Entirely rebuilt from the original stone after its destruction in World War II, the staggeringly long Corderie Royale was once the royal rope factory. Now a fascinating museum, it shows ropemaking techniques and equipment from the 18th century to today’s oil-run machines. The Corderie is also the headquarters of France’s bird protection society, the LPO (Ligue Protectrice des Oiseaux).

The royal rope factory, the Corderie Royale, as long as a piece of rope.

But, with thousands of workers and craftsmen arriving at the new shipyards, a shanty town soon sprang up in the malaria-rife marshland. Colbert’s cousin, the intendant (state administrator) Michel Bégon was sent to sort the city out. This forerunner of 18th-century enlightenment was determined to make it hygienic and efficient. He proudly stated later: “I found the town in wood. I left it in stone.” Rochefort was rebuilt in units, seven metres wide. All the boulevards, drawn up to a strictly orthogonal plan, were the same width, calculated to take carriages parked on either side with two central moving lanes. Today, the plan works perfectly for modern traffic. No boulevard or street could be closed at the end, so sea breezes could sweep away any fever or malaria germs: any blocked streets today are later additions. Some boulevards offer splendid vistas, worthy of a metropolis.

The houses all had a central door flanked by two windows, with three windows in the upper storey. No ornamentation was permitted on the beautiful stone except a little moulding to delineate each storey. Non-conformists to the rules were simply expelled and could never return. However, in the 19th century, wealthy cognac merchants knocked down multiples of 7m to accommodate the more grandiose façades of private hotels, administrative buildings and shops. A large scale model in the museum ‘Jardin des Retours’ shows the original city alongside model ships and accessories show how sailors lived in those days.
Bégon was a well-rounded 18th-century man, not only an administrator and town planner but also an amateur botanist, who introduced the first begonia (named after him) to the Old World, brought back from Saint Domingo (now Haiti)in the Caribbean. The Conservatoire du Bégonia, rue Charles-Plumier, counts over 1,300 species, the largest collection in France. Michel Bégon’s grandson inherited his passion for botany and Rochefort’s streets are lined with tulip trees and palms he imported from Quebec and the Caribbean.