Gabut district

The Gabut district, in La Rochelle

The Gabut district is one of the most surprising of La Rochelle, with its wooden houses with bright colours that evoke the Scandinavian countries, in the very heart of the town with white stones. The La Rochelle audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this former district of fishermen reinvented in the 1990s, become a lively hub of restaurants, shops and urban art.

The colourful houses in the heart of the white town

No, you are not dreaming, you are still in La Rochelle! Welcome to the Gabut district, so particular that you would almost wonder if you have not changed town, or even country. The Gabut, resolutely modern and colourful, contrasts strongly with the old white stones that compose the historic site of the town. Its wooden houses with bright colours, red, blue, green or ochre, recall those of the Scandinavian countries or the ports of the north of Europe, while we are in the very heart of La Rochelle, on the bank of the Vieux-Port, near the Gabut district. This former district of fishermen and fishing huts was reinvented in the 1990s, when it was chosen to build this small picturesque ensemble in homage to its maritime and popular past. Today, the district shelters housing, restaurants, offices and shops, and becomes very lively during the summer period, when inhabitants and visitors crowd there to enjoy its terraces and its singular atmosphere. It is also a place appreciated by the lovers of urban art, its walls regularly hosting frescoes and graffiti. With its unexpected character and its palette of colours, the Gabut offers a total change of scenery a stone's throw from the centre. A colourful district and a Nordic nod, the Gabut district is a fine stop of the discovery of La Rochelle.

What to see

Here you discover one of the most surprising districts of La Rochelle, with wooden houses with bright colours evoking the Scandinavian countries, in the very heart of the town with white stones; a former district of fishermen reinvented in the 1990s at the edge of the Vieux-Port, it shelters housing, restaurants, shops and urban art, very lively in summer. The Gabut district is a change of scenery in La Rochelle. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Gabut district lies at the edge of the Vieux-Port of La Rochelle, between the port and the town, reachable on foot. It is a freely accessible district, to be explored through its colourful houses, its restaurants and its terraces, particularly lively in summer. You discover it during a walk.

Why is the Gabut district of La Rochelle so colourful?

Because this former district of fishermen and fishing huts was reinvented in the 1990s with wooden houses with bright colours evoking the Scandinavian countries, in homage to its maritime past; contrasting with the white stones of the town, at the edge of the Vieux-Port, it shelters housing, restaurants, shops and urban art.

Where is the Gabut district in La Rochelle?

At the edge of the Vieux-Port of La Rochelle, between the port and the town, in France.