The three 14th and 15th century towers that dominate the port area of La Rochelle. The oldest is la Tour de la Chaine, so called because a huge chain was slung from it across to Tour St-Nicolas on the other side when the entrance to the port was expanded in 1824. Just over 400 years ago the first settlers to Quebec left from La Rochelle and Tour de la Chaine now houses a permanent exhibition celebrating this. It’s open daily. Perhaps most interesting is Tour de la Lanterne that was originally built as a beacon for shops but subsequently became a prison for pirates, enemy seamen including the British, then Huguenots and finally clergy during the revolution. The only surviving medieval lighthouse on the Atlantic coast, you can still see graffiti inscribed on the walls by captured English seamen. The view from the top is worth the climb. Tour St-Nicolas, was once a formidable military building, symbolises the power and wealth of La Rochelle at the height of its powers. Forty-two metres high, the inside is a labyrinth of stairs and corridors.

Photo by Paul Arps / CC BY 2.0 image cropped