Local Attractions
The following is just a selection of some of the attractions and places to visit whilst on holiday in the Charente. We couldn’t possibly list everything, but you can find out more by looking at some of the links below.
Cognac houses
You can’t come to this region without visiting one of the Cognac Houses. Whether Cognac is your tipple or not, the tour explaining the process is interesting in itself and nearly always includes a sample tasting!
Courvoisier www.courvoisier.com
Otard www.otard.com
Martell www.martell.com
Hennessey www.hennessey-cognac.com
Camus www.camus.fr
Futuroscope
Futuroscope is a theme park which is very different from any other. It takes about 1 ½ hours to get there, but you can be rest assured that there is enough to keep you busy all day. Personally we would suggest that you planned to arrive around lunch time as you will want to stay to watch the light show. It doesn’t start until late as it needs to be dark to get the maximum effect. Steve’s girls gave this day out 10/10.
Valley des Singes
Whilst we haven’t yet visited Valley des Singes ourselves, we know friends who have and they highly recommended it. It’s a unique animal park in France and has 350 species of apes. We plan to take Steve’s girls there in 2009 and will be able to tell you first hand what we thought.
L Palmyre Zoo
The zoo is based at La Palymre just north of Royan. La Palymre has a lovely sandy beach so you can combine this and the zoo in one day. Although we’ve walked along the beachfront, we haven’t yet visited the zoo ourselves.
Rochefoucauld Chateau
This beautiful, fairy tale looking, chateau isn’t far from Angouleme. The stately castle has belonged to the same family, the La Rochefoucauld, for more than a thousand years. With the quality, elegance and the variety of its architecture, it is considered as one of the most beautiful chateau of France.
www.chateau-la-rochefoucauld.com
Jarnac
Jarnac is our closest town (3-5mins) as well as being home to Courvoisier, it was also the birthplace of Francois Mitterand. The Charente River runs through Jarnac, where you can hire canoes or take a leisurely walk along the river bank to Bourg Charente. Why not stop for a lunchtime pizza or visit one of the Patisseries for coffee and outstanding cake. If you enjoy a bit of a flutter, trotting also takes place on a number of Sundays in the summer at the Jarnac Hippodrome.
Cognac
Cognac is one of our favourite places to while away a few hours wandering the cobbled streets taking in the beautiful architecture, window shopping and enjoying the French cafe culture. In fact we can’t visit Cognac without enjoying a coffee (or perhaps a pichet of local wine) at one of the bars at The place François l. Whatever time of year, sitting outside at one of these bars, there is always a buzz and it’s great for people watching. Cognac also has a variety of festivals during the year, which are worth attending if they happen to be on whilst you’re here.
Angouleme
Angouleme is only 30 minutes from us and is a large fortress town and capital of the Charente. This ancient town, with wonderful ramparts overlooks the Charente valley below. Once again, another favourite of ours, and if you love beautiful architecture, stunning views and the laid back cafe culture you will enjoy a visit to Angouleme. It’s also great for shopping and has an abundance of restaurants to choose from. Chez Paul’s is somewhere we can recommend for a good set lunch and you can’t beat the alfresco dining available in Angouleme on a warm summers evening!
Saintes
40 minutes from us is the Roman Town of Saintes. Saintes has a rich heritage and is very different from the other towns mentioned above. If you like ancient monuments then Saintes is well worth a visit with it’s roman amphitheatre and thermes. It is also on the river Charente and here you can hire motorised boats or take one of the organised boat trips. Our favourite day to visit Sainte is a Saturday when the food market is on. The produce here looks and smells delicious and we always make sure we have a cool bag with us to take home any produce we buy. Our trip to Saintes wouldn’t be complete without lunch at one of our favourite restaurants in the area, Clos des Cours.
Bordeaux
If you love French wine then you’re only 1½ hours away from Bordeaux (and it’s wine festival). The journey there through the Grand Champagne area around Segonzac is beautiful and the arrival in Bordeaux is definitely worth the journey. The architecture is fantastic, the shopping is good and the café culture is in abundance. Bordeaux has been officially included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites and is the largest urban entity to be honoured.
La Rochelle
La Rochelle was one of the locations, which drew us to this region. Although it’s 1½ hours away, it’s still one of our favourites. If you like to wander the marina in awe of the array of boats or sit at one of the quayside café’s watching the world go by, then we’re sure you will enjoy a few hours in La Rochelle. There are so many bars, cafes and restaurants to choose from, not to mention the ice cream and patisseries. You can also pick up a boat ride here over to Isle de Aix or take a stroll up to the gardens, beach or visit the aquarium. It has a very cosmopolitan feel and if you can cope with the crowds, La Rochelle is the place to spend Bastille Day with its live music, craft stalls and relaxed atmosphere.
Talmont Sur Gironde
If you decide to visit Royan, we would highly recommend a visit here. It’s small, but very pretty (holyhocks everywhere July-Aug) and reminds us of a Cornish village. For a light lunch we recommend La Kaz restaurant and if you can get a table on the terrace ecven better.
Beaches
Saint-Yrieix Lake Angouleme
Whilst not a beach, Lake Yrieix has it’s own sandy beach area which is great for children. It’s also good for watersports and cycling.
Palmyre
A stunning and superb stretch of beach with miles of cycle paths along the tree lined promenade. Located 15km north of Royan, this is one of our favorite stretches of coastline and is located near the Palmyre zoo.
Royan
The beach at Royan is 2650 m long facing directly south, with a gentle climate. The town is unquestionably the most 1950′s town in France, with very different architecture. Here you can combine the beach and shopping as well as visting the Parc Jardins du Monde.
St Georges de Didonne
The ideal sandy beach for the children, wide, long and flat and it doesn’t get overcrowded even on the hottest of days. You can also combine the beach with a bit of high wire fun in the trees as the ariel parc is located right on the edge of the beach. The course gets increasing difficulty and you can move from tree to tree using a variety of rope bridges, taggle ropes and aerial runways. There’s good tuition and a smaller area for the little ones. Another 10/10 from Steve’s girls, although they never managed the whole circuit as the last section looked a bit high for them. At least it gives them something to work towards on their next visit!
Chatelaillon Plage
Nice sandy beach, with a promenade, which buzzes in the summer. You need to get there early otherwise finding a parking space can take a little time. We can recommend the ice cream parlours, where you can get shelter from the sweltering sun and enjoy some lovely homemade ice cream and waffles.