Facilities suitable for visitors with reduced mobility

PLEASE NOTE: 

The interior of the towers is not accessible to wheelchair users. 

The staircases are narrow and uneven, and the handrails do not comply with current standards.

In each tower, the reception desk is fitted with an induction loop.

For individual visitors or small groups (up to 8 people with disabilities, excluding carers).

Self-guided tour (45 mins to 3 hours)• Tour information leaflets in French or other languages. • Explanatory panels or labels in the rooms.• Audio guides are available for the Saint-Nicolas Tower tour only (supplement of €3 per device).

Guided tour of one tower (45 mins) – no extra charge

Available on request at the monument’s reception desk, at 10.30 am every day during the high season, in the Chaîne Tower and the Lanterne Tower. The tour is led by a member of the monument’s staff.

PLEASE NOTE: this tour is subject to staff availability.

Admission

Admission to the monument is free for all visitors with a disability and one accompanying person, upon presentation of a valid proof of eligibility (the ‘Invalidité’ Mobilité Inclusion card for French nationals, or an equivalent foreign document). For groups of five or more, booking is recommended.

For groups (of 9 or more people with disabilities, excluding carers).

Regardless of the tour chosen, booking is compulsory.

Self-guided tour (45 mins to 3 hours)

This option allows you to explore the monument at your own pace, according to your preferences and the time you have available. You will discover the monument guided by your group leader.

Price: €20

Accessible tour (1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes)

The adapted tour is led outdoors by a cultural guide who will take you from tower to tower. You’ll follow a fascinating itinerary to discover the history and architectural developments.

Price: €40

Remote guided tour (1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes)

Without having to leave your home, you can explore one or all three of La Rochelle’s towers. Accompanied by a cultural guide who provides live commentary on a 360° video, you’ll take a virtual stroll through the various rooms of this iconic monument in Charente-Maritime.

Price: €40

Booking for a group visit

Booking is compulsory, including for groups visiting the monument independently. 

All booking requests must be sent by email to educatif.tourslarochelle@monuments-nationaux.fr and must include the following details: 

· Desired date and time of visit.

· Name of the organisation organising the visit.

· The organisation’s registered address. 

· Surname, first name, telephone number and email address of the person responsible for the group.

· Number of people in the group.

· Number of accompanying adults.

· Type of visit requested.

Once we have received your enquiry, we will assess its feasibility before replying. We will then send you a booking confirmation, if applicable. On the day of your visit, please go to the ticket office with this document and a method of payment. 

Payment for the service

Payment is to be made on site in cash, by cheque made payable to the ‘régisseur de recettes des tours de La Rochelle’, by credit card or by administrative purchase order (if you are a public body).

For the remote guided tour, specific instructions will be sent to you once your booking has been confirmed.

• Benches are provided along the tour routes.
• The towers of La Rochelle do not have public toilets.
• Guide dogs and assistance dogs are permitted in the monument. However, their work is made particularly difficult in the upper part of the Lanterne Tower due to the narrow passageways and very steep staircases.
• The tour route for the Tour de la Chaîne involves climbing 54 steps, whilst that for the Tour de la Lanterne involves 162 steps.
• It is always cool inside the towers: you should bring warm clothing in winter and a jacket in summer.

Parking

Tour de la Chaîne and Tour de la Lanterne

• The Vieux Port Ouest (Saint Jean d’Acre) pay-and-display car park is situated at the foot of the towers. The entrance is next to the Lanterne Tower. This car park has 8 parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities. Two spaces are less than 70 metres from the entrance to the Lanterne Tower and at the far left of the car park; four spaces are less than 50 metres from the entrance to the Chaîne Tower; and two spaces are less than 150 metres away.
• The surface between the car park and the towers consists of domed paving stones or steps and is therefore unsuitable for wheelchair users. 

Access to the towers of La Rochelle

The reception areas and tour routes for the towers of La Rochelle are completely inaccessible to wheelchair users due to the large number of steps.

It is possible to walk around the Old Port on surfaces suitable for wheelchair users between the Saint-Nicolas Tower and the Lanterne Tower, passing close to the Chaîne Tower.

Please remember to check the public accessibility registers at the bottom of the page.

Tour de la Chaîne

Access to the site:

Access to the foot of the monument is via the public footpath, which has a surface of domed cobblestones.

You will need to climb a number of steps to reach the monument’s reception area (23 steps with one landing, followed by 6 and 5 steps).

Access to the visitor route:

• The visitor route includes staircases going up and down, both straight and spiral (108 steps for the full circuit).
• The staircases are narrow and have steep gradients; some are considered hazardous when descending. These staircases are used by visitors travelling in both directions.
• The steps on the final flight of stairs are very worn.
• Staircases with more than 3 steps are each fitted with a handrail that does not comply with the standard regarding the first and last steps. The handrail changes sides on one staircase.
• The floors in the rooms are even (stone or recently laid flooring).
• The last room is poorly lit.

Lantern Tower

Access to the site:

Access to the foot of the monument is via a public road with a surface of rounded cobblestones.

A slope with a gradient of over 10 per cent over a distance of 30 metres leads to a flight of steps taking you to the entrance to the monument (15 steps with 2 landings).

Access to the visitor route:

• The rooms on the upper floors of the visitor route are accessed via two successive spiral staircases with two-way circulation (162 steps).
• The first staircase leads up to the parapet walk. It is fairly wide, with evenly spaced steps, and has a small landing at each level. 
• The second staircase leads from the parapet walk up to the top level of the spire. It is very narrow with very shallow steps (approximately 15 cm at their deepest point).
• Please note that there are a few steps without handrails.
• A handrail runs along each of the staircases, though it does not extend beyond the first or last step.
• The stone floors in the small rooms are uneven; the old wooden floors have holes and obstacles in some rooms.
• The lighting in the rooms is fitted with motion sensors.