Dreaming vineyards ripening in the sun, seas of sunflowers and waving corn - colours to delight the eye and lift the spirit. Scattered sleepy villages, winding lanes, horsedrawn carts and trundling tractors - take a little time to explore and step back in time to rural France. Don't miss a visit to one of the distilleries in Cognac and enjoy fine provincial shopping either there or in Angoulême. For a full day out plan a trip to Futuroscope near Poitiers - the region's futuristic theme park of the moving image - excellent for all ages. Your holiday in the Charente or the Vienne can be as busy or as laid back as you choose to make it.

The beautiful town of Cognac - home to the famous distilleries - has a welcoming atmosphere. Take a cruise on the river after having a 'tasting' in one of the noted cellars, or enjoy a lazy lunch or dinner in one of the many brasseries and cafés. Other river cruises can be found in ancient Saintes where you will also find several interesting museums. The Château de La Roche-Courbon, only 16km from Saintes, is well worth a visit with its beautiful gardens and classical interior. The beautiful town of Poitiers should also not be missed, with its numerous churches and Romanesque art. Even in the height of the holiday season this delightfully rural part of France feels quiet and uncrowded. Here you can relax and feel 'at home', take your time and recharge the batteries.

From being the tiniest stream The Charente meanders its way through picturesque villages until it becomes a wide and stately river flowing through Angoulême and Cognac. The Vienne gives its name to the wide, gently rolling countryside around Confolens and L'Isle Jourdain - areas rich in heritage and character with much to offer the visitor. Eating out is easy - lots of local delicacies, fine 'vins de Charente' and the famous 'Pineau des Charentes'.

This land of enchantment and adventure offers you an escape from our all too fast way of life - relax on a river cruise, cycle down quiet lanes, listen to the birds sing - or, for an exciting day, visit Futuroscope or enjoy the motor-racing at the Val de Vienne race track which has a full programme of events during the season.

Angoulême
Art under more than one influence
The Orient, Celtic and barbaric arts, the Old and the New Testament, Apocalypse, the Evangelists...
In Poitou-Charentes, Roman edifices bear witness to fervent architecture, molded by influences, fashioned by invention but also by a sense of measure and balance.
On the road to Saint Jacques of Compostella, hundreds of Roman churches are scattered across the Poitou and Saintonge cityscapes and countrysides, lands of passage propitious to the art of building. In the 11th and 12th century, construction sites thrived throughout the region.
For the greatest pleasure of the esthetically inclined who, in our time, discover with wonder the Cathedral Saint-Pierre of Angoulême, the church Notre-Dame of Poitiers and so many other sites, to boot...

La Rochelle
A fortified town, La Rochelle has built its splendor on and around the ocean.
The cultural and architectural heritage of this one-time fishing village sheds light on its maritime vocation: the towers on the lookout over the entrance to the ancient port, the large clock, the Renaissance abodes of the old-time shipowners, the arcaded shop-lined streets, the museums and even the giant aquarium...
A rebel in the depth of its time-chiseled stones, the capital of French Protestantism is suffused with its glorious past. It is when promenading along the port of the Minimes , a cable's length or two from the isle of Ré , that one is best impregnated with the maritime renaissance of La Rochelle.
Given over to yachts and schooners, the most venerable European port of the Atlantic seaboard attracts the comeliest sailboats in the world.

Riberac
Surrounded by an intimate, hilly countryside of woods and hay meadows and drowsy hilltop villages, RIBÉRAC, 30km downstream from Bourdeilles, is a pleasant if unremarkable town, whose greatest claim to fame is its major Friday market, bringing in producers and wholesalers from all around.

Royan
Capital of the Beauty Coast
Located where the estuary of the Gironde and the Atlantic Ocean are like the twain that meet, in the 19th century Royan launched the fashion of the sea bath.
Ever since that time, the renown of this venerable seaside resort could be taken as a given.
Hunkering down sheltered from the western winds, the five beaches are an eden for bathers and amateurs of castles in the sand. The most celebrated of them all, the "Grande Conche"(great shell) traces out a curve composed of over two kilometers of fine sand.
Blessed with a plethora of natural sites, the surroundings of Royan are equally worth the trip.
The bathing stations of Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, Meschers, Saint-Palais, Vaux-sur-Mer, La Palmyre and Ronce-les-Bains alternate with the cliffs and dunes shaded and shielded by pine forests.

Rochefort
A port of call for all seasons
The entire history of Rochefort is integrally linked with that of its arsenal, which was created by Colbert in the 17th century.
During the epoch, that was the departure point for major expeditions.
And it was likewise the place where hundreds of vessels of the royal marine came into being.
Once the arsenal was shut down in 1927, Rochefort reasserted its identity by rehabilitating its overall seaside patrimony.
The salvaging of the Corderie royale in the 1960s and the more recent and altogether faithful reconstruction of the frigate named Hermione marked the beginning of a fresh start for the town.
As of today, Pierre Loti's birthplace is an offically certified and highly reputed city of art and history ... and a prestigious thermal station.

St Emilion
This charming village in the middle of the prestigious red wine district to which it gives its name, dates back to an 8th-century hermiot, Émilion, who dug out a cave for himself in the rock. A monastery followed, and by the Middle Ages St-Émillion had become a small town. Today medieval houses still line the narrow streets, and parts of the 12th-century ramparts remain. Famous Château in the district include the elegant Figeac, Cheval Blanc and Ausone, all of them St-Émilion Premier Grands Crus Classés.

