Oceania Marina - Europe Cruise Blog #5

The last two days have been a real taste of the French Atlantic with La Rochelle and Concarneau on the itinerary and these two little ports are rated among the most pretty and engaging in the region, and for good reason. La Rochelle is the main maritime harbour in the area and tourism is now a big factor in its survival as it was founded in the 10th century and much of its medieval architecture remains.

The main attraction here is the Vieux Port of Old Harbour and it's the type of place you can wander at leisure while doing cafe stops at regular intervals along the way. There's also lots of harbour cruises available but to be honest, it's best to be on foot to really experience a place like this.

Concarneau is a slight smaller, but no less pretty, town than La Rochelle and it has its own charm with the medieval Ville Close as the main attraction. It's connected to the town by a drawbridge and it's a walled town with shops and restaurants set up for tourists. It is a little twee, but is fun all the same. There's also a fishing museum for those who are interested in that sort of thing, reflecting Concarneau's maritime past.

A few of the other guests have a few complaints about our last couple of ports of call - well one complaint really…  not enough shopping! In this part of the world, local shops close down in the afternoon and only tourist shops and some cafes and restaurants stay open.

Off to St Malo next, and we're heading out to the town of Dinan as well .. have finally taken some photos of the Marina and will post them, when I get a chance.

Au revoir for now!