Since the Middle Ages the harbour has opened onto a protected strait, the Pertuis d'Antioche and is regarded as a "Door océane" or gateway to the ocean because of the presence of its three ports (fishing, trade and yachting).

During the Plantagenet control of the city in 1185, Henry II had the Vauclair castle built, remains of which are still visible in the Place de Verdun.

The Knights Templar had a strong presence in La Rochelle since before the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who exempted them from duties and gave them mills in her 1139 Charter.

The naval battle of La Rochelle was one of the first cases of the use of handguns on warships, which were deployed by the French and Spanish against the English.

[14] Having recovered freedom, La Rochelle refused entry to Du Guesclin, until Charles V recognized the privileges of the city in November 1372.

In 1402, the French adventurer Jean de Béthencourt left La Rochelle and sailed along the coast of Morocco to conquer the Canary Islands.

[15] Until the 15th century, La Rochelle was to be the largest French harbour on the Atlantic coast, dealing mainly in wine, salt and cheese.

Calvinism started to be propagated in the region of La Rochelle, resulting in its suppression through the establishment of Cours présidiaux tribunals by Henry II.

[16] Conversions to Calvinism however continued, due to a change of religious beliefs, but also to a desire for political independence on the part of the local elite, and a popular opposition to royal expenses and requisitions in the building projects to fortify the coast against England.

After the short-lived attempt of France Antarctique, they failed to establish a colony in Brazil, and finally resolved to make a stand in La Rochelle itself.

[19] From 1568, La Rochelle became a centre for the Huguenots, and the city declared itself an independent Reformed Republic on the model of Geneva.

The city supported the Protestant movement of William of Orange in the Netherlands, and from La Rochelle the Dutch under Louis of Nassau and the Sea Beggars were able to raid Spanish shipping.

[22][23] In 1571 the city of La Rochelle suffered a naval blockade by the French Navy under the command of Filippo di Piero Strozzi and Antoine Escalin des Aimars, a former protagonist of the Franco-Ottoman alliance.

[26] Following these events, Louis XIII and his Chief Minister Cardinal Richelieu declared the suppression of the Huguenot revolt the first priority of the kingdom.

The English came to the support of La Rochelle, starting the Anglo-French War, by sending a major expedition under the Duke of Buckingham.

The remaining Protestants of La Rochelle suffered new persecutions, when 300 families were again expelled in November 1661, the year Louis XIV came to power.

La Rochelle, and the siege of 1627 form much of the backdrop to the later chapters of Alexandre Dumas, père's classic novel, The Three Musketeers.

[citation needed] La Rochelle was also the port city from which the Carignan-Salieres Regiment departed for Nouvelle France.

Additionally, it was from this port city that many of the estimated 768 women known as the Filles du Roi (Daughters of the King), set sail for Quebec during the period of 1663 to 1673.

During that period France lost many of the territorial possessions which it had had in the New World, and also saw a significant decrease in its sea power in the continuing conflicts with Britain, ultimately diminishing the role of such harbours as La Rochelle.

[citation needed] The Calypso, the ship used by Jacques-Yves Cousteau as a mobile laboratory for oceanography, and which was sunk after a collision in the port of Singapore (1996) is now on display (rotting) at the Maritime Museum of La Rochelle.

[citation needed] The French Socialist Party has held its annual summer convention (Université d'été) in La Rochelle since 1983.

[citation needed] La Rochelle's main feature is the "Vieux Port" ("Old Harbour"), which is at the heart of the city, picturesque and lined with seafood restaurants.

To the North is Venise Verte, a marshy area of country, crisscrossed with tiny canals and a resort for inland boating.

The train station Gare de La Rochelle offers connections to Bordeaux, Nantes, Poitiers, Paris and several regional destinations.

Located in La Rochelle is Les Minimes, a marina considered the city's new port for around 5,000 boat vessels.

Although at the same latitude as Montreal in Canada or the Kuril Islands in Russia, the area experiences mild weather throughout the year due to the influence of the Gulf Stream waters, the summers are relatively warm, and insolation is remarkably high—the highest in Western France, including sea resorts much further to the south such as Biarritz.

[50] The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of La Rochelle proper, in its geography at the given years.

[51] La Rochelle is the setting for the best-selling series of French language textbooks in the UK, titled Tricolore.

The central character, Martine Dhome,[57] lives with her family at the fictional address of 12, rue de la République.