Charente is a French department of Nouvelle Aquitaine region and is one of the four ones that form the Poitou-Charentes region along with Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sevres and Vienne.
Town Property Guides
Climate
The climate is mostly mild and sunny with precipitation of less than 900mm annually.
The climate is characterized as oceanic. Most of the rains are in the autumn and in the winter. The winters are mild especially as the area goes close to the ocean.
On the coast there is less rain. The temperature is usually cooler on the coast because of the wind but the winters are quite milder as a whole. The wind is usually more extreme on the coast.
Geography
The department is positioned in the south just one department away from the Atlantic Ocean.There are a lot of megaliths and archeological sites in this area that have been subject to many political views during the years. It has lived through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henri Plantagenêt in 1133 united England, Aquitaine, Anjou and Normandy in their rule.
The name of this department comes from the Charente River.
This department is part of the western center of France and is positioned between the Atlantique coast and the Massif Central, between Poitou and north of the Aquitanian basin.
The neighboring departments are Vienne, Haute-Vienne, Dordogne, Gironde, Charente-Maritime, and Deux-Sevres.
On the north-east are positioned the so called “cold lands” that form the base of Confolentais.
The highest point in the relief is 345m and this is the Massif de l’Arbre.
From there also runs the Charente River that is 230km long.
There are many things that can be seen in this area that date back from the Romanesque art. Such significant buildings are Angouleme’s Cathedral St Pierre, the towering belfry at Lesterps Abbey, the murals at Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, the west front of Church St Jacques at Aubeterre and the magnificent château at La Rochefoucauld and many more.
People in this area are considered as laidback and one of the symbols of the region is a snail. The inhabitants in the area are referred as Charentais.
Towns
The cities Angoulême and Entre Touvre et Charente have a very good transportation links and history full of annual international comic strip festival that attracts visitors from different parts of the world. The city is established in 1204 and has grown from a 10 th century castle from a hill overlooking the Charente river now extends to the river valley by itself. The views from the old town are impressive. There are a lot of shops positioned on the Gond-Pontouvre .
History
This state is one of the 83 departments that were formed during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was formed from the previous province of Angoumois.
Gastronomy
The Charente is well known for the cognac and you can taste famous houses like Remy Martin and Hennessy but also some local producers selling on the weekly street markets. You can also enjoy the famous wine trails like Blaye, Saint Emillion and Bordeaux. Another well known specialty is the Pineau des Charentes that is red or white wine but is always served chilled and is made from blending cognac and grape juice. Another famous meal in this region is duck, saucisson, lamb and veal. There is also a lot of seafood and fresh fish mainly mussels and oysters. There are different restaurants that provide everything from high class dining to traditional country cuisine at reasonable prices. For instance you can have a fine four course dinners at the superb Chateau Talleyrand for only 24 euros including aperitifs and wine.
Useful information
Tourism office in Charente
www.poitou-charentes-vacances.com
Maps of Charente
www.ign.fr
www.maps.google.fr
Flights from the UK
By air: The region has three international airports: Poitiers, Limoges and La Rochelle.
Ryanair and Air France fly to La Rochelle, Limoges and Poitiers.
Our team of sale advisers at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you to find a property in Charente. We have a large network of estate agents in Charente. All of them are registered French estate agents and speak both French and English. Whatever kind of property you are looking for: farmhouse, longere, barn, gite, B&B, country house, mill, castle or chateau, we will do our best to find a property in Charente matching your requirements. To find out more about our properties for sale in Charente do not hesitate to contact us.