Out and About

The Poitou-Charentes region sits below the Vendee in the South West of France and is made up of four departments; Charente-Maritime, Charente, Deux-Sevres and Vienne. The area as a whole offers a gentle pace of life set in vineyards and sunflower fields with many unspoilt beaches, plenty of restaurants, châteaux, rivers and historical sites.

Our gite is situated in the village of St Sulpice de Cognac in the Charente department which generally receives in the region of 2300 hours of sun a year making it the sunniest spot on the Atlantic coast and the second sunniest in all of France and is an ideal base to explore the area:

Cognac

Cognac is most well-known for its famous alcoholic tipple which you can sample at the numerous local distilleries which offer tours during the summer season. There is a cobbled pedestrian area with shops, cafés and restaurants and also a park with a large children's' playground.

Saintes
Steeped in history Saintes was originally a Roman settlement, the fantastic roman amphitheatre remains and there are often free shows or "spectacles" during the summer months. A number of boat trips operate from Saintes if you fancy a trip up the river or you could visit the popular market or the nearby roman thermal baths; Saintes website www.ville-saintes.fr

St. Jean D'Angely
St. Jean is a town on the banks of the River Boutonne. A medieval town with a good selection of supermarkets, bars & restaurants and a popular twice weekly market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. You could also visit the Royal Abbey, try out "Atlantys" the indoor swimming complex with its flumes & pools or visit the river where there is a small children's pool, boating, table tennis, a volleyball court and a children's playground; St Jean D'Angely website www.angely.net

Angouleme
A reputedly trendy ramparted town with a bit of a "café-culture", Angouleme also boasts plenty of bars and restaurants; this town is host to many popular festivals including comic-strips, gourmet food and vintage cars! You can also get to Paris from Angouleme in less than three hours on the TGV. Angouleme website www.marie-angouleme.fr

Royan
A Seaside port offering lovely sandy beaches,a great zoo and a wonderful Sunday market. Royan website (www.at-royan.fr)
La Palmyre is reputedly the best zoo in Europe and a great day out even if you have no children with you - the last time we went our party consisted of six adults and we had a fantastic time:
Ile D'Oleron has long sandy beaches, vineyards and oyster beds, you could take the tourist train which crosses the south of the island to visit the lighthouse or discover the island by bicycle:

La Rochelle

A wonderful cosmopolitan port with a lively marina, the harbour side of La Rochelle houses a great selection of restaurants - many of them offering locally caught seafood, there is a wide range of shopping in the cobbled arcades, boat trips are on offer round the harbour or to the local islands, and there is also a market & a flea market, a fantastic aquarium (always a popular choice); and of course the beach with its associated activities; La Rochelle website www.ville-larochelle.fr/english/index

Chataillon-Plage
Right next door to La Rochelle and reputedly the safest beach on the Atlantic coast is Chataillon-Plage. With its lovely promenade and wide avenues of beautiful Villas it is rumoured that the numerous tourists have made it a family beach "par excellence". The beach itself is about 3km of golden sand with no breakers and only small waves; and an added bonus is that there are generally life-guards in evidence along the whole of the beach to give that additional peace of mind;

Ile de Re
Ile de Re is joined to the mainland by an enormous 2 mile long bridge but once you get to the island the bicycle rules; use one to discover the salt-marshes and oyster beds or enjoy the 10km of beaches & dunes;

Other fun things for kids of all ages:

Donkey sanctuary at Dampierre sur Boutonne

Noah's Ark (L'Arche de Noe) on the Ile de Re is a combination of zoo, botanical
garden, oceanographic museum, shell museum, butterfly & insect farm & history of the prison!

Prospecting for gold at Confolens

Letuffe Chocolate factory at Angouleme

Comic Strip museum at Angouleme

Zoorama at Chize

Puppet museum at Melle

Visit Archachon (near Bordeaux couple of hours drive) to see the largest sand-dune in Europe - climb up it and then run or "surf" down.