Local Area
The house is situated above the port of Mortagne and a short walk to the the port, the Marais and a Hermitage set in the limstone cliffs.
The area down on the Marais has driftwood beaches, and is ideal for cycling and birdwatching. Hoopoe’s, lapwings, herons, storks, egrets and many kestrels, redkites, buzzards and larger birds of prey can be seen on the Marais and in the woods close by.
We are situated on the green route/coastal road along the east bank of the Gironde. Travelling by car and going north from the house along this coastal road you will come across the following villages and towns.
Talmont (8mins)
Talmont is a picturesque craft village situated on the Estuary with a beautiful 11th century church as its dominant feature. The village is always full of French people and tourists and features many gift shops and a couple of restaurants and ice cream/creperie parlours.
There is a large parking area which is a short walk to the pedestrian only village.
Meschers-sur-Gironde (10-12mins)
Flat sandy beaches within sheltered coves and a little yacht harbour make this an attractive spot in high season. It has beach side cafes and is less crowded than Royan. There are a number of tourist shops and a supermarket. Mescher has a fine fish shop and the a nice bar and restaurant built into the troglodyte caves carved out of the limstone immediately above the Gironde Estuary.
Saint-Georges de Diddone (20mins)
Wide sandy beaches with trampolines, an adventure rope/bridge course through the pine trees and lots of restaurants. You can hire sailing boats and windsufers here if you are feeling energetic or just lie on the beach and soak up the atmosphere.
There is an attractive village square and the town buzzes on Saturday mornings as there is a market held in the main square just off the promenade (look for the Marche sign post).
Cote Sauvage
This is the Atlantic Coast. It has quieter and more spectacular beaches, sand dunes and good surfing. There are 100kms of cycle tracks and bikes can be hired at La Palmyre.
La Palmyre & Zoo (40mins)
La Palmyre is a seasonal village that is very busy in the holiday season of July and August. It has many leisure activities with cycling, karting and boat hire. Uncrowded sandy beaches and 100kms of cycle lanes through the forests. The world famous zoo is most definitely worth a visit as it is one of Europe’s most renowned zoological parks with 1600 animals and regular shows of performing sealions and other animals. It is open all year. Visit www.zoo-palmyre.fr
Going East from the house and inland if you head for Gemozac you can carry straight through and come to:
Saintes (30mins)
Saintes (pronounced Sant), once the capital of Gaul, is a Gallo Roman town built on a neolithic site. It has numerous Roman remains including an impressive Roman amphitheatre.
It boasts a large and beautiful Abbey, a Cathedral and many other churches. It is a lovely town to walk through and the Amphitheatre has a signed walk up from the river. There are pleasant gardens to sit in as well as numerous pavement cafes amongst the shops, making this busy town a pleasure to visit. The Charente River runs through the heart of the town and there are boat trips which depart form the river bank adjacent to the main road bridge. Saintes has a fairly reasonable shopping area for clothing etc but do remember that French shops tend to close for lunch for approximately two hours starting at anytime from 12 noon to 12.30 and therefore do not open again until between 14.00 and 14.30pm.
www.saintes.biz
Cognac (roughly 4o minutes)
Head for Gemozac again, but turn right and then head for Pons (which has a very attractive keep) and then carry on to Cognac. I suppose it is redundant to say what Cognac is famous for and yes, you can take part in a number of distillery tours, but do remember that France is getting stricter about drink driving and therefore we strongly recommend abstinance from at least one member of your party!
Going South
St Emilion (1.5hours)
A visit to this world famous town is a lovely day out. It is a beautiful little town surrounded by vineyards. As you drive into the town you have the grapes of St Emilion on the right hand side of the road and on the left, the vineyards of Pomerol. Lunch in the main square followed by a wander around the town and a visit to one or two degustations will have you no doubt coming back with a few precious bottles of wine.
Bergerac (3 hours)
It is roughly a 3 hour drive to get to Bergerac at the start of the Dordogne, Bergerac is an attractive town with good shopping set on the banks of the Dordogne river and is famous for its association with Cyrano de Bergerac although the statue in his honour is often minus its nose. It is obviously too much of a temptation for some!
Jonzac (20mins)
Is approximately 20 minutes drive away and has a beautiful chateau, lots of bars, restaurants and cafes as well as a weekly market. For a nice treat for the kids, there is a tropical leisure complex, Les Antilles de Jonzac, that has its own indoor tropical lagoon with a wave machine, flumes, geysers and jacuzzis and a tropical garden.
Bordeaux (60mins)
Bordeaux is a beautiful city which is world famous for its wines and wonderful architecture including the site at Saint Andrew Cathedral where Louis VII married Eleanor of Aquitaine. The centre of the city has many designer shops and car parking in the city centre should not be a problem. To get out of the city centre just look for the signs for Paris which is only 560 kilometres away!!
www.virtourist.com/europe/bordeaux
Suggestion for a day trip.
Take the N137 down to Blaye and then take the car ferry across to the Medoc. Drive north and explore the Medoc with its famous vineyards and then take the ferry at the north end of the Medoc over to Royan and come home down the coast road from Royan. In all, it is probably just over a couple of hours actual driving time so you have plenty time to stop off and visit vineyards, have leisurely lunches and dinners along the way. But one word of warning, like the rest of France the ferry from Blaye to the Medoc does not run at lunchtime!