Places to visit.
Within an hours drive of La Grange we have a lot of well known places to visit, Bordeaux, Cognac,Saintes, Pons, Jonzac,Blaye,Royan and Angouleme to name a few.locally we have plenty of vineyards producing wine,cognac and a local drink pineau, which is the same strength as sherry, most of the producers will give you a tour of there production areas and invite you to sample there products from different years and you will be able to buy a few bottles from them. We can recommend some of the ones we know. We are lucky also to have some really good restaurants locally and will be happy to recommend.
la roche courbon
An impressive chateau
caves at la roche courbon
It has extensive grounds with a large network of caves.
The pond
Formal garden
a pair of charentais donkeys
they look more jamaican to me.
La Vallee De Singe. Poitiers
2 hours drive away is a very interesting park with 12 different types of apes. They are not in cages you walk amongst them, apart from the gorillas and chimps who are behind a moat. We visited it this year because we got a good deal on flights into Poitiers airport at half term.
la roche courbon
a beautiful chateau with well kept grounds,about 55 mins drive,between saintes and rochefort.
la palmyre zoo royan
la palmyre zoo royan
the public seem to have more contact with the animals than at the zoos in the UK.about 50 mins drive.
vitrezay on the estuary.wetlands
an ideal spot for a walk along the estuary,can get breezy.about 25 mins drive.
ditto
shell fish nets.
ditto
plenty of foot paths a good place to see water fowl.
beach at st george de diddonne
beautiful soft sandy beach,no over crowding here.plenty of little bars,snacks on the front,the grilled sardines are a must.
ditto
very close to royan which also has a lovely beach,45 mins drive.in the summer there is a jazz festival at royan,not to be missed,live music in all the bars til the early hours and a huge beach party with up to 100,000 people.
ditto
what on earth is he up to!!
beau vallon lake montguyon
a fine swimming lake with the clearest water you can imagine,nice sandy beach,pedalos and electric boats for hire.30 mins drive.
ditto
like most of these attractions it never gets packed,no admission charge and free parking.
ditto
for refreshments there is a bar restaurant open all day and they do some very good barbeques in the evening.
Ile De Re
Here are 11 pics taken at St Martin on the Ile De Re during Easter 2013. The island is accessed by a toll bridge (8 euros) from Larochelle. It is a very famous place attracting some high profile visitors; Brad Pitt etc. Well worth a visit.
The Church at St Martin
Very impressive
St Martin Citadelle
The huge moat is now empty
St Martin
A good view from the top below, and a pic of the bells above.
Royan Fishing Port
Grilled sardines are a must in the local cafes.
Le Cote Sauvage
Located a few miles north of the famous seaside town of Royan lies the cote sauvage, not so developed as Royan and more natural, the towns and beaches of Vaux sur mer, St Palais sur mer and le Grand Cote, plenty of free parking.
One Of The Four Beaches At Vaux Sur Mer
These beaches are better for swimming than St George De Didone as the water is deep enough after you have waded out about 10 metres. The beaches are very narrow so kids can't wander off as well. The wide beach shown 2 pics below is Platin at St Palais.