6-Day Charente-Maritime Itinerary: Spring Holiday in France

Our Charente-Maritime itinerary was an improvised holiday getaway in France. Bordered by five French departments, Charente-Maritime enjoys a moderate weather and is just one of France’s most popular places. Its Atlantic coastline has 463 km of coastline, of which 230 km on the islands, this kind of as Ile d’Oléron reverse of Bourcefranc-Le-Chapus and Ile de Ré joined to La Rochelle. And three rivers, the Charente, the Seudre, and the Sèvre Niortaise, cross the region’s lush eco-friendly countryside. Perched on the hills, the vineyards in Charente-Maritime produce some of the most renowned spirits in the entire world, such as Remy Martin and Hennessy.

In Germany, educational facilities have Easter holidays, but not in France. Thus, we had a excellent time exploring this fewer crowded and much less costly space devoid of headache. We could not strategy our Charente-Maritime itinerary just before our holiday break. Immediately after the holiday, we realized how numerous pursuits we had finished within just a 7 days. Underneath is the element of our a person-7 days Charente-Maritime Itinerary:

• 1^st Day: IIe d’Oleron
• 2^ed Day: Fort Louvois and Salt marshes on the island of Oleron
• 3^rd Working day: ile de re (Plage des bidons V)  La Rochelle
• 4^th Day: In the getaway property in Bourcefranc
• 5^th Working day: Cognac Tasting in Cognac, France
• 6^th Working day: Dune beach, Le Phare de La Coubre, la Palmyre, Royan, Grottes du Régulus

1^st Working day: IIe d’Oleron

Beach front going for walks

From Bourcefranc-Le-Chapus, we handed the very long bridge related to the island and turned to the remaining toward the Forest of Saint-Trojan. The seaside, Plage de Saint-Trojan-les-Bains, is powering the forest. I walked on the vast beach front aimlessly, watching the waves rippling carefully. There was no clump of seaweed washed on the beach. Looking far out, I saw a line of nickel-silver, the horizon! 

Quite a few lovely seashores extend kilometres alongside the blue Atlantic, a paradise for beachgoers in the summer time. 

Stroll all-around the imposing ramparts close to the citadel of Le Château-d’Oléron 

The citadel and ramparts encompassing the medieval district of Le Château-d’Oléronare are obtainable calendar year-round. The ramparts of the site give a panoramic perspective of the All-natural Reserve of Moëze-Oléron. It is attention-grabbing to observe how the tides transform the landscape of the port. 

Examine colourful oyster huts

All-around lunchtime, we strolled in the port of Château-d’Oléron and surprisingly found out many colourful huts, Cabanes de créateurs (the designer huts). They utilised to be oyster huts. The artists, from sculptors, and jewelers, to cutlers, have been developing and repainting those huts for decades. My eyes ended up drawn to a blue hut, a crimson a person, and a yellow one particular at the waterfront. What a excellent position for photographers!

Climbing at the northern idea of the island

In the late afternoon, we drove to the northern and had a cliff wander about the lighthouse, the Phare de Chassiron. The spherical stroll all over the lighthouse rewarded us with rocky coastal views. Even so, the sunset was nonetheless struggling through the wet clouds, giving us a lightning prospect to seize the sights. Some sites have warning symptoms considering the fact that the cliff has erosions. We experienced to take safety measures walking on the cliffside.

2^ed IIe d’Oleron (Fort Louvois and boat excursion in Salt marshes on the island of Oleron)

Fort Louvois

From the backyard garden, we could see Fort Louvois when it was very clear temperature. Right before we took the boat excursion in salt marshes on the IIe d’Oleron, we made a stopover there. This 17th-century maritime fortification is quick to arrive at at lower tide on foot and by boat at high tide. The road to the fortification was nevertheless damp due to the fact the very low tide begun and lined by seaweed. For that reason, the going for walks route was very slippery. 

Bost excursion in Salt marshes in Le Grand Village Plage

A big space of the island is salt marshes. Many salt producers welcome readers to share their passion, offering excursions introducing salt farming functions and heritage. We hired a boat at Le Port des Salines and put in about 45 minutes in the canals between the salt marshes. It was a boat rowing action for our son. So, following the boat vacation, we nonetheless put in some time there observing the salt marshes on foot. 

