Places to visit within 1 hour
Royan
A very lively place with 2 harbours on the Gironde estuary, one for pleasure boats and the other for fisherman and their trawlers.
The fishing harbour comes alive every day with the return of the trawlers and the fish market. The public can watch from a gallery above the fish stalls.
A very busy place with lots of shops, bars and restaurants. Beautiful sandy beach. Quite an unusual resort and the largest on this coastline. It is both modern and historic with today’s buildings standing alongside the extravagant buildings from the 50s & 60s and some even older.
You can take a ferry from Royan to pass in front of the lighthouse and land at the Points de Grave on the other side of the Gironde estuary.
You can also visit the Gardens of the World here with its 7.5 hectare floral park.
There is also La Palmyre zoo, one Europe’s largest set in a beautiful pine forest.
There are shows and exhibitions on beside the parking area, next to the marina.
From here you can visit Saint-Georges-de-Didonne where the beach continues from Royan and Meschers and a lovely little ancient village called Talmont.
Saint-Georges-de-Didonne
Beautiful long bay with lovely sandy beach, stretching from Saint-Georges to Royan. If you want the seaside, then this is it. Lovely beaches.
Lots of activity going on. On the beach there are Sail Boards on wheels running along the sands called Sand Yatching. Kite flying, some of which are at least 5 feet wide. Competitions with Frisbees and other ball games. There are also other water sports.
You can hire an assortment of bikes with anything from a Tandem, to ones with 8 wheels and seats like a cart, kids can sit in the front and pretend to be driving with their own steering wheels.
A few shops, mostly gift shops and a few good restaurants. Loads of areas to park and a pleasant walk along the promenade.
Along the coast, is a lovely ancient little village called Talmont.
Here you can see Artisans working and selling, silk, leather, mother-of-pearl and loads of other hand made articles in their charming little house/shops. A few restaurants here as well as a museum and an ancient church which are worth a visit.
Meschers is just along the coast a bit from Saint Georges and has 5 white sandy
beaches. Take a tour round the Grottes de Regulus which are caves from the Troglodyte period, which used to be lived in as houses for centuries. Some are now museums which you can go into for a visit.
Quite a full day but well worth a visit.
Bergerac
A cheerful sunny town both old and new.
The old town sprawls upwards from the river front, through quaint alleys lined with fine stone and timbered buildings and cobbled streets.
Cultural events are staged all throughout the year with concerts to suit everyone. The elegant 16th century cloister built on 12th century foundations is part of the Maison des Vins where you can learn about production, cellaring and tasting of wines.
The newer part of the town has lots of up-to-date shops and restaurants and bars.
Brantome
A charming town, Brantome is an island circled by a loop of water of the river Dronne, linked by 5 bridges. Very Picturesque.
The ancient abbey is sheltered in crescent shaped cliffs riddled with caves which were used as troglodyte homes.
One of the cave houses contains a mill and the largest cave is now used as a venue for concerts. Other caves are converted for fish farming.
There is always plenty going on in the summer, from vintage car rallies to water jousting tournaments as well as farmers markets on Tuesdays and Fridays during July and August.
Lots of shops and restaurants.
Saintes
An ancient, decent sized town full of Roman history and ruins including a Roman Amphitheatre built around 40 BC which could hold up to 20,000 spectators in its heyday.
Lots of Chateaux, Abbeys and highly decorative Romanesque churches to visit.
Built on the banks of the Charente river, Saintes is more than 2000 years old and in roman times was the capital of the Aquitaine province.
It has several historical buildings and a medieval quarter overlooked by the 15th century cathedral containing narrow streets, shops, cafés and bars, etc.
Just outside Saintes is the small village of St Paul. This has a medieval church built by the Knights Templar and local rumour has it that the Holy Grail was once buried in the village.
Angoulême
An ancient fortress town. Busy with a wide selection of shops and restaurants/bistros and bars. A large commercial centre with a good range of shops.
Bordeaux
A very historical town with wide boulevards and public gardens. Lots of shops and restaurants/bars etc. A large commercial/retail park is always very busy.