The Towers of La Rochelle: La Belle et la Rebelle

I’d been living in La Rochelle for about two months when I realized that I knew barely anything about this city-on-the-sea. So I spent one pleasant Sunday in February doing what I love most, visiting museums and learning about the vibrant history that characterizes Le Pays Rochelais. Lucky for me, on the first Sunday of the month, museums in France are free. First on the list? La Rochelle’s most iconic image, a series of towers that dot the coast and serve as a reminder of the town’s exciting navel history.  The Tour Saint-Nicolas, the Tour de la Chaine and the Lanterne Tower were built in the 14th century by King Charles V, the focal point of a major fortification program rewarding La Rochelle’s new French loyalties. The largest of the three, the Tour Saint-Nicolas became the symbol of the renewed French alliance.  La Rochelle, however, managed to keep its autonomy for a few more hundred years and served as a safe haven for Protestants in the 16th century. This invoked the wrath of the King causing the great siege of La Rochelle, led by the French historical superstar, Cardinal de Richelieu. All the original fortifications were destroyed except the towers. Today, they serve as not only a visual throwback to the past but also represent the catchphrase of a city caught in the middle of independence and national duty: La belle et la rebelle or the beautiful and the rebellious. Our little band of assistants, determined to take full advantage of this day of free culture, met at our first destination, the Lanterne Tower at 10 a.m. as it was opening (a side note: for this group of twenty-somethings, any organized activity before noon on Sunday morning means business). Built in the 15th century, the Lanterne Tower earns its reputation as the only surviving medieval lighthouse on the Atlantic coast. It wasn’t until the 17th century that it was converted into a prison, becoming home to a decorated history of maritime-troubles in the form of prisoner graffiti. In the Salle de la Pistole, English, Spanish and French prisoners carved images of boats and locomotives with colorful phrases detailing their troubles and time in the strongholds of La Rochelle.  Ascending to the highest point of the tower, the Signpost room, we came face-to-face with a piece of contemporary history. In 1985, artist Godfreid Honneggar installed a spear-shaped mobile that extends the length of the tower, suspending it over an “eternal” marble labyrinth on the floor.  Following the ancient fortified walls, we made our way to the Tour de la Chaine, a tower named for the large chain that would connect to the adjacent Tour Saint-Nicolas, closing the port to ships during the evening.  The smallest and most understated of the three, la Tour de la Chaine is currently home to the exhibit “La Rochelle-Quebec, the Voyage to New France.” Commemorating 400 years of French presence in North America, the exhibit documents the migration from France to North American, and the establishment of the new French colony in present day Quebec.  To complete the tour of les tours our final stop was the Tour Saint-Nicolas, by far the biggest and most impressive of the three. The icon of La Rochelle, Tour Saint-Nicholas is an impressive structure with a complex internal layout. Serving as a maritime residence, the tower boasts a variety of rooms, nooks and secret passages that alludes to the colorful history of this former royal port. It was as I descended the 80% grade staircase from the roof-top terrace to the ground level that I realized (with sweaty palms and beating heart) that living here was not for the faint of heart, and couldn’t help but be slightly in awe as I thought of all the characters that had passed through those corridors before me.  But before we tackled the stairwell of peril, guidebook in hand, we climbed to the top of the tower. To the west were the Atlantic Ocean and my native country. To the east was my new home, almost exactly as it was in the 19th century photographs sold as post-cards in the Tour de La Rochelle gift shop. I realized, looking at the red-roofed Rochelais homes, that looking at your home from a new vantage point can give you a new perspective and a renewed appreciation.  For those interested in discovering the Towers during a visit of La Rochelle, the Lanterne Tower, Tour Saint-Nicolas and the Tour de la Chaine are open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. from April 1st to September 30th, and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. from October 1st to March 30th. Adult admission to two of the three towers is 7.50 € and 4.80 € for students between the ages of 18 and 25. A joint ticket for all three towers is 10.50 € for adults and 7 € for students. Children under the age of 18 are free. And of course, on the first Sunday of the month, the Towers are free for all ages.