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Poitou-Charentes, France
Departments:
Charente-Maritime, Charente, Vienne, Deux-Sevres.
Poitou-Charentes, France
Main Towns: Angouleme,
Aubeterre, Barbezieux, Bressuire, Chatellerault, Civray,
Cognac, Confolens, Jarnac, Jonzac, La Palmyre, La
Rochelle, La Roche Posay, La Tremblade, Loudun,
Lusignan, Lussac les Chateaux, Melle, Montlieu,
Montmorillon, Mortagne, Niort, Parthenay, Poitiers,
Rochefort, Royan, Ruffec, Saintes, St-Jean-d'Angely, St
Savin, St Maixent l'Ecole, Surgeres,
Thouars.
Located on the west coast, north of
Aquitaine and south of Pays de la Loire, it is an area
of tranquillity and beauty. It is an area of great
physical diversity, highly dependant on agriculture,
(compared to other departments it has the second highest
number of agricultural workers ). The vineyards of
Cognac, the chestnut and walnut groves, the seemingless
unbroken miles of sunflowers and sweetcorn, the forests
of Aulnay, and of course individual farmers growing
their Charentais melons, all contribute to the serenity.
The local drink Pineau de Charentes, is manufactured
from Cognac and grape juice.
La Rochelle has been
a thriving seaport for centuries, and the beautiful old
port area is now the main focus for tourists. A large
part of it is pedestrianised and can be very crowded
during the peak season. The old harbour is the largest
yachting centre on the local coast and is framed by the
two towers of La Chaîne and St-Nicholas.Behind the
waterfront, between the harbour and the Place de Verdun,
is the centre of the old town. The main street is the
Rue du Palais, full of arcades with shops and houses,
their slate roofs joining in a long tail of distinctive
interlocking semi-circular patterns, which resemble fish
scales. This distinctive street contains grand houses
with colonnaded fronts, turrets and galleries. A new
marina development, the Port des Minimes, two kilometres
outside the town centre, has several maritime museums
and a former weather ship. It is accessible by water
bus.
Ile de Re Bridge: The three kilometre toll
bridge from La Rochelle heads out to the Ile de Ré. The
island is a beautiful holiday destination. Only 28 km
long it barely reaches out of the sea with sandy beaches
on the south side, churches with painted spires and
tiny, low storey, white washed houses.
Royan has
several superb beaches protected from the wind and
backed by pine forests. It was rebuilt after WWII and
although fishing boats still cluster in the port, the
yachts in the marina easily outnumber them. Nearby
resorts include Meschers, St Georges-de-Didonne with a
two kilometre stretch of beach, and St Palais sur Mer.
For great views from the sea take the boat trip to the
Cordouan lighthouse. Rochefort was built in the 1660s as
a military base. Its 17th century royal ropeworks
(Corderie Royale) is now a museum. The ancient town of
Saintes with the remains of the Roman baths and the
amphitheatre, is still an important market centre with a
monthly fair. Medieval architecture is all around and
the local archaeology museum charts the town's history.
The Ile d'Oléron is France's oyster centre; the warm
water is ideal for the oyster beds. During the Christmas
and New Year festivities, huge quantities are
distributed across France.
The region is split
from top to bottom by the RN10, one of two major road
routes to Spain and Portigal. It is serviced by four
"international" airports, La Rochelle, Angouleme,
Limoges, and Poitiers. Paris by TGV from Poitiers is
only about an hour and a half. The channel ports of St
Malo and Caen are about a four hour drive mostly on dual
carriageway. Roscoff and Cherbourg are further afield at
about six and a half hours. There is also a Eurolines
express coach service from London Victoria.
There
are excellent medical and hospital facilities throughout
the major towns and
cities.
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