Niort

Niort

I left La Rochelle and took the N11 to Niort. It took about an hour and is 67 km away from La Rochelle. I left Rochelle kind of early so I got to Niort just in time for lunch. I stopped at cafe Le Ricardo and had lunch on the terrace while watching passerby's. 

Le Ricardo

I stopped by the tourist place to find some information about places I could visit in Niort.
After lunch, I decided to check into my hotel, Hotel Particulier. It's a historic townhouse in the center of Niort and close to the railway station as well as the Sèvres River. I really like this hotel because it's small: only has 14 rooms and 2 suites. 

Lobby of hotel

Outside common area

My Room

Niort lies party in the valley and also on hills. There is a castle that remains that was built by Henry II of England and Richard Coeur-de- Lion. It consists of two big square towers that now is the place of a museum of folk art and tradition. I got to visit and it was just so gorgeous! 

Other places I got to visit were the 15th-16th century Church of Notre Dame that was nearby the castle as well as the old Town Hall. Niort has lots of older buildings! The next day I got to visit the Musée du Pilori which is an archeological museum, the natural history museum, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts! I'm having a fantastic time here.

Other interesting facts about Niort is that they are a city of trades and art. They were a medieval port and were very famous for making leather!








Resources: 
http://www.cityvox.fr/bars-et-boites_niort/le-ricardo_60086/Profil-Lieu#lieu
http://bridge-maximumcard.blogspot.com/2008/09/france-old-niort-bridge.html
http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/particulier-la-chamoiserie.html?aid=312313&label=hotel-174034_images-1&utm_source=tripad&utm_medium=SPPC&utm_content=images&utm_term=hotel-174034&lang=en
http://www.france.othen.fusionticket.co.uk/page2/page2.html
http://www.citymaphq.com/france/france_general/niort.html
http://www.justtourfrance.com/Poitou-Charentes/town.asp?town=Niort&area=Deux-Sevres&county=Poitou-Charentes

La Rochelle

I took the D137 from Saintes to La Rochelle. La Rochelle is on the West Coast of France. I got here pretty late and decided to just relax in the hotel room. I decided to stay at the Best Western Masqhotel. It's a very modern and high rated hotel. 

Front of Masqhotel

My room in the Masqhotel

The first thing I did in the morning was go to Le café de la Paix de La Rochelle. This is a very popular cafe that was created in 1793 and originally named Cafe Military (now called Peace (Paix)). It's a historical monument that has beautiful decor inside.

Le Cafe de la Paix

Inside the cafe

My meal at Les Flots

After a nice cappuccino at the cafe. I went to France's National History Museum; a.k.a. Muséum d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle. It was really interesting to see and the grounds were very gorgeous! Afterwards I decided to go to Les Flots for dinner. It was a very nice restaurant with delicious food and tasteful white wine.

Cute sea animals & birds at the History Museum

Aquarium

The next day I went to Aquarium La Rochelle. There was so much to see it was so much fun. My favorite mammals to see were the sharks and the sea turtles. This was so cool, I recommend this place to everyone!

I went to Tour de la Lanterne. This place is really interesting because it is a lighthouse that was built in the 1400's and once used as a lighthouse. In the 19th century they used this place as a jail. Graffiti from all the prisoners decorate the walls.

Resources: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&biw=1273&bih=584&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Le+café+de+la+Paix+de+La+Rochelle&fb=1&gl=us&hq=Le+café+de+la+Paix+de+La+Rochelle&hnear=Le+café+de+la+Paix+de+La+Rochelle&cid=16221883927061386832