Visit Charente

Barbezieux (km 0)

The first fortress was destroyed during the Hundred Years' War. The present castle (15th century) stands in the centre of the town.

Barret (km 6)

Medieval arms

Pascal Renoux is a wrought iron craftsman who produces knives and, for lovers of medieval arms, helm, breast-plate, helmet.
To arrange an appointment : +33 5 45 78 89 72

Also to be seen : the Romanesque church. The "Beau" runs through the village which contains a Romanesque church (12th century), touching through its modest proportions, the round shape of the apse and the quality of its sculptures (modillions and capitals).

Lagarde-sur-le-Né (km 9)

Le moulin de la Gravelle

A paddle wheel and millstone form this old mill still working on the river Né. Demonstration and production of walnut oil.
Info : +33 5 45 75 74 50

Foie de canard

Poultry for roasting, fresh mulard ducks for foie gras are available at the farm.
Telephone beforehand : +33 5 45 78 11 92

Saint-Médard-de-Barbezieux (km 17)

Farm-reared goraille

Fed on cereals and guaranteed GMO-free, this goraille (pork) is a delight. Sausages, grillons (a coarse paté), cutlets are on sale at the farm.
Info : +33 5 45 78 31 77

Péreuil (km 29)

Saint-Hilaire and its row of cupolas

The Romanesque church of Saint-Hilaire is covered with a row of cupolas similar to the cathedral in Angoulême which inspired it.

Champagne-Vigny (km 37)

The home of Alfred de Vigny : poet and wine grower

Following his break-up with Marie d'Orval and his political misadventures, Alfred de Vigny returned to the land of his ancestors, the Maine Giraud at Champagne-Vigny. He tended his vines, distilled his eaux-de-vie and wrote his most famous poems ("La mort du loup, la bouteille à la mer").
Visit the house and the distillery : +33 5 45 64 04 49

Plassac Rouffiac (km 41)

The Romanesque church of Saint-Cybard

At the crossroads of ancient roads (the Roman way from Saintes to Lyons) the church of Saint-Cybard stands in the middle of the fields.

Things to see : its bell tower covered with stone scales, its round apse with arcades and columns, the rich decoration and fine detail (heads of humans and animals), the whiteness of the stone.

And on 1st July, behold the light
The off-centre oculus joins forces with the sun on 1st July, Saint-Cybard's day, to produce beams of light inside the church.

Blanzac (km 51)

Saint-Arthémy : a curious collegiate church

The village is constructed round the collegiate church of Saint-Arthémy. This curious church appears almost lopsided from the inside. It is as if the stonemasons built the church without taking any account of the surroundings.

Things to see : the multifoil gothic portal, the fine vegetal décor (hollyhocks, vines), the 15th and 16th century frescoes uncovered in the nave.

The romantic festival

In mid-June, arts and hearts are romantic : theatre, cinema, music, painting

Cressac (km 56)

Frescoes in the chapel

On a hillside in the valley of the Né stands the Templar chapel of Cressac (12th century). The sober simplicity of the architecture contrasts with the dazzling illumination of the pigments on the walls, the frescoes relating the fights of knights from Angoulême and Poitiers during the crusades.

Return to Barbezieux (km 70)