Coulon, Abbey Maillezais, Marais poitevin 45 km

 

Fouras 30 km

 Fouras south beach near La Rochelle.

Saint-Jean-d'Angély 36 km

 Market day in Saint-Jean-d'Angély.

Poitier's 124 km

 In the footsteps of one of the most remarkable of all medieval women, Eleanor of Aquitaine . Poitiers was the hometown of this Queen of legend.  once Queen of France, then Queen of England, mother of Richard the Lion-Heart. 

Alienor married first in 1137 to France’s  King Louis VII; she even accompanied Louis to the Holy Land on the Second Crusade. After 15 years of marriage the Queen had produced two daughters, but no sons.  The marriage was annulled in 1152.

Shortly after Alienor re-married, this time to Henry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy. in 1154 Henry became King Henry II of England, and the ex-Queen of France became Queen of England.  The marriage and the reign were tumultuous, with fights and rebellions, but Alienor and Henry created a lasting dynasty. 

In 1162, Eleanor and Henry started building a new cathedral. St Pierre Cathedral in Poitiers is the outcome, which took more than two centuries to finish.

Palace of the Counts of Poitiers is worth a visit its free to enter.

Wild life around our Gites

The Locals are gathering behind our Farmhouse