Rochefort

Colbert founded Rochefort in 1666 as a naval arsenal safely up the Charente, and laid it out as a grid town to serve the yard. The Corderie Royale, built in 1669 to make rope for the fleet, is three hundred and seventy-four metres long because that was the length needed to lay a standard cable in one piece; it was the longest industrial building in Europe when built. In the same yard, a full-size sailing replica of the frigate Hermione, which carried Lafayette to America in 1780, was constructed over seventeen years and launched in 2014. Pierre Loti's elaborately decorated house is in the town.

History

In December 1665 Jean-Baptiste Colbert chose Rochefort as a place of "refuge, defence and supply" for the French Navy, and its arsenal served as a naval base and dockyard until it closed in 1926. Rochefort was a 17th-century new town, built by royal decree, partly because the crown could not rely on Protestant La Rochelle nearby, and in September 1757 it was the target of an ambitious British raid. From 1766 it had a bagne, a penal colony of forced labour, as other naval ports did, and it was off Rochefort, from the Île d'Aix, that Napoleon surrendered to HMS Bellerophon in July 1815; the town stayed mainly a garrison town well into the 20th century, and its spa tourism grew from the 1990s (Wikipedia, Rochefort, Charente-Maritime).

The main sights

• The Corderie Royale - a 374-metre rope factory built to cable length.
• The Hermione - a full-size replica frigate in the royal dockyard.
• The grid town - Colbert's planned naval settlement.
• The Loti house - the writer's theatrically decorated rooms.

When to go

April to October; the Hermione's availability varies as she sails and undergoes maintenance, so check before travelling. The Loti house has been under long restoration.

Things to know

The Hermione is sometimes away or in dry dock, and access varies. The Loti house has had extended closures. The town itself is plain outside the arsenal quarter.

Nearby

Brouage lies south; the Ile d'Aix is offshore.

Key facts