La Rochelle: France

La Rochelle Travel: France
La Rochelle is a city or commune of western France, and a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean (population 76,584 in 1999). It is the préfecture (capital) of the Charente-Maritime département(17). The city is connected to the Île de Ré (island) by a 2.9 km bridge, completed in 1988. Its harbour opens into a protected strait, the Pertuis d’Antioche. The city has beautifully maintained its past architecture, making it one of the most picturesque and historically rich cities on the Atlantic coast. This helped develop a strong tourism industry.
One of the biggest music festivals in France, “FrancoFolies,� takes place each summer in La Rochelle, where Francophone musicians come together for a week of concerts and celebration. 2004 marked the 20th anniversary of this event..
La Rochelle also maintains strong links with the sea by harbouring the largest marina for pleasure boats in Europe at Les Minimes, and a rather rich boat-building industry.
The Calypso, the ship used by Jacques-Yves Cousteau as a mobile laboratory for oceanography, and which was sunk after a collision in the port of Singapore (1996) is now displayed at the Maritime Museum of La Rochelle.
La Rochelle is the setting for the best-selling series of French language textbooks in the UK, titled Tricolore. The central character, Martine Domme, lives with her family at the fictional address of 12, Rue de la Republique