The
village of Villeneuve La Comtesse is just 2 miles
away, with amenities which include a bakery, butcher,
post office, hairdresser, mini market and bar-restaurant.
There is a large park with children’s activities.
There is a choice of quality
supermarkets, bars, restaurants, swimming pools
and banks in Surgeres (15 mins) or St Jean D'Angely
(15 mins).
We are 40 minutes from the
historic port of La Rochelle on the west coast
of France.
The beaches of Ile de re, Ile
d’Oleron La Rochelle, Chatelaillon &
Royan are nearby. Venise verte and Benon wood.
Cognac, Puy du Fou, Saintes, La Palmyre zoo, and
Futuroscope at Poitiers are all within easy reach.
There are numerous Chateaux
in the area open to visitors.
Local Towns (in order of size
largest first)
La Rochelle
A large cosmopolitan town
on the cost 40 minutes to the west of us.
Le Vieux Port. This is the
heart of eating and drinking to be found in La
Rochelle. It is what you see on many of the postcards
and is simply stunning. There are scores of restaurants
and bars to chose from either looking on to the
old port, or on the streets just running off it.
Local artists sell paintings, pottery, traders
sell African artefact & all forms of gifts
on stalls around the harbour
There is a small beach and
when the tide is right an opportunity to have
a cooling swim.
I like to park next to the
indoor swimming pool to the north east, where
you can walk through miles of park towards the
beach, via children’s play areas , a children’s
zoo & well manicured gardens.
At night La Rochelle comes
to life, street entertainers, music, night time
shopping, for the adventurous there is a casino.
The Market, "La Marche"
A true French market which is open every day apart
from Sunday. On Wednesday and Saturday, the “Grande
Marche” is held where the stalls spill out
from Les Halles and spread down the adjoining
streets. If you like fresh food, this is not to
be missed as the fish, seafood, meat, vegetables
and flowers are displayed to their best and the
atmosphere is incredible.
Shopping in La Rochelle is
a pleasure with a huge range of shops, including
many selling the finest products in jewellery,
fashion and food. The main shopping streets include
those with sheltered walkways, which protect the
shopper from rain in the winter and the heat of
the sun in the summer.
If the weather isn’t
good try the Aquarium, turtles to sharks, a glass
tunnel to walk through be surrounded by sea life.
The Aquarium is fantastic for
all ages. Not only that but also the restaurant
and bar offer good value and stunning views over
the town if you are able to get a seat on the
terraces.
Boat trips
Most boat trips leave from
the Vieux Port. There are trips to all the Islands
and Fort Boyard. They can be all day, half day
or a couple of hours depending on your tastes
and the destination you want. Choose from Fort
Boyard, Ile de Re, Ile d’Aix, Ile d’Oleron
and several others.
Horse Drawn tours
There are guided tours every
day in July and August except Sundays and bank
holidays. Meet at the tourist office for a trip
of 1 hour seeing the town by caleche, then half
an hour on foot. Tarifs: Adult: 8€ - Child
(4-12 years) and students:
6€. Circuit back to the tourist office.
Saintes
45 minutes away, an ancient
town which lies on the main pilgrimage route to
Spain. The river Charente runs through the town.
The capital of the ancient province of Saintonge,
its monuments and history make it worth a visit.
Cognac
Cognac with its rolling vineyards
is only 30 minutes away where you can tour the
many distilleries including the world famous Courvoisier
and Hennesy & Martell distilleries on its
banks of the river charante, your taken for a
tour around the barrel storage areas, shown how
barrels are made in the cooperage, you get to
see how the burnt wine (brandy) is turned into
cognac . Where you can sample the cognac and the
local aperitif Pineau. .
Boating on the Charente river
is a must in Cognac and nearby Jarnac
Rochefort
An old naval town with a ropeworks
and museum and a lovely town square.
St Jean D'Angely
An historical, vibrant town,
is 15 minutes away, built around three open squares,
where there is a twice weekly market, bars, restaurants
and many other visitor attractions .
During the summer there are
music festivals, live bands and a very large visiting
fairground.
Just out of town you can cross
the river Boutonne to a large park, with paddle
boats, outdoor table tennis, a children’s
park, an open air swimming pool open 3pm onwards
during the summer.
Just behind the park is a large
leisure centre & indoor pool, open all year
and heated, with a huge curly slide, diving boards,
Jacuzzis, shallow splash pools attractively laid
out for the kids, and for serious swimmers a further
lap pool.
Surgeres
Famous for its butter, has
links with the TGV, you can be in Paris in under
3 hours on the TGV, it has a large out door swimming
pool. A visit to the town's park reveals its chateau
and the Romanesque church of Our Lady (Notre Dame).
St Savinien
The town centre here is very
nice, its on the river Charente, cross the bridge
to the large park, here there are electric scale
model boats, for children of all ages, they can
steer around a lake, & through canals, scale
models include Mississippi steamers, Channel Ferries,
Tugs, the boats open every day in July & August
from 2pm, its 4 euros each.
Port d Envaux
Where you can swim in the Charente,
there are two diving boards , paddle boats or
canoes to hire, a children’s park.
