Rochefort. A Day Out In Charente Maritime
About an hour and a half drive from our Ruffec office and the interesting town of Rochefort is there to be discovered. On the Charente estuary, this 17th century maritime arsenal and naval dockyards once offered a sheltered port from the Atlantic coastline when constructed in 1664 (no relevance to my favourite beer) under the reign of Louis XIV. The navy has long since departed, but its grand history remains.
I visited Rochefort with my family on a Saturday and was pleased to find a large market along one of the several wide boulevards. Plenty of local produce graced the stalls including dried ‘saucisson’, charentais melon and of course fresh seafood. Indeed the entire covered market was dedicated to the delicacies of the the Atlantic Ocean.
After strolling and sampling some of the market produce we had worked our appetite up and enjoyed lunch at ‘Le Galion’, a busy restaurant found at the foot of the famous ‘Arsenal’ arch by the Maritime Museum.
There is plenty to visit at Rochefort including the Musée National de la Marine, Ancienne Ecole de Médicine, Le Musée des Commerces d’Autrefois and the huge (373m long) Corderie Royale. After lunch we walked along the Charente pathway, for a few kilometres, down to the turn of the century ‘Pont Transbordeur’ (Transporter Bridge). Now days used solely for pedestrians, having originally been constructed in 1900 to carry vehicles across the Charente. My 10 and 12 year old girls particularly loved this crossing of the Charente on the historical bridge, one of its kind now in France. Our return up the river to the main town was on the Ferry Bus, passing under Le Pont Transbordeur.
Having lived here since 2002 I was kicking myself that I had not previously treated myself to this lovely town. Close by is Fouras set on a slender Atlantic peninsula known as La Pointe de la Fumée. Fouras has been a fortified stronghold for over 900 years and is now a busy fishing village and popular seaside resort. Offering sandy beaches, a casino and boat trips around Fort Boyard and Ile D’Aix, Fouras is worth a visit too. In fact my girls have already decided that we will be doing the boat trip very soon.
