La Rochelle: the towers that chained the harbour

A chain stretched between two medieval towers once defended the entrance to La Rochelle's port, the Protestant stronghold besieged by Richelieu in the 17th century.

The centre and old port are easily explored on foot.

The Towers of Saint-Nicolas and the Chain, built in the fourteenth century, once supported a chain stretched between them to block harbor access in case of attack.

Just steps away, the Old Harbor, the city's beating heart, still hosts fishing boats and sailing vessels alongside fish restaurants overlooking the water.

Moving forward, one walks beneath the medieval arcades of the historic center, covering nearly three kilometers of commercial streets protected from Atlantic rain.

As evening falls, the Lantern Tower, a medieval lighthouse over seventy meters tall, closes the day with views of the ocean and offshore islands, illuminated by the sunset.

During the 1627–1628 siege ordered by Cardinal Richelieu against the Huguenot Protestants of the city, La Rochelle's population dwindled drastically from starvation before the final surrender.

The Tower of the Lantern also served as a prison in later centuries—some cells still preserve scratches left by prisoners, many of them sailors accused of piracy.