France Guide
Poitou-Charentes and the Atlantic coast
Newsstands selling Sud-Ouest remind you where you are: this is not the Mediterranean, certainly, but in summer the quality of the light, the warm air, the fields of sunflowers and the shuttered siesta-silence of the farmhouses give you the first exciting promises of the south. The coast, on the other hand, remains unmistakably Atlantic – dunes, pine forest, reclaimed marshland and misty mud flats. While it has great charm in places, it's a family, camper-caravanner seaside, lacking the glamour and excitement of the Côte d'Azur. The sandy beaches are beautiful everywhere, though can occasionally be disappointing, especially the northern stretches, where the water is murky and shallow for a long way out.
Inland, the valley of the slow and green River Charente epitomizes blue-overalled, Gauloise-smoking, peasant France. The towpath is accessible for long stretches, on foot or mountain bike, and there are boat trips.
But perhaps the most memorable aspect of the countryside – and indeed of towns – is the presence of exquisite Romanesque churches. This region formed a significant stretch of the medieval pilgrim routes across France and from Britain and northern Europe to the shrine of St Jacques (St James, or Santiago as the Spanish know him) at Compostela in northwest Spain, and was well endowed by its followers. The finest of the churches, among the best in all of France, are to be found in the countryside around Saintes and Poitiers: informal, highly individual and so integrated with their landscape they often seem as rooted as the trees.
Lastly, of course, remember that this is a region of seafood – fresh and cheap in every market for miles inland – and, around the modern, charismatic urban centre that is Bordeaux, some of the world's top vineyards.
Highlights
1 Romanesque churches The facade of Notre-Dame in Poitiers is one of the most absorbingly intricate, but other humbler churches throughout the region are just as beautiful.
2 Marais Poitevin The "green Venice", an intricate network of land and water that's perfect to explore by bike.
3 La Rochelle This charming and unspoilt port town is the jewel of the west coast, with a well-preserved historic centre and some exquisite seafood restaurants.
4 Île d'Oléron France's second biggest island is a centre for oysters, birds and hollyhocks and has some fantastic beaches.
5 Angoulême Wholly underrated, this enchanting old-school town hosts an animated nightlife and some fine restaurants, and is an essential pilgrimage for any fan of comics.
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