About
La Rochelle’s first station, built by the Paris–Orléans railway company, opened on 6 September 1857; it became a goods station in 1922 and was demolished in 1980. The present building, designed by Pierre Esquié, was begun around 1909; work stopped during the First World War, resumed in 1919, and the station was inaugurated on 19 November 1922.
Its 45 m campanile, taller than the towers of the port, echoes the Grosse-Horloge. The hall is decorated with large mosaics, the façade with carvings of marine fauna, and the platforms lie under a great glass roof rebuilt in 2008–2009. The tower, the façades and roofs and the mosaic hall have been listed as historic monuments since 1984; the lantern of the tower was taken down for restoration in June 2024.
Direct TGV INOUI trains — and one evening OUIGO — run to Paris-Montparnasse, 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. In 2023 nearly 2.9 million travellers used the station (SNCF estimate).
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Sources: Wikipedia (Gare de La Rochelle-Ville) · techno-science.net · monumentum.fr (historic monument) · SNCF Gares & Connexions. The fastest Paris time comes from a timetable aggregator. The former version of this site said the station opened in 1857 with 10 platforms: 1857 is the date of the first station, and the number of platforms could not be confirmed. Checked 14 October 2026.