Food & Wine
Tastings and visits
For over four centuries, Cognac has constituted one of the "fleurons" of Poitou-Charentes.
So as to allow one to uncover all the secrets if this "liqueur of the gods", as Victor Hugo termed it, the large trade houses propose guided visits.
On the agenda: discovery of the distillation rooms, the wine stores, the domains ... and a tasting session.
In quite another field, the sectors of the art profession also promote discovery.
Just think of the workshops of the "Jours d'Angles". Really works of art, these threads drawn and labored on silk, flax and cotton are derived from tablecloths, scarfs, and the front sides of corsages.
They used to ornament the bottom drawers, the hope chests of royal families and decorate the tableware of the great ocean liners.

Gastronomy
The savors of Poitou-Charentes
Oysters of Marennes-Oléron, chabichou cheese, cognac, Pineau des Charentes, ACC butter, goat cheese, lamb, mojhettes, snails...
The list is far from being exhaustive and attests to the extraordinary gastronomic wealth of Poitou-Charentes, where nature is generous and abundantly provides the products necessary for a healthful and authentic cuisine.
Renowned for their savor, the gems of the land regale gourmets and occupy a place of choice in the best of restaurants.

Leisure parks
Find your fill of sensations!
From the dizziness-inducing images of the Futuroscope to the ancient salt marshes reconquered by the birds and with animal parks and the Aquarium of La Rochelle to be found on the way, Poitou-Charentes offers moments of unforgettable discoveries and sensations. For those who love the outdoor life, the region likewise proposes a natural patrimony of unsuspected wealth.
Welcome to a land of adventures.
For a trip in the middle of the year or to put the finishing touches on a vacation itinerary, the Poitou-Charentes region offers a wide variety of leisure parks.
Let's set out with the Futuroscope. The European Park of the Image spreads out over several dozen acres a score of attractions that are rife with sensations, emotions and discoveries. Dynamic cinemas, 360° films, giant screens, 3D, video games: all is meant to surprise and awe the young and the old alike.
In other areas, the "Antilles de Jonzac" and the fishing center known as "Pescalis de Moucontant" are well worth a side trip.

Wildlife parks
Noah's Ark in the 21st Century
Monkeys in Romagne, snakes in La Trimouille, eagles in Chauvigny, fish in La Rochelle, goats in Linazay, sheep in Vasles...
In Poitou-Charentes, the animal parks outdors each other in originality as they present the most diversified of species. And 10 km from Royan, the zoo of La Palmyre shelters animals from all over the world in its 14 hectares, while in the heart of the Chizé forest, 600 species from many European countries carry on in semi-liberty.
For lovers of nature, the region goes on to offer highly prestigious, multifarious sites: Marais poitevin (marshlands), Pinail, valleys of the Charente and Gartempe rivers...

Aquariums
The marine world at hand's length
Fantastic and mysterious, the sub-marine world is of endless fascination.
From the silurus to the medusa without forgetting the hammer shark, the aquariums of Poitou-Charentes invite you for a singular voyage towards the origins of life. The grand aquarium of La Rochelle is among the most beautiful in all of Europe. Having opened up in January 2001, this vessel of glass houses over 10,000 marine animals from the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the tropics distributed in some 65 basins.
And on the isle of Oléron, the Aquarium of Saint-Pierre likewise regales the visitor with an unforgettable dive towards the bottom of the oceans

Guided tours of towns and villages
Let Poitou-Charentes be recounted to you
Are you enamored of local history? An adept of culturally rich holidays? Guided tours are made for you!
n the major Cognac houses, before the frescos of the Abbey of Saint-Savin, which are ranked in the worldwide patrimony of UNESCO, or on the steps in front of Cathedral Saint-Pierre of Angoulême, a guide accompanies you in your journey of initiation.
Those in love with Roman art are confronted with an embarrassment of riches.
Since Poitou-Charentes is a land of traditions, its inhabitants harbor a thousand stories to share with you.

Museums
Living memories of the past
Comic books in Angoulême, auto and moto in Châtellerault, Marine in Rochefort, furniture and regional objects in Cognac, Beaux-Arts (fine arts) in Poitiers, peasant traditions in Ranton , silver mines in Melle...
In the four corners of the territory, Poitou-Charentes hosts an incalculable number of museums exhibiting and valorizing artwork collections and diversified objects of historic, esthetic or scientific interest.
Testimony of regional history, these places of study and conservation of our cultural wealth are to be sampled and savored without moderation, throughout the year.

Golf
Follow the yellow brick road...
The dry thud of the club, the white green-tinted ball that flies away, the horizon being torn apart...
No doubt about it, you are on one of the numerous greens of Poitou-Charentes. Royan, Angoulême, Niort, Poitiers...
Wherever they may be within the region, swing addicts may give themselves over to their favorite pastime within a few miles of their place of residence.
As for the beginners, they can get started in the Poitou-Charentes golf centers featuring nine and eighteen holes.

Marais poitevin
The green Venice
Crown jewel of the natural regional patrimony, "Green Venice" is a veritable treasure of beauty encased in greenery.
The Marais poitevin lives in accordance with its dozens of kilometers of canals used by the marshland dwellers on their "flats", the raft-like contraptions they easily steer with their "pigouilles" (oars). The realm of the "wet" swamps displays its finest features near Niort, whereas those deemed "dried" are visible near the Atlantic.
Two decors, two atmospheres.
While vegetation may be luxurious in Deux-Sèvres, the horizon seems far more bereft of greenery as it approaches the ocean.