Visiting La Rochelle. Saga - Spirit of Adventure

Описание: We’re off again with Saga on Spirit of Adventure to the historic French port of La Rochelle.

We took a shuttle bus from the cruise terminal on a 20 minute ride into the city.

The buses took us to the city’s transport hub and historic square - Place de Verdun - a focal point not only for visitors but also for residents.

The Cathedral of Saint Louis has charm and elegance and worth a visit just for the stained glass windows.

We wandered down Rue du Palais where there were some interesting and unusual shops.

The bronze statue is of the artist and writer Eugène Fromentin who was born in La Rochelle.

The big clock sits above a gate to the old fort of La Rochelle and was built in the twelfth century.

This statue is of Admiral Victor Guy Duperré

Guarding the entry to the port you can see the Saint Nicholas tower and the chain tower, so named because a chain was used to stop ships from entering.

We turned up this street which is Rue du Port

and we had a very nice lunch at Lo a la Bouche.

This is the twelfth century Gothic church of Saint Sauveur. The bell tower is classified as a historical monument.

Following the reformation, La Rochelle became a focal point for Protestant christians in France in the mid 16th century. Churches such as Saint Sauveur were used for both Catholic and Protestant services. When that stopped they met here when it was called St Michael’s Hall.

Inside we found a very interesting history of the Protestant church in La Rochelle.

The first poster I am going to show you is about the Augustinian Convent. These christians who followed the rule of St Augustine settled in La Rochelle at the beginning of the Fourteenth century. The lower part is about Théodore de Bèze who took over from Calvin as the leader of the company of pastors in Geneva.

This is about the two towers I showed you earlier - the Saint Nicholas tower and the chain tower, and about the siege of La Rochelle in 1627 when Cardinal Richelieu commanded the troops as they besieged the Hugenots.

Back on the bus we witnessed the professional and friendly way that Saga organises excursions.