Arsenal entrance – Rochefort Maritime Arsenal loop from Fraternité

Arsenal entrance – Rochefort Maritime Arsenal loop from Fraternité

Moderate

riders

Arsenal entrance – Rochefort Maritime Arsenal loop from Fraternité

01:07

22.8km

100m

Road cycling

Moderate road ride. Some segments of this route may be unpaved and difficult to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: November 7, 2026

Tips

Includes a movable bridge

Check opening times.

After 20.8 km for 46 m

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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3.39 km

View of the old suspension bridge over the Charente River

Highlight • Viewpoint

From here you can enjoy a superb view of the suspension bridge over the Charente, on the Quai Auriol Roy Bry.

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4.26 km

Tonnay-Charente Suspension Bridge

Highlight • Bridge

The 1st bridge dates back to the Middle Ages (1242) and has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.
Pierre Debans replaced the obligation to use the ferry to cross the Charente by building a bridge according to Louis Dor's plans between 1841 and 1842 against a concession of 77 years. Its length is 623 meters including 90 meters for the longest span with a central deck measuring 204 meters. 3 piers support the bridge, two of which are on the right bank, and one on the left bank. It is connected to a masonry abutment with a total length of 416 meters and the access viaduct is entirely built on the left bank. The viaduct is supported by 51 ogival style arches. Its height is 23 meters with an air draft of 22 m above the water allowing ships to pass by chocking their parrot if necessary
In 1883, signs of weakness in the bridge prompted testing of load control. The wooden apron collapsed during these. It was not until March 1884 that the bridge was consolidated by the installation of a metal frame intended to support the floor which, itself, remained in wood. Between 1934 and 1935, the deck was replaced and reinforced by the construction of pylons and metal cables. Despite this consolidation work, the Tonnay-Charente bridge has never succeeded in meeting the needs of modern road traffic. Car traffic was definitively banned after the construction of another bridge in the town of St Hippolyte in 1964. It was partially reopened to pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist traffic from 1975 to 2004, when all traffic was was again banned in order to allow the repair of the deck, cables and masonry. It was not until 2009 that pedestrian and cyclist traffic was able to resume on the central part of the apron. Unfortunately 2 years later, a new repair by replacing the chipboard with a planking in locust wood means that traffic has to stop again. These renovations, whose lifespan was estimated at around forty years, began to show their limits in 2015 (424 pieces were damaged according to the city's technical services). In 2021, the municipality is launching a new project aimed at taking over the deck, the metal parts and all of the masonry, for a budget estimated at the start of the project at 10 million euros.

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14.4 km

View of the Rochefort-Echillais Transporter Bridge

Highlight • Bridge

Enjoy a superb view of this building, inaugurated in 1900, linking Rochefort to Échillais. For the record, there are only 8 transporter bridges like this one left in the world today!

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14.4 km

Schwebefähre von Rochefort

Highlight • Other

The Rochefort transporter bridge (French: Pont transbordeur de Rochefort or Pont à transbordeur de Martrou) went into operation in 1900 and is the work of the French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin. Since 1976, the structure has been recognized as a monument historique[1].

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14.5 km

Martrou Bridge

Highlight • Bridge

Good view from the new bridge :) by the way with a very good bike path

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17.9 km

Statues of the Young Girls of Rochefort

Highlight • Structure

Les deux Demoiselles is a French film musical.

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18.2 km

Arsenal entrance

Highlight • Historical Site

A very beautiful archway!

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18.2 km

Rochefort Maritime Arsenal

Highlight • Historical Site

In the 17th century, Louis XIV dreamed of reigning supreme on land and sea. To do this, he needs a place to build and arm his warships. In 1666, the Rochefort arsenal was established in the middle of the marshes, on the winding and silted course of the Charente. The royal rope factory, erected for the needs of manufacturing ropes for warships, is among its most emblematic buildings. The Rochefort Maritime Arsenal, nicknamed the “Versailles of the Sea”, was for a long time a place of technical innovation in shipbuilding. Between its opening and its final closure in 1927, nearly 550 warships were built there.
By crossing the Porte du Soleil de l'Arsenal, near the National Maritime Museum, you will be able to see two forms of refit, that is to say basins which were formerly used to clean and repair ships: The basin was filled with water to bring the ship in and then it was emptied in order to carry out repairs. One of its forms houses the hook, an activity for children. The other has long housed the shipyard of the Hermione, a replica of the French warship of the same name, a three-masted square ship in service from 1779 to 1793. But this ship is no longer here; she is in dry dock in Anglet to undergo treatment against a fungus which is attacking her hull.

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