Geography of La Rochelle

Geography

Localisation

With over 80,000 inhabitants, this port city on the Atlantic coast is situated halfway between Nantes and Bordeaux. The capital is only 2 hours 45 minutes away by daily TGV trains.

How to get to La Rochelle

By air: La Rochelle-Ile de Ré Airport
It serves a number of European destinations (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Munich, Madrid, Bologna, etc.). There are a dozen direct lines including Lyons, London, Birmingham, Southampton, Dublin and Edinburgh, used by over 200,000 passengers in 2007.

La Rochelle-Ile de Ré Airport, +33 (0)5 46 42 30 26, www.larochelle.aeroport.fr

By Train

- 6 TGV per day La Rochelle - Paris, in 2h50mn
- At least 1 train per day La Rochelle - Marseille,
- 12 trains per day La Rochelle - Paris,
- Over 100 trains leave La Rochelle station all through the year for destinations such as Fontenay-Le-Comte, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Nantes, Paris, Angoulême, Toulouse and Lourdes.

SNCF, 36 35, www.voyages-sncf.com

By Road, from:

Paris: 467 km
Lyons: 650 km
Toulouse: 400 km
Nantes: 146 km
Marseilles: 825 km
Strasbourg: 950 km

The climate

With its exceptional sunshine (2,400 hours per year, or as much as the French Riviera) and its proximity to the Islands of Ré, Oléron, Aix and Madame, La Rochelle is a special holiday resort.
La Rochelle enjoys an oceanic climate. With plenty of rain in autumn and in winter, the winters are mild, and it is the sunniest spot on the Atlantic littoral.
In summer, temperatures are tempered by the sea breeze. It is caused by the rise in the ground temperature during the day while the sea temperature remains constant, and can be felt as wind which sometimes blows fairly strongly from the sea inland in the afternoon. Ideal for sailing, the breeze also keeps maximum temperatures agreeable.