THE HERMIONE

The city-arsenal of Rochefort, commissioned in the ^17th century by Louis XIV, still exudes the exoticism of the places where the great expeditions set sail. The "most beautiful arsenal of the Ponant", built in 1666 in a loop of the Charente. For three centuries, this open-air factory built 550 ships. A tradition that continues with L'Hermione, a replica of the Frégate de la Liberté (1779) used by the Marquis de La Fayette to support the American War of Independence... After other military campaigns, the Hermione was wrecked in 1793 off Le Croisic. As we enter the new century, Rochefort has spent almost 20 years rebuilding the famous frigate. This adventure began in 1997, at the initiative of the Hermione-Lafayette Association, which wanted to recover an important part of Rochefort's maritime heritage. In 2015, L'Hermione embarked on her maiden voyage to the United States in the footsteps of La Fayette. In 2016, the frigate sailed to Saint-Malo and Brest, then on to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Returning to the port where she was born in 2019, she is now open to visitors. Here, you can practice accro-mâts. A truly unusual activity! In this marine adventure park, you go from mast to mast, climb the ropes and dominate the Charente at a height of 30 m. Although the Hermione is not in Rochefort at the moment, due to repair work on her hull, the frigate could be back at sea in 2025.