Buy Property in Charente Maritime

Papillon Properties have a range of properties for sale in Charente Maritime, including Gites, Townhouses and Commerical properties. If you are looking to buy property in Charente Maritime, read below our guide to the area, and click here to search for properties. Charente Maritime is in the Poitou Charente region of France.

Charente-Maritime is a department of contrasts: sandy beaches washed by the Atlantic ocean in the west, rolling hills and farm land as you move east, the inland waterways of the celebrated Venise Verte in the north, and the banks of the Gironde river, as it flows towards Bordeaux, in the south. The second sunniest region in France, behind the Côte d'Azur (that's enough statistics) it doesn't suffer the extremes of temperature of more southerly climes. Yes, we get snow, but it usually lasts only a few days and while we do have frosts, the geraniums in my window boxes survived last winter, by being closed behind the shutters, at night.

On the coast, there are some fabulous beaches, e.g. at Chatelaillon Plage and Royan, offering many forms of water sports, while the island of Ré hosts international surfing competitions. A favourite holiday destination for many years with the French, this coastline has seen a major upsurge in tourism in recent years, but the creation of a large coastal reserve at Yves (south of La Rochelle) has protected the habitat of the varied birdlife of the coastal marshes, against encroaching developments. The principal towns along the coast are Royan, the mediaeval arsenal town of Rochefort, and the City of La Rochelle: an internationally reknowned yachting centre. Here, the superb facilities of the huge modern marina at Les Minimes are in stark contrast to the ancient twin towers and harbour of the old city, and the extremely busy commercial docks and fishing port at Chef de Baie . One of life's simple pleasures: strolling through the crowds in the old town on a summer Saturday evening, watching the street entertainers and examining the jewellery, books and paintings for sale on the gaily decorated stalls.

Inland the old towns of Saintes and St Jean d'Angely are renowned for their Gallo-Roman architecture, while Surgères hosts one of the bigger monthly markets in the region, as well as a national centre for the dairy industry, with production plants and training school: cheeses made by students sometimes being sold in the Saturday market. No self-respecting market is without a fish stall, much of the produce coming from the port of La Rochelle, or the oyster and mussel farms of the coast or the island of Oléron .

Northern Charente-Maritime is a very vibrant place to live. The towns all boast modern facilities, but without the pressures of bigger cities. There is always something going on: plenty of local clubs and associations, exhibitions, theatres, plus in summer, any number of festivals. The most famous of these is probably Francofollies , a celebration of French popular music, but there are animations organised almost everywhere (admittedly of varying quality) many of which end with a firework display. And if it's fireworks you want, the best displays are reserved for the National Day celebrations on July 14 th . If you find yourself in Aigrefeuille d'Aunis on this date, go along to the Lac de Frace and you might find me there, toasting the fireworks with a glass of locally made Pineau.

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