Charente-Maritime: what to see and do

Aquarium de la Rochelle

In the town centre, facing the Old Port, discover one of the largest private aquariums in Europe.

La Rochelle

Prefecture of Charente-Maritime and a great historic Atlantic port, famous for its medieval towers guarding the entrance to the Old Port.

Château d'Usson

The Château d'Usson is original in its history and architecture. It stands today at Les Égreteaux, but only since the end of the nineteenth century!

Dunes de l'Ile d'Oléron

The Île d'Oléron is the largest of the French islands after Corsica. It is separated from the coast by the Pertuis d'Antioche and the Pertuis de Maumusson.

Dunes de l'Ile de Ré

The Île de Ré stretches for nearly 30 km. It is formed of a series of islets, now joined, the three main ones being Ré, Loix and Ars.

Grottes du Régulus

Troglodyte dwellings among the most original in France, since they are dug into living cliffs.

Ars-en-Ré

In the western part of the Île de Ré, just after the narrow isthmus sometimes submerged by the great equinox tides, Ars-en-Ré lies near the salt marshes of the Fier d'Ars.

Brouage

Brouage was founded in 1555 by Jacques de Pons, for the salt trade, and quickly became one of the very great ports of the Atlantic coast.

Château d'Authon

Château de Beaufief

Château de Beaulon

Château de Buzay

Château de Crazannes

Château de Dampierre-sur-Boutonne

Château de Jonzac

In 1073, the castle already existed; the first known lord is Guillaume de la Rochandry at the beginning of the twelfth century.

Château de La Gataudière

Château de Matha

Château de Meux

Château de Montendre

Château de Montguyon

Château de Neuvicq-le-Château

Château de Nieul-lès-Saintes

Château de Panloy

Built on the banks of the Charente under Louis XV, this château has kept all its period furniture and many objects bearing witness to the lifestyle of old.

Château de Plassac

Château de Saint-Jean-d'Angle

Château de Taillebourg

The site of the battle of Taillebourg in 1242 (Saint Louis and Henry III of England). The last fortress of the late fifteenth century destroyed by the wars of religion and during the Fronde (only a medieval tower remains).

Château de Villeneuve-la-Comtesse

Château de la Roche-Courbon

Set on the banks of a watercourse, the Bruant, this site, wedged between two cliffs, was at all times chosen by man.

Château du Douhet

Corderie Royale - Centre International de la mer

Donjon de Fouras

Donjon de Pons

Foret de la Coubre

The Coubre forest extends over about thirty kilometres, from Saint-Palais-sur-Mer to Ronce-les-Bains, along the ocean.

Fort Boyard

Halfway between the islands of Aix and Oléron, Fort Boyard was designed above all to protect the Île d'Aix roadstead and the royal arsenal of Rochefort.

Ileo - Dolus d'Oléron

La Flotte

A fishing community since Antiquity, the village developed in the eleventh century around the castle of the Mauléon family.

Le Bunker de La Rochelle

An incredible 300 m² blockhouse in the middle of the town centre to discover the history of La Rochelle from 1939 to 8 May 1945, the date of its liberation!

Mornac-sur-Seudre

The Seudre is a small coastal river of 70 km whose estuary is part of the Marennes oyster basin.

Musée des Commerces d'autrefois

Musée maritime de La Rochelle

Paleosite

Phare de Chassiron

More than 150 years old, the Chassiron lighthouse is meant to assist sailors navigating the Pertuis d'Antioche, one of the most dangerous places in the Charente-Maritime.

Phare des Baleines

The Baleines lighthouse is at the western tip of the Île de Ré (Charente-Maritime), in the commune of Saint-Clément-des-Baleines.

Plage de la Conche des Baleines

A large wild beach at the western tip of the Île de Ré, at the foot of the Baleines lighthouse.

Planet Exotica

Saint-Martin-de-Ré

The fortified port of the Île de Ré, with its citadel and Vauban ramparts inscribed by UNESCO.

Talmont-sur-Gironde

Built on a small rocky promontory jutting out over the north bank of the Gironde, the tiny village of Talmont gives off a refreshing impression of serenity with its narrow lanes flowered with hollyhocks and lined with pretty little white houses enhanced by shutters in pastel tints.

Tour de Broue