Also local to the above is
Crazannes (which has a châteaux ) &
St Prochaire neither of which I have yet visited
but I’m told are worth visiting.
Taillebourg
Where the road turns right
to turn away from the river go straight on there
is a restaurant /bar at the end of the road, again
boats to hire water skiing , which I think needs
pre booking 06 76 13 95 88.
Taillebourg has a chateaux
at the top of the hill.
Venise verte
During the tourist peak season,
it is wise to make the boat trip in the morning
or to choose a jetty in a hamlet a little away
from the most frequented places.
For a traditional boat trip, you've a wide selection
of jetties in the various villages, which offer
varied formulae, adapted to your wishes of the
moment.
You can also rent boats and canoes without a guide-skipper.
For the first time, it's obviously better to take
a tour with a guide-skipper!
Dampierre sur Boutonne
Where there is a bar/restaurant
and a renaissance Chateau, which unfortunately
had a major fire two years ago, but you can still
tour the gardens and view the ongoing restoration
work.
Aulnay
With its colourful Sunday market
and pavement bars and restaurants
Loulay
A 5 minute drive will get you
to the popular village of Loulay with its large
outdoor swimming pool, pretty centre, if your
French is failing you try the Mutton Noir (Black
Sheep) pub & restaurant, say hello to the
English proprietors Alex & Carol.
Attractions
Futuroscope
The park of the moving image
at Poitiers is approximately 1 hour drive and
makes a great day out for all the family.
Zoodysee
A zoo of European Fauna set
in the heart of the Chize forest, is well worth
a visit.
La Palmyre Zoo
at Royan has a lot to offer all the family.
Luna Park,
which is behind La Palmyre Zoo opens during the
summer evenings, there are lots of fairground
type rides,
Euro Disney
You could visit Euro Disney
on your route to or from our location, stopping
for a night or two in a Paris Hotel. Mickey Mouse
for the kids, and scenic Paris for the grownups!
Or you can set of at 6am from
Surges, and be in Paris for 9am on the commuter
train.
Les Plages (The Beaches)
The Atlantic beaches in this
part of France are generally shallow and sandy,
and often have a good surf for body boarding.
Châtelaillon-Plage
with its 3 km of uninterrupted white sands where
the locals enjoy windsurfing and parasailing.
This is the nearest beach,
just south of La Rochelle, a very long promenade,
a small shopping area, lots of bars overlooking
the beach.
Offers a magnificent view of
the coast and the islands. it the ideal place
for a day out. Summer markets on Tuesday and Friday
mornings are well worth a visit.
Royan
(40 mins) has vast sandy beaches,
many fish restaurants and shops, and an excellent
nightlife. A typical seaside town in the middle
of oyster country.
Fouras
Offers a variety of beaches
facing all the different horizons, the Plage Nord
to the North, the Grande Plage to the West, the
Plage Sud to the South. The Plage Nord is lined
with beautiful villas built during the first part
of the 20th Century. The Grande Plage is very
pleasant and the woods of holm oaks around the
Casino are particularly restful. Finally, take
time to visit Fort Vauban.
Les Iles
The Ile d'Oléron
and the Ile de Ré are connected to the
mainland by bridges and the Ile Madame is accessible
by car at low tide. Take the ferry, which crosses
from Fouras to the Ile d' Aix.
Ile de Ré,
this stretches out over 30 km, from Sablanceaux
to the lighthouse, Phare des Baleines and offers
many beautiful beaches. There are 100 km of bicycle
paths fitted out for all categories of cyclists.
If you have no bikes, they can be rented most
places on the island. Ideal for the whole days
outing take a picnic or sample one of the many
good restaurants.
Il d'Oleron
- 1 hour. Il d'Oleron is an island accessed by
a long, toll-free bridge. The island has miles
of sandy beaches, and is laced with cycle paths
through the pine woods
Local Restaurants & Bars
There are many more than listed
but these are my favourites
The Auberge de la Chateaux,
Villeneuve La Comtesse, on the N150, lunchtime
set menu.
The Tabac at Marsais,
lunchtime set menu.
The Lighthouse at St
Felix, a bar and shop open every day
but Tuesday.
St Jean D Angely
The Jacobin,
26 rue des Jacobin - open everyday, pizzas, steak
ect good with kids
Hotel De La Place
- excellent food and not expensive, a good posh
evening out, no children’s menu
McDonalds
- if you have kids you have to go now & again,
its out of town next to the Intermache
Ellis Park & the
Annex next door offer a basic snack menu
or Tapas, it is nice to sit outside this Bar in
the square and have a drink on a summer evening
There is a lovely bar restaurant
on the banks of the river boutonne, overlooking
the park, you can sit outside next to the river
and have a drink, the restaurant is unusual, they
bring you your meat uncooked and you cook it on
a very hot volcanic stone at the table
Surges
Le Ronsard,
24 Avenue De Liberation, very good food.
There is a good Chinese just
out of the centre on the road to Rochfort
The Grand Café,
next to the indoor market.
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