e9e avec Bruno Saint-Clair, GentleGuide\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/home\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"GentleGuide\",\"description\":\"Bruno Saint-Clair, guide conf\u00e9rencier en Nouvelle-Aquitaine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4c03d9defe498b479be14cbf5952026c\",\"name\":\"GentleGuide\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a45879d67b9201fed008d4aca9affad7084cb668bcd94c87935c2994155f24f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a45879d67b9201fed008d4aca9affad7084cb668bcd94c87935c2994155f24f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4a45879d67b9201fed008d4aca9affad7084cb668bcd94c87935c2994155f24f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GentleGuide\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentleguide.fr\\\/en\\\/author\\\/bruno-coiffard-gentleguide\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious \u2013 GentleGuide","description":"Beautiful for its towers and old harbour, rebellious for its history as a besieged Protestant city: La Rochelle on foot, between stone and ocean \u2013 guided tour with GentleGuide.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious \u2013 GentleGuide","og_description":"Beautiful for its towers and old harbour, rebellious for its history as a besieged Protestant city: La Rochelle on foot, between stone and ocean \u2013 guided tour with GentleGuide.","og_url":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/","og_site_name":"GentleGuide","article_published_time":"2021-08-05T16:43:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-21T07:43:43+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"GentleGuide","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GentleGuide","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/"},"author":{"name":"GentleGuide","@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/4c03d9defe498b479be14cbf5952026c"},"headline":"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious","datePublished":"2021-08-05T16:43:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-21T07:43:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/"},"wordCount":263,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp","articleSection":["Guided tour","History","Walks"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/","url":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/","name":"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious \u2013 GentleGuide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp","datePublished":"2021-08-05T16:43:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-21T07:43:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/4c03d9defe498b479be14cbf5952026c"},"description":"Beautiful for its towers and old harbour, rebellious for its history as a besieged Protestant city: La Rochelle on foot, between stone and ocean \u2013 guided tour with GentleGuide.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp","width":547,"height":800,"caption":"La Rochelle, belle et rebelle \u2013 visite guid\u00e9e avec Bruno Saint-Clair, GentleGuide"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/la-rochelle-beautiful-and-rebellious\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"La Rochelle, beautiful and rebellious"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/","name":"GentleGuide","description":"Bruno Saint-Clair, guide conf\u00e9rencier en Nouvelle-Aquitaine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/4c03d9defe498b479be14cbf5952026c","name":"GentleGuide","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a45879d67b9201fed008d4aca9affad7084cb668bcd94c87935c2994155f24f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a45879d67b9201fed008d4aca9affad7084cb668bcd94c87935c2994155f24f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a45879d67b9201fed008d4aca9affad7084cb668bcd94c87935c2994155f24f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GentleGuide"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/gentleguide.fr"],"url":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/author\/bruno-coiffard-gentleguide\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/la-rochelle-belle-et-rebelle-visite-guidee-gentleguide.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1930,"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions\/1930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentleguide.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}