Charruyer Park

The Parc Charruyer, in La Rochelle

The Parc Charruyer is a long green strip of about forty hectares in the heart of La Rochelle, laid out in the nineteenth century on former military grounds. The La Rochelle audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this wooded and flowered park, born from the bequest of Adèle Charruyer, that runs along the canals of the former fortifications to the ocean and shelters a small zoo.

The green strip born from a bequest

It is a little nature break that awaits you in the Parc Charruyer, through the winding paths that run along the canals. In the heart of this wooded and flowered park, it is difficult to believe that formerly there was here a military ground, situated at the foot of the fortifications of the town. The park owes its existence to the generosity of Adèle Charruyer, who bequeathed at her death the sum of one hundred thousand francs to the town, on condition that it lay out gardens to embellish the town; it is thus that the park was born from 1830, respecting the wish of this benefactress. Conceived in the taste of the landscaped gardens of the nineteenth century, it stretches in a long green strip of about two kilometres, that follows the route of the former ramparts and their moats, from the town to the ocean. You find there today about forty hectares of vegetation conducive to calm and relaxation: lawns, flowered beds, trees sometimes a hundred years old, canals where the water birds swim, bridges and shaded paths. The park also shelters a small zoo, that delights the children. A true green lung of La Rochelle, it offers a peaceful interlude a stone's throw from the centre and the seafront, where you like to walk, run or picnic. A landscaped park and a green strip, the Parc Charruyer is a fine stop of the discovery of La Rochelle.

What to see

Here you discover a long green strip of about two kilometres and forty hectares, laid out from 1830 on former military grounds at the foot of the ramparts, thanks to the bequest of Adèle Charruyer; a landscaped garden that follows the route of the former moats to the ocean, it offers lawns, flowered beds, hundred-year-old trees, canals and a small zoo. The Parc Charruyer is a green lung of La Rochelle. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Parc Charruyer stretches over about two kilometres in the heart of La Rochelle, from the town centre to the ocean, along the former fortifications, reachable on foot. It is a public park freely accessible, embellished with paths, canals and a small zoo. You discover it during a walk between the town and the sea.

What is the origin of the Parc Charruyer in La Rochelle?

It was born from 1830 thanks to the bequest of Adèle Charruyer, who left one hundred thousand francs to the town on condition that it lay out gardens to embellish it; laid out on former military grounds at the foot of the ramparts, this landscaped garden forms a green strip of about two kilometres and forty hectares, that follows the former moats to the ocean and shelters a small zoo.

Where is the Parc Charruyer in La Rochelle?

In the heart of La Rochelle, from the town centre to the ocean, along the former fortifications, in France.