Holidays in the Poitou-Charentes
On 1 January 2016, several new provinces were created in France as a result of merging several initial territories.
This also applies to Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in which the Poitou-Charentes, Aquitaine and Limousin departments were merged. Puy-Leonard High Quality Gite is located in Poitou-Charentes.
Poitou-Charentes location
The Poitou-Charentes lies on the Atlantic Ocean, home to famous areas such as La Rochelle. Aquitaine is located south of the Poitou-Charentes. The Dordogne, which is part of the Aquitaine, borders directly on the Poitou-Charentes.
To the north lies the Pays de la Loire, to the northeast the Centre, and to the east of the Poitou-Charentes lies the Limousin. The capital of the region is Poitiers.
Map of the Poitou-Charentes
Charente
The Charente forms the southeastern part of the Poitou-Charentes, with Angoulême as its capital. The north is predominantly agricultural, whereas the west has many vineyards. Here lies the famous Cognac region.
The province has over 400 Romanesque churches from the 12th to 13th century, numerous museums and various historic castles
Charentes-Maritime
The southeast of the Poitou-Charentes is formed by the Charente Maritime. This department is located by the sea and borders the Gironde in the south and the Vendee to the north.
The 450km coastline has roughly 250km of beach. La Rochelle is the capital. The islands of Oléron, Ré and Aix are just off the coast.
La Vienne
Vienne, with its capital of Poitiers, is located in the northwest of the Poitou-Charentes. The northern part is rich with hills and forest, and to the south you can find forest with heath. The eastern part of Poitiers is dominated by industry.
Vienne also has plenty of museums, abbeys, castles, picturesque villages and the main attraction of Futuroscope, Parc Européen de l’Image
Deux-Sevres
The northwestern part of Deux Sèvres with Niort as its capital. It is a department with many faces: Le Pays du Bocage (hills and woodland), Le Pays de Gâtine (valleys and meadows), Le Pays Thoursais (beautiful nature), Le Haut Val-de-Sèvre (forests, rocks, castles), Le Niortais and le Marais Poitevin (featuring the ‘green Venice’), Le Pays Mellois (rivers and castles).
The department got its name from two rivers that flow through it, the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise.
- The Sèvre Nantaise flows from the northern part of the province towards Nantes.
- The Sèvre Niortaise, which springs from the village of Sepvret towards the south, flows to the sea via Niort and La Rochelle.