Discovering Charente: a practical guide
Charente is a gentle land, crossed by a peaceful river and covered with vines grown for cognac. The département brings together a capital of comics, many castles, Romanesque villages and natural curiosities such as the Touvre springs. A calm, gourmet trip.
This practical guide helps you choose your stops and organise your trip. Underlined site names link to their detailed pages.
Understanding Charente in a few minutes
Angoulême, the main town, overlooks a meander of the river from its rocky spur. To the west, Cognac and Jarnac are the heart of cognac country. To the north-east, the Charente Limousine is hillier and more wooded, around Confolens. To the south, the Montmorélien and southern Charente lead towards Aubeterre-sur-Dronne and the Dordogne.
The TGV puts Angoulême about two hours from Paris and thirty-five minutes from Bordeaux. For a trip of a few days, one base in Angoulême and another in Cognac let you see everything.
- Angoulême is best explored on foot, following its comic-strip murals.
- The Flow Vélo cycle route follows much of the Charente.
- Distances are short: an hour is enough to cross the département.
Angoulême
The main town of the Charente, built on a rocky spur overlooking a meander of the river, ringed by ramparts and now the capital of comics.
Cognac
Birthplace of François I on the banks of the Charente, world capital of the brandy that bears its name, between century-old cellars and great cognac houses.
Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
You discover an old village with its sloping lanes, paved with pebbles, dotted with flowered gardens.
Château de La Rochefoucauld
Historic home of the La Rochefoucauld family, still present after a thousand years. By the quality, diversity and elegance of its architecture, the Château de La Rochefoucauld deserves to be considered one of the most remarkable in France.
Culture, history and heritage
Angoulême is the capital of comics: the International Comics Centre presents a rich collection, and the international festival takes place every late January. The Musée d'Angoulême and the castle complete the visit. In Cognac, the Château de Cognac is the birthplace of François I.
The Château de La Rochefoucauld, owned by the same family for a thousand years, is one of the finest in Charente. Other castles are worth the detour: the Château de Verteuil, the Château de Rochebrune, the Château de Villebois-Lavalette, the Château de Bouteville and the Château de Balzac. The ancient baths of Cassinomagus, at Chassenon, are among the best preserved in Europe, and Aubeterre-sur-Dronne has a monolithic church carved into the rock. In Jarnac, the birthplace of François Mitterrand can be visited.
- The comics festival draws huge crowds: book early.
- In Aubeterre, the monolithic church is open in season.
- Several castles are private: check opening days.
Château de La Rochefoucauld
Historic home of the La Rochefoucauld family, still present after a thousand years. By the quality, diversity and elegance of its architecture, the Château de La Rochefoucauld deserves to be considered one of the most remarkable in France.
Centre National de la Bande dessiné
The imaginary museums of comics. Library: 35,000 albums and monographs, 2,300 periodical titles representing 100,000 issues. Bookshop, children's workshops, cinema. Temporary exhibitions.
Château de Cognac
Castle of the Valois where Francis I was born in 1494 (fine Renaissance rooms, Governor's lodging, helmet room). It has been the property of Otard cognacs since the late eighteenth century.
CASSINOMAGUS
The baths of Cassinomagus are among the best-preserved ancient monuments in Europe!
Food and local produce
Cognac is the département's great pride: the cognac houses of Cognac and Jarnac offer cellar tours and tastings. Pineau des Charentes, the local aperitif, and PDO Charentes-Poitou butter also make the region's reputation.
Charente cooking is generous: cagouilles (snails), Chabichou cheese, galette charentaise and grillons (pork rillettes). The markets of Angoulême and Cognac are gourmet meeting places.
- Book tours of the big cognac houses in summer.
- Try pineau well chilled as an aperitif.
- Nominate a driver for tastings.
Cognac
Birthplace of François I on the banks of the Charente, world capital of the brandy that bears its name, between century-old cellars and great cognac houses.
Château Chesnel
The Château Chesnel will surprise you with its original architecture, which makes it a unique monument in the region.
Logis du Maine-Giraud
Alfred de Vigny stayed at Le Maine-Giraud rather than living there. The "logis" belonged to his maternal grandfather, the Marquis de Baraudin.
Nature and wide open spaces
The Touvre springs, near Angoulême, form the second-largest resurgence in France. In the Braconne forest, the Fosse de l'Ermitage is a vast natural sinkhole, and the Quéroy caves can be visited. The Eaux-Claires valley, at Puymoyen, offers a fine walk between cliffs and river.
The Charente valley can be explored by canoe or by bike. The rail bikes of Confolens offer an unusual ride on old railway lines. With children, the Parc Animalier de la Colline Enchantée and the Cognac ostrich farm are popular outings.
- The Touvre springs are freely accessible.
- In the caves, bring something warm.
- Canoe hire is easy on the Charente in summer.
les Sources de la Touvre
The main spring of the Touvre, called locally the gouffre, shimmers at the bottom of a cirque whose limestone escarpments are covered with woods and criss-crossed by picturesque paths.
les grottes du Quéroy
About thirty chambers carved by underground water in the limestone plateau: a developed route of eight hundred metres of galleries lets you discover the limestone concretions, stalactites and stalagmites.
La vallée des Eaux-Claires
In the commune of Puymoyen, the Eaux-Claires valley is bordered by high cliffs suited to climbing.
Velo Rail
Today, between Roumazières and Confolens, the old railway lines are used for an original rail-bike ride.
When to go and how to plan
Spring and autumn are pleasant, with the grape harvest in October. Summer is hot and sunny, ideal for the river. In late January, the comics festival transforms Angoulême.
A four-day trip can combine a day in Angoulême, a day in Cognac and Jarnac, a day between La Rochefoucauld, the Braconne and the Touvre springs, and a day in southern Charente as far as Aubeterre.
- Book accommodation in Angoulême for the January festival.
- Cognac houses have reduced hours in winter.
- Check cave opening times out of season.
Château de Verteuil
Overlooking the Charente valley, the medieval château of Verteuil has belonged to the La Rochefoucauld family for more than a thousand years.
Château de Rochebrune
Dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a former medieval principality, the château is fully furnished and holds interesting mementoes from the Renaissance to the Empire.
Château de Villebois-Lavalette
Built on the site of the Gallo-Roman oppidum, the château of Villebois-Lavalette dates from the tenth century and was altered and fortified in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by the Lusignan family.
Going further
Explore the départements of this area: