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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

France - Charente Maritime - anyone been to this area?

46 replies

puddle · 15/05/2007 11:12

Am on the verge of confirming a booking for a gite in this area for August - anyone been?

What are the must-sees in this area and will it be v hot?!

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Original poster

puddle · 15/05/2007 11:27

Le bump

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MrsBoo · 15/05/2007 11:33

Hi puddle
I was there August 2005 - and I was a bit disappointed with the temperature. Not as hot as I would have liked - and if we go back to France we are thinking of going further south.
It was very warm and sunny, just not as hot as we like. Still since my DD was only little it was probably best. We were about an hour (if you go early in the morning) from La Rochelle and all the lovely beaches. To be honest, we preferred visiting all the little French villages etc, and doing fairly untoursity things. I was quite impressed with the things on offer in small local towns and villages for the french people.

Original poster

puddle · 15/05/2007 11:35

Thanks Mrs Boo. I don't want it to be very hot - the kids like the sun but not the heat. We are staying somewhere quite rural but it's about 10 miles from the coast.

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MrsBoo · 15/05/2007 11:38

We were very rural too, just vineyards round us - and really quiet roads. It was great for taking the pram for big walks, and cycling etc.
Nearest big town (supermarkets etc) was about 15 mins drive if I recall

The worst bit was the drive there (next time I would fly/hire a car I think)

tombley · 15/05/2007 11:39

Oh dear, we are staying in this area next month. I hope it will be warm enough for lots of outdoor swimming and the beach.
We have been to Vendee (further north) in Sept and that was very hot so..?

Original poster

puddle · 15/05/2007 11:39

Sounds very similar! I don't mind the drive - am planning to go to St Malo and is about 5 hours from there I think.

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Dropside · 15/05/2007 11:41

It is quite a dull area tbh, not much to do and OK-ish weather. Further south or east is better.

Tinker · 15/05/2007 11:41

I've stayed here, stayed near Cognac. Only a week - it rained solidly, I mean solidly, for teh first 3 days. It is lovely though

tombley · 15/05/2007 11:43

MrsBoo · 15/05/2007 11:46

We only had one day of rain in 2 weeks. We visited a lovley indoor pool (for the kids) which was just the local pool in St Jean D'Angely - a small french town. It was miles better/cleaner than our pool at home.

ggglimpopo · 15/05/2007 11:47

I live about an hour away, further south and sunnier!

La Rochelle is nice, Royan has a lovely zoo and great child friendly beaches and there are coves and beaches and little villages aplenty in the Charente. I have friends who live in Saintes and it is a pretty little town but hardly cultural epicentre. Angouleme is not pretty but has good restuarants and kids activites in summer - lots of festivals.

Depends what you are after. Am biased but think that there is more to do/see in Aquitaine than in the Charente...

Apparently the Charantaise have a crap behind the wheel reputation and are notorious for undertaking and never indicating. Perhaps that has something to do with cognac intake or the fact that the Charente is so flat!

Where is the gite?

Tinker · 15/05/2007 11:48

I stayed here It's sunny on the pictures [another weak smile]

Dropside · 15/05/2007 11:48

Aquitaine is lovely, I think much nicer than the Charente

SoMuchToBits · 15/05/2007 11:48

We have been to this area twice, when our ds was 3 and 4, and are going again this year (he is 6 now). We are staying close to Rochefort. The weather varies a bit. Both times we have been (in August) it was in the upper 20s most of the time. Mostly sunny, but some cloud and a little rain. I believe last year it wasn't so hot though.

We found the beaches were good, and there are some other things to do - what ages are your children? We visited Rochefort, La Rochelle, Saintes, and some of the smaller coastal towns. There is a very good zoo at Royan if you like that sort of thing, but if you go go early because the traffic is areal bottleneck getting there, and it gets very busy later on.

ggglimpopo · 15/05/2007 11:50

dropside

ggglimpopo · 15/05/2007 11:51

Oh - and if you go to Royan zoo - take your own picnic as the cafe is expensive, lousy and heaving and bewarned, the loos are vile.

tombley · 15/05/2007 11:52

Thanks for the tips - we had thought about a day at the zoo.

MrsBoo · 15/05/2007 11:53

that is no exageration (royen zoo)

Original poster

puddle · 15/05/2007 11:54

Near Saintes GGG.

Children are 7 and 4. We want some beaches, some nice places to eat, a few nice towns to schlep around. Maybe a couple of castles?

Zoo sounds good.

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SoMuchToBits · 15/05/2007 11:54

Agree strongly with ggglimpopo about taking a picnic and the vile loos! And take plenty of cool drinks.

Original poster

puddle · 15/05/2007 11:57

Ok am warned re: zoo.

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SoMuchToBits · 15/05/2007 12:01

Saintes is quite a nice little town, with a river (Ithink you can get boat trips on it) and a little museum.

In Rochefort there is a big ship being built (a historical one) which is a project which is taking several years. There is also the Corderie Royale (ropeworks) you can visit.

A nice little town to visit is Brouage, which has a wall all round it, a few nice little shops and restaurants. We particularly liked one called Le comptoir du Nouveau Monde, but we last went 2 years ago, so hope it is still good.

I think you can also get boat trips from La Rochelle. We took a trip out to an island, the Ile d'Aix, where cars are not allowed, but you can hire bikes (with trailers, walk round, or have a tour in a horse-drawn cart.
Can't remember the name of the place we got the boat from though.

Boyardville is another place you can get various boat trips from, although some you need to book in advance. The beach there is also good.

Original poster

puddle · 15/05/2007 12:09

Thanks somuch that's all very helful (although my heart sinks at the thought of a ropeworks.....)

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Marina · 15/05/2007 12:12

We are down this way in June puddle and stayed in a gite in Lorignac a few years ago which was amazing, wonder if it's the same one (not far from Meschers sur Gironde).
We will be doing La Palmyre zoo (the one at Royan), biking around the Pointe de la Coubre (pine forests and dunes north of Royan, that's where we are staying this time), a day trip to the Ile d'Oleron and a day revisiting old haunts in Saintes - it's a lovely town
I hate to say this but we had stiflingly hot weather when we went in 2001, bad enough to put us off going back there in high summer.
The caves at Meschers are interesting if you are already in the vicinity but it's the only decent beach for some distance up and down the estuary and the parking was absolutely nightmarish.

SoMuchToBits · 15/05/2007 12:14

I can't tell you anything about the ropeworks, as we haven't visited it yet (ds was a bit young last time) but we might go there this year. But we obviously like the area as we are going back again. We also know the place we are staying is good, and we love the seafood you can get over there.

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