3^rd ile de re (Plage des bidons V)  La Rochelle

Ile de Ré 

In the summer months seasons, Ile de Ré is where by you are going to obtain fifty percent of Paris possessing its holiday there. Strips of uninterrupted golden fluffy sand seashores include significantly of the island’s coast. This little island is linked to La Rochelle by way of a toll bridge.

All around lunchtime, we drove to Plage des bidons V on the western aspect and uncovered ourselves practically by itself on the beach front, other than two horse riders. There were some wild crops on the beachfront, which I could not explain to the title. 

La Rochelle

The outdated harbour of La Rochelle is the centre of the town and is pretty fast paced. But the to start with issue that caught my eyes was the graffiti on the walls. They had been all large but nicely painted. From the centre of the harbour, we could see three medieval historic towers of LA Rochelle. One particular of them, the Lantern Tower, served as a Lighthouse and jail in the course of its record.

Effectively, the strongest impression of this area is the range of its eating places. In the full outdated town, we observed restaurants and bars offering rapid food stuff, handmade French food stuff, intercontinental foods, and gourmet dishes. Considering that most eateries open up all over 19:30, we had a lot of time to analyze menus. 

4^th  In the holiday getaway household in Bourcefranc

In the early early morning, we woke up and noticed significant tar-black clouds moving towards our position. We had a quick check where by to invest the day but regrettably discovered that the entire space would be a wet day. We got up early adequate and experienced breakfast, hoping the weather conditions transformed mercifully.

Out of the blue, I heard the initial splatter of rain tapping on the window, and then the drops were being drumming on the terrace. The rainfall grew to become extreme in the following hour. We experienced planned to check out several destinations, but none of them experienced good weather. So, it was sport playing and e-book studying working day. 

5^th Cognac Tasting in Cognac, France

Mainly because the weather turned better, we were capable to adhere to our Charente-Maritime Itinerary, viewing the town of Cognac and joined a Cognac Tasting tour. Cognac is not only the famous spirit but also the area in which the spirit is produced. We prepared to see the touristic city and the historic home of Rémy Martin. But unfortunately, the household was beneath renovation and making ready for the approaching 300 year’s celebration. Discontented with the predicament, we went to its shop up coming door to invest in cognac as prepared.

There, we obtained a opportunity to be a part of a cognac tasting tour. The one-tour was not cost-free, but it was the only English tour of the week through the off-season. Since we were unsure which model or products to purchase, it was a possibility to know the key of this high quality spirit.

6^th Lighthouse of La Coubre and Grottes du Régulus

Climb up the Lighthouse of La Coubre

The Lighthouse of La Coubre is the tallest in the Charente-Maritime, with a peak of 64 metres. It was effortless to climb up the tower, irrespective of of slender stairs. As soon as on the best of the lighthouse, we experienced views of the lovely coastline and switching dunes.  

Grottes du Régulus

Continue driving towards the south, and soon after getting a rapid stop at la Palmyre, we made the decision to have lunch at Royan. Royan is a seaside resort with limitless shores of the ocean and its 5 sandy shorelines proudly traveling the Blue Flag. 

Positioned 12 km from Royan, the Grottes du Régulus (Caves of Régulus), a municipal troglodyte web-site, is open up to the public for a couple months of a yr. There are a couple of caves alongside this extend of coast. But this one particular is a municipal. 

Journey strategies for scheduling Charente-Maritime itinerary

In which to stay

We stayed in Bourcefranc-Le-Chapus. The holiday home is just on top of the cliff and up coming to the sea. Each early morning, I viewed the sunlight shining more than the coastal spot and the sun disappearing at the rear of the horizon in the evening. It was these kinds of a excellent household with a whirlpool in the yard. Every single place has a thoroughly equipped toilet. There are many distinct varieties of accommodations in the region, but you need to book ahead if you program to have a getaway there.  

The best holiday bases would be La Rochelle, Ile de Ré, and IIe d’Oleron. If we went there in the summertime, we would add numerous beach functions to our Charente-Maritime itinerary.

How to get there

• You can access Charente-Maritime from 5 close by airports: Bordeaux, Nates, La Rochelle, Biarritz, and Limoges. 
• Spending budget travellers can get long-haul buses, for example, Paris – La Rochelle or Bordeaux – La Rochelle. Obtain all the locations on the Flixbus site.  
• TGV sells tickets from Paris Montparnasse to La Rochell. The experience is about 2H50. 
• If you favor to travel, motorways A10 and A83 will get you to La Rochelle.