Getting to La Rochelle

By train

La Rochelle-Ville station, on Place Pierre Sémard, has direct TGV INOUI trains and one evening OUIGO to Paris-Montparnasse: around eight direct trains a day, the fastest in about 2 h 40; other journeys change at Poitiers. Intercités trains on the Nantes–Bordeaux line reach Nantes in about 1 h 44, and TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine trains serve Rochefort, Saintes, Niort and Poitiers.

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Station designed by Pierre Esquié, begun around 1909, finished after WWI and inaugurated on 19 November 1922; its tower, facades and mosaic hall are listed (1984). The first station opened in 1857.

The station, its tower and mosaic hall →

By plane

La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport (LRH) is on the northern edge of the city, on Rue du Jura. easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 operate its flights; most routes are seasonal (March–November).

• All year: Lyon, Marseille and Marrakech.
• In season: London-Gatwick, London-Stansted, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Dublin, Cork, Brussels-Charleroi, Geneva and Porto.

Regional airport (LRH/LFBH) authorised in 1938, with a 2,213 m runway, run since 2019 by a joint syndicate of local authorities; record 303,669 passengers in 2025.

Airport guide and destinations →   Flights to La Rochelle on Expedia →

By car

From Paris, take the A10 motorway to Niort, then the N11 to La Rochelle.

• From Paris and Niort: A10, then N11.
• South and east: the A837 to Saintes, the D137 expressway (formerly N137) to Rochefort and the N141 towards Angoulême.
• Île de Ré: a 2.9 km toll bridge, opened in 1988, links the city to the island.

In town, leave the car at a park-and-ride: these car parks connect with the buses and the free city-centre shuttle.

Car rental

Hertz has a car rental agency in La Rochelle:

Car rental in La Rochelle on Expedia →

Getting around: the Yélo network

Yélo, the transport network of the La Rochelle agglomeration, combines buses, self-service bikes and boats.

• Navette Cœur de Ville: free electric shuttle looping round the old town every 15 minutes (Tuesday–Saturday 9:00–19:30, daily in July and August).
• Buses: lines across the city and the agglomeration.
• Park-and-ride: car parks on the edge of town linked to the buses and the shuttle.

By boat

Yélo’s electric boats are a pleasant way to cross the harbour.

• Bus de Mer: Vieux-Port – Les Minimes in about 20 minutes (€3).
• Passeur: from the Vieux-Port to the Médiathèque quarter in 3 minutes (€1.50).
• Excursions: boats to Île d’Aix, Fort Boyard, Ré and Oléron leave from the Vieux-Port — see boat trips.

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By bike

La Rochelle launched one of the first public bicycle-sharing schemes as early as 1974.

• Yélo self-service bikes: 114 stations, 24/7; €1 for the first 30 minutes for occasional users.
• Long-term rental: e-bikes for residents.
• La Vélodyssée (EuroVelo 1): the Atlantic-coast cycle route passes through La Rochelle towards Rochefort.