Charente-Maritime France » Kay Dream Homes

The Golden Triangle

After you have decided to move to France the first thing you should decide before looking at property is which part of France you want to live in and the notes below introduce you to my part of France, the south-west Charente-Maritime, and the drive described below can be done in one day to see if this is the right area for you.

"The Golden Triangle" is a local term for a quite special triangular area between St.-Palais-sur-Mer on the west coast (just north of Royan), Mortagne further south down the Estuary coast, Mirambeau to the east and then back north to Pons..."special" because of the climate and countryside. These are only general guidelines as to the east of the Pons/Mirambeau line is fine too but as you move further east out of the Charente-Maritime you lose sunshine…for example, Angoulême in the Charente is about 90 minutes away but has 300 hours fewer hours of sunshine each year than Gémozac, where my office is located, and you are moving further away from the coast. All of the south-west Charente-Maritime is within the microclimate/sunbelt stretching in a curve from La Rochelle to Bordeaux but the Médoc on the western side of the Gironde Estuary protects the triangle from the effects of the Atlantic resulting in a very stable climate without extremes, with an average daily winter temperature of about 50°F/10C and an average summer temperature of about 85°F/30C. Usually when it rains it is in the form of a misty rain and at night and when it does rain during the day, because we are close to the Estuary coast and the breeze comes from the west, any weather front goes through very quickly and we are back into sunshine...2,250 hours per year.

Access is relatively easy and within one day’s drive from most of mainland UK via the A10 motorway [Exit 36 (Pons) and 37 (Mirambeau)] which links the airports at La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Poitiers and Bergerac, serviced by the budget airlines. Major towns with all shops and services are relatively close by, the rolling countryside is scattered with pretty villages, and the coastal ports and beaches a short distance away.

I walk each day for 2 to 3 hours with my puppies and I never cease to be amazed by how beautiful the area is...truly Paradise.

The view looking down to the Estuary and the Médoc from the hills over Mortagne

If I wanted to view the area in one day I would begin on the coast at St. Palais-sur-Mer and drive down the coast along the D145 through the holiday town of Royan.

St. Georges de Didonne is a gentle coastal village with a high street set back one block away from the beach.

To the south of St. Georges is Meschers where we take our dogs to play on the beaches out of season. The beaches are wonderful, the sea shallow and safe, and the caves give a lot of unusual scents for the pups. We use the beaches a little to the north of the village.

Talmont comes next and this is a pedestrian village with its church sitting out on the bluff overlooking the ocean.

Continuing south you pass through Les Monards and then St. Seurin d’Uzet ...

...before arriving at the jewel of the Estuary, the marina/port of Mortagne sur Gironde. The village of Mortagne at the top of the hill is nothing special but drive 200 yards down the hill to the Port. There is a nice walk along the front and several restaurants which serve outside next to the Marina.

After Mortagne drive through the countryside east to the Château town of Mirambeau via the D730

and then north up the N137 to the medieval town of Pons.

The Pilgrims at Pons heading to Santiago Di Compostella

The Donjon at Pons

Street cafés in Pons

and then you can drive within this triangle to see the countryside

and if you go to the Pot Pourri section on page 1 of my web you can see lots more photographs...and please allow 60 seconds for this section to download!

The south-west Charente-Maritime : Saintes and Gémozac

The Charente-Maritime is situated on the south west coast of France and enjoys the long hot summers and very mild winters so necessary for the production of the fine grapes used make the wonderful wines and cognac brandy.

The combination of the words "Charente" and "Maritime" helps capture the magic of the Charente-Maritime département of France producing as it does the best from the land with the Cognac grapes and the cereal crops, and the best from the ocean with the oysters, mussels and fish. Located with the Atlantic to the west of its 200km of coastline, the Vendee and Deux-Sevres to the north, the Charente and Dordogne to the east and the Gironde to the south, the Charente-Maritime is a magnificent and exceptional part of France.

The situation of the département south of the climate change line marked by the River Loire results in the département enjoying long warm summers and mild winters, and in fact the Charente-Maritime enjoys the second highest number of hours of sunshine in France, second only to the area on the Mediterranean. (It is locally known as "the western Mediterranean"…but without the high property prices!)

GEMOZAC

Gémozac is a village of 2,000+ people located about 20 minutes south of Saintes on the D6 and is well placed to explore the 40mkm of beaches around Royan, the charming villages of the Gironde Estuary and south to the Gironde. It is about 50 minutes on the motorway directly from La Rochelle Airport.

