A Taste of France | Discovering the Charente Maritime
As frequent followers of our site will know… we’ve fallen in love with France’s Charente Maritime… a never ending series of coastal marshes, fields of sunflowers and symmetrical vineyards that have truly captivated us…
Many consider France’s Atlantic Coastline to one of the most scenic stretches of coastline in France (perhaps only rivalled by the famous Cote d’Azur). You’ll find miles of amazing coastal villages, sandy beaches, hidden coves and oodles of French myths and heritage. Because it’s one of the few areas in France without significant motorways near the coast, The Charente Maritime is perfect for a driving holiday….
So that’s where we’ve been hiding for the past few weeks… a chance to enjoy some family time without needing to write about it! But the area close to Talmont sur Gironde is just too good not to share so we thought we’d show you a brief ‘drone’ video that Libby has been working on over the past 2 weeks…
So how would you describe the Charente Maritime
So if you long to find that perfect beach with it’s scenic footpath to your very own secluded seaside vista. The Charente Maritime might just be the perfect spot for you. Imagine afternoons spent lounging on sandy beaches, scoffing mussels in small harbourside restaurants or watching your children enjoying the sunflowers and vineyards. It’s one of our favourite hidden ‘treasures’ and here’s a few pictures from our most recent video…
For those that will have seen our Sea Cliff Jumping/Kayaking in Croatia or our adventure antics in Norway’s adventure capital at Voss…. You’ll know that we encourage our girls to embrace a little activity. But no trip to France would have been complete without a chance to take the girls to see the thriving viniculture between the Gironde and Bordeaux… so where better to start then a bike ride around the local vineyards… Just like we did when Complete France saw our first article (see here)
So where should you start? Leaving mountain regions to real sport-cyclists, we reckon it’s worth targeting a favourite corner of France – maybe ‘profonde, touristique or historique‘ — For a meandering tour, sampling and savouring the treats of country life at a slow pace: farm visits, vineyard tastings or sea food ‘par excellence’… you could do far worse than head for the area of the Charente Maritime between Royan and Blaye.
For those looking for more specfic routes, then try here, or perhaps even check out our Charente articles above
talmont sur gironde
so where did we park the bus for the night?
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We loved Talemont-sur-Girand but moved on northwards and spent the night at another Plus Beau Village – Mornac-sur-Seudre – FREE parking, no facilities but an excellent baker nearby. The neighbours were quiet – gentle cows in the field behind us!