La Rochelle in summer is lovely and rammed. In winter, the Atlantic port city in Charente-Maritime shows a different side: quiet quays, sunny strolls and museums you can actually hear yourself think in.

Start at the Vieux Port, guarded by three stone towers that once held a defensive chain across the entrance — medieval travellers knew them well, and one, the lantern tower with its Gothic spire, doubled as the world's first rotating-beam lighthouse. For émigrés sailing to the New World, it was a last view of home; New Rochelle in New York was founded by Huguenots who fled through this port in the 17th century, a story told at the Museum of the New World. The Maritime Museum adds 1,000 years of seafaring history plus a moored fleet of historic ships, including the France 1 weather ship, which has its own bar.

Wander inland through the 12th-century Grosse Horloge gate — clock tower since the 15th century — into a warren of arcaded streets and white stone mansions. The indoor market, Les Halles, has run every morning since the 1800s, and the Aquarium, home to 12,000 marine creatures from jellyfish to sharks, takes about two hours and is gloriously heated on a cold day.

Food is the real draw. The port-side restaurants have the views, but locals point you to the St Nicolas quarter, the old fishing district, and rue St-Jean-du-Pérot — 'food street' — where spots like Bon Temps serve classic French cooking and the terraces fill up after dark.

Winter is also the season for day trips without the coach parties. The islands of Ré, Aix and Oléron are calm and great for cycling when the weather is mellow; the mainland adds Rochefort, Royan, Saintes, the oyster port of La Tremblade, and the impossibly pretty Talmont-sur-Gironde. Cognac, under 90 minutes away, opens its cellars for tastings all winter — Château Montifaud even runs cocktail-making classes — and British jeweller Jessica Hickman-Woolcott hosts half-day silversmithing workshops at the Château de Puyguiller, where you leave with a ring or bangle you soldered yourself.

If the Atlantic wind wins, decamp to La Grande Terrasse hotel and spa at Châtelaillon-Plage, a short hop from the city: heated pools, sea-view jacuzzis, seawater massages and restaurants with menus by Michelin-starred Pierre Gagnaire.

For travellers who like cities with history, good eating and space to breathe, La Rochelle in the off-season is an easy win — direct TGVs from Paris take around two and a half hours, and you get the port towers practically to yourself.