In Gémozac (across the village square from our office) is the 12th and 15th century Church of Saint-Pierre where the transition from the architecture of the Romanesque to the Gothic is seen in the Romanesque triple arched doorway and transept and the 13th century Gothic chevet and choir. The church was fortified during the 16th century Protestant uprising. In the town hall is the prehistoric collection of 600 pieces including flints, stone knives, scrapers and arrowheads dating from the early Paleolithic to Neolithic periods taken from digs located around the Gémozac area. North-east of Gémozac at Jazennes we find the Romanesque church with its elegant Saintonge façade. Close by we also find the Romanesque church in Villars-en-Pons with its recently restored 11th century bell tower, the fortified Romanesque church in St. André-de-Lidon to the west of Gémozac and the village museum of 'G. Dieu'. To the north at Tesson we see the fortified Romanesque church with its 12th century façade with carved figures in high relief showing the dangers of the pilgrimage route of Santiago Di Compostella! A few minutes to the west of Gémozac is the Gironde Estuary with its interesting fishing villages including the charming Mortagne and Port Maubert with their excellent fish restaurants.

Gémozac is a fully serviced village with doctors, dentists, banks, chemists, ambulance service, fire hall, nursery, junior and secondary schools, a beautiful church in the village square across from my office, a library, weekly open market, (excellent) supermarket, a grocery store, a post office, 3 bakeries, park, stadium, open swimming pool, 4 tennis courts, the 18 hole golf courses of Royan, Saintes and Cognac all within a 30 minute drive, 3 fine restaurants, a pizza parlour, many gite and B&B establishments, a number of bars, a number of distilleries, an activity centre for children operating daily during the summer vacation, two petrol stations and a garage, and an excellent real estate agent; Gémozac is 5 minutes from the access road to the A10 motorway, (Exit 36), about 25 minutes from the 40km of beaches at Royan, and 10 minutes away from the fishing village and marina at Mortagne. The hospital is between 5 and 10 minutes away in Pons. The airport at La Rochelle is about 55 minutes north on the A10 and RYAN services this airport economically from Stansted as does British Airways from many UK airports to Bordeaux via Gatwick, (www.ba.com) tel. 0845 77 333 77 and the TGV high speed rail service services La Rochelle (www.raileurope.co.uk).

SAINTES

Saintes is the principal town of the Charente-Maritime located at about the centre of the département and as such providing an excellent base point from which to explore, with the beaches of Royan being less than 30 minutes to the west, La Rochelle 45 minutes to the north-west, Cognac 25 minutes to the east and Gémozac, the southern Charente-Maritime and the Gironde Estuary with its many special villages, about 30 minutes away. It is about 1 hour from La Rochelle airport.

Probably the most important feature of Saintes is the Charente River which passes through the town on its 360km journey from its source at Chéronnac in the Limousin through the towns of Angouleme, Cognac, Saintes, Rochefort and finally to the Atlantic in the Perthuis d'Antioch, the bay formed between the Ile de Oléron and the Ile de Ré.

Saintes has a population of about 27,000 and is a thriving modern town which still retains many echoes of its Roman origins, particularly the Arc de Germanicus standing alongside the main bridge over the Charente into the town and dating from 18AD (about the time that Saintes was originally founded), and, also close to the centre of town, the Roman amphitheatre built in the first century AD and able to accommodate 20,000 spectators…approximately the population of Cognac!

The name "Saintes" also provides a hint to its religious history and this is to be explored in its many Romanesque churches. Approaching Saintes from any direction a very obvious feature is the numerous church spires and in these churches you will find wonderful examples of the best in religious architecture.

Saintes however is not just "history". The town is divided by the river into the "older" Saintes with its narrower roads and the "newer" part of the town with its wide boulevard, and just off this main street is the oldest part of Saintes with its exciting array of shops. There are street markets twice a week and then on the first Monday of each month the entire boulevard section of the town is closed for a large street market.

Saintes provides many activities for the vacationer from guided tours of the town, to boat rental on the Charente, to the excellent 18 hole golf course at Fontcouverte, to the Romanesque churches and the other Roman remains including the archaeological museum with its 1st century chariot, the only such remains in Europe. A short drive from the town are many Chateaux particularly the magnificent Chateau de La Roche-Courbon in Saint-Porchaire dating from the time of Louis X111 and then long abandoned to be saved from decay in 1912 when purchased by a "Monsieur Chanereau" who dedicated his life to restoring the buildings and gardens. The Chateau de Panloy in Port D'Envaux, the Chateau du Douhet, the Chateau de Neuil-lès-Saintes and the Chateau de Taillebourg are also well worth seeing. The Abbaye de Fontdouce in Saint-Bris-Des-Bois, the Priory de Trizay, and the pottery in La-Chapelle-des-Pots where Saintonge pottery has been made since the 8th century are also within a short drive of Saintes. Romanesque churches in Beurlay, Geay, Pont-l'Abbé-d'Arnoult, Saint-Gemme, Rétaud, Rioux and Thaims are very impressive as is the 'Labrinthus' or maze-park at Cravans. A "must see" is the museum devoted to the history of Cognac brandy at Migron and also St-Sauvant which is a picturesque village with winding streets adorned by flowers and dominated by its magnificent Romanesque church. St-Savinien is an ancient harbour on the River Charente with charming houses where boats are available 'for rent'.

"We look forward to welcoming you to our home, the wonderful, sunny, Golden Triangle of the south-west Charente-Maritime...once in a lifetime!"