2 stops in walking order

Castle

Vauclair Castle, also Vauclerc Castle was a castle built in La Rochelle, on the Atlantic coast of France, by Henry II of England in the 12th century. The castle was located in the area defined by the current Place de Verdun (formally called Place du Château). It was incorporated in the fortifications of the city built by William X of Aquitaine, father of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, in 1130. The castle consisted of four large towers connected by high walls. It was demolished at the request of Charles V of France between 1372 and 1375, after the Siege of La Rochelle (1224), and its stones were used to build a new fortification wall at Le Gabut. The name Vauclair comes from the Latin valde clarum (greatly light, luminous or white), as it was built in the white calcerous sandstone of the region.

~20 min at this stop

City

La Rochelle is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With 78,535 inhabitants in 2021, La Rochelle is the most populated commune in the department and ranks fourth in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region after Bordeaux, the regional capital, Limoges and Poitiers. Situated on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, the city is connected to the Île de Ré by a 2.9-kilometre-long (1+3⁄4-mile) bridge completed on 19 May 1988. Since the Middle Ages the harbour has opened onto a protected strait, the Pertuis d'Antioche, and is regarded as a "porte océane" or gateway to the ocean because of the presence of its three ports (fishing, trade and yachting). The city has a strong commercial tradition, having an active port from very early on in its history. The city traces its origins to the Gallo-Roman period, attested by the remains of important salt marshes and villas. The Dukes of Aquitaine granted it a charter as a free port in 1130.

~20 min at this stop