France - Charente Maritime - anyone been to this area?

[puddle]

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?!

We like the seafood too SoMuchtoBits Well all the food actually. And the pineau...

Oooohhh yes the Pineau.... and the wine,

Ds absolutely loves Moules Frites...he is looking forward to them already!

What is pineau ?

Marina from all reports it sounds as though we may have a mixed bag weather wise.

Pineau is lush puddle. A mixture of grape juice and cognac, so aperitif strength, sweet and grapey. Serve chilled, delicious.
We are very sun intolerant in our family (colouring etc) so what we found too harsh might well suit you better. Meschers was jammed with happy sunbathers.
The gite we went to in Lorignac had a shaded portico for the car and shade in the garden, which was a great help.

If the weather is very hot while you are there, it's a good idea either to go out early, look around somewhere, then find somewhere shady for a relaxed lunch, or to stay around your gite during the hottest part of the day, then go to the beach in the late afternoon. Lots of the French people do that.

Pineau

Somuch that's the only way to deal with hot weather + littlies I find

Yes, I have. It's a beautiful area but not recommended in the high tourist season, especially not August when every French person who is not on the Côte d'Azur is likely to be elbowing for beach space, parking space, restaurant space, etc.

Pineau is a sweetish wine aperitif, absolutely delish, must be served cold. It's addictive and prob loaded with sugar.

I know Ile d'Olérans (xdp had a family home there) well, along with Ile de Ré where I went on a spa break after I had a row with dh! It was a total waste of money but the island itself is breathtakingly beautiful. It was in June so not too hot & hardly any tourists. Lots of great cycling with no cars, hills & other stuff that generally puts people off cycling. The beaches at Olérans are better, though. Real waves crashing over long, golden beaches.

Well, we have been in August and still enjoyed it. Some places do get very busy (e.g. the zoo at Royan), but other places aren't.

Mmmmm... pineau!

Camped round here (Chatelaillon Plage)with dh before kids and will definitely go back at some stage. Really liked it. Beach at Chatelaillon is lovely (though like the whole of the Atlantic coast has big breakers). I seem to recall there was also a kids' club on the beach with a sea-water pool for safe swimming. (But wasn't looking in detail back then, as didn't have any of our own!)

Didn't find the driving too bad, ggg. We were on a motorbike, so bad driving (aimed at you, anyway) tends to be exacerbated, but it was fine. ('Fine' is possibly because I'm comparing it to Italy, though!)

We visited La Rochelle (good aquarium in case of wet days), Saintes, Cognac, Angouleme (isn't there a BD museum in Angouleme?), Rochefort and other places that have already been mentioned. Oh, and I'd definitely recommend La Venise Verte (area around Niort). You can hire boats and go on the river, or just walk alongside. Lovely. Another good place is the Ile d'Aix, a tiny island (c. 2 miles across) which you can get to by boat from (IIRC) Rochefort. You can hire bikes (no traffic) and explore, and there are gorgeous beaches too. We also visited the Ile de Re (donkeys in trousers!) and the Ile d'Oleron (busy, but a good bird sanctuary).

Don't worry, you'll have a lovely time.

Well when you have school aged kids and a dh who teaches August is sadly unavoidable.

Oh yes! Ellbell you are right about the aquarium at La Rochelle. It is huge, and realy good, and it has an octopus! (Sorry my ds loves octopuses!) It can also get quite busy, but if you go at lunchtime it is not too bad, because all the French people go to have their lunch then.

We were there in late July/early August and while it was busy in Royan and at Meschers, there was plenty of space overall and the traffic was not bad etc. Only queued to get into the zoo for about ten mins...
We do find the driving in Charente oddly bad (say compared to Northern France) and now I know why

School age kids + holidays = crowds

Ok I have booked it. Thanks to everyone who has been so helpful on this thread.

I hope you really enjoy you holiday puddle - we can't wait for ours. When are you going?

Charente Maritime is gorg... my parents have a house near St Savinien which is a very pretty town. Weather will be lovely in Aug. Sometimes it can be too hot. We were down there last September as my sister got married there and it was BOILING - I got really sunburnt on the wedding day.

There are some gorgeous chateau's around. The Chateau de la Roche Corbon is fab - piped classical music in the grounds (which are spectacular!) and lovely tours around. Sainte has an ampitheatre which is quite interesting and great for a picnic venue. Not a huge amount to do, but great for shopping (try the Marrianaud shop for Lancaster and Longchamp handbags and all beauty products at better prices than the UK!)

There is a great place called Green Venice where you can hire row boats and row yourself down all the canals (great for if the weather is boiling as you are in the shade of all the trees) sounds a bit odd but it is very much worth it.

Ile de Re is lovely although can become a bit of a traffic jam in peak season - also remember it being pricey to get over the bridge???

Enjoy your trip.

We live 20 mins east of La Rochelle. You will love it here, others seem to have covered the places to go. Be aware it rained here last August, virtually unheard of in the Summer here. Our weather seems to be as messed up as the Uk's!! It is quite flat in Charente Maritime, so it is generally breezy which helps with the temperatures, but it did hit over 40 degrees last August too! It is the 2nd sunniest region in France.

Saintes is beautiful, as is La Rochelle, and I second visiting the Venise Verte, around Marans area, although we find Marans itself a little dissapointing as the traffic runs right through the town... new road being built at the moment.

yes

Classy chick, St. Savinien is very beautiful, don't they do boat trips there on the river??

GGG - I find the french drivers always over-take, never have I been undertaken. And they indicate all the time on the N roads - I'm not sure where you get your info from?

Although they do drive the same speeds on the N roads as they do on the D roads... I frequently get over takenwhen I am doing 100km an hour on the 90 roads!

I think they do do boat trips on the river at St Sav. - The bit of the river as you drive through the town is really pretty with all the houses on the front. A really nice place to sit and have a drink / eat is the Quai des fleur on the river front. Owned by a swedish and french couple I think - so odd mix of food sometimes but fab for jazz nights in the summer months. I have been loads of times and never been disappointed.

We are heading back for our first holiday with DD this September and can't wait.