The exceptional historic centre is contained within canals dotted by creaking waterwheels – the one by the tiny park at ave des Quatre Otages is particularly photogenic. The former Jewish quarter exists in name only: the ghetto's synagogue was destroyed in 1856. The ancient fishermen’s quarter , a tangle of narrow passageways, dead-ends in L’Isle's eastern corner and retains a town-within-a-town feeling.
A tourist-office brochure details the attractions, and there's a smartphone app.
