Villas in Poitou-Charentes

Mauzé sur le Mignon suits the Marais Poitevin, Barbezieux suits cognac, and Montmorillon suits quiet river towns. This page covers inland Poitou-Charentes; the coast, Rochefort and the islands are on our Charente-Maritime page. Choice inland is small and scattered, so plan around one area, and you will need a car.

Where

Villas: 15
From, per week: £383
Cheapest month: December
Nearest airports: Poitiers is closest for Montmorillon and Civray and has had London flights, at around an hour and a half. La Rochelle suits Mauzé, and Bordeaux, with the most routes, suits Barbezieux and Ronsenac. UK routes at the smaller airports change from year to year, so check before booking. TGV trains from Paris reach Poitiers in about an hour and a half.

Where to stay in Poitou-Charentes

Mauzé sur le Mignon (the Marais Poitevin)

Mauzé is a small town on the Mignon, on the eastern edge of the Marais Poitevin, the marshland laced with canals often called Green Venice. Coulon, about 25 minutes away, is the place to hire a flat-bottomed boat or bike along the towpaths. Niort is around 20 minutes by road and La Rochelle about 40. The explorer René Caillié, the first European to return from Timbuktu, was born here.

Best for: Families and cyclists who want boat trips and flat lanes

Not for you if: You want a beach on the doorstep: the coast is around 40 minutes away.

Barbezieux (Cognac country)

Barbezieux sits among the vineyards of the Petite Champagne, one of the cognac growing areas, and has a château at the centre of town. Many small producers sell from the farm. Cognac itself, with the big houses along the Charente, is around 40 minutes north, and Jarnac a little closer. Angoulême is about 30 minutes east. Bordeaux airport is around an hour and a quarter away.

Best for: Couples who want cognac houses and vineyard lanes

Not for you if: You want plenty of nightlife: Barbezieux is a quiet market town.

Ronsenac (south of Angoulême)

Ronsenac is a village in the wooded hills a few minutes from Villebois-Lavalette, which has a hilltop château and an old covered market hall. Angoulême, around 25 minutes north, has an old town on its ramparts and a large comic-strip museum, and hosts a large comics festival each January. Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, with a church carved out of the cliff, is about 35 minutes south.

Best for: Walkers and visitors who want Angoulême within half an hour

Not for you if: You need a short transfer: every airport with UK flights is well over an hour away.

Montmorillon and Civray (southern Vienne)

Montmorillon is a small town on the Gartempe that has turned its old quarter into a book town, with second-hand bookshops and craft workshops. The abbey church at Saint-Savin, a World Heritage site for its Romanesque wall paintings, is around 20 minutes north. Civray is on the Charente, with a carved Romanesque church front, and the abbey tower at Charroux is about 15 minutes away. Poitiers airport is under an hour from either.

Best for: Readers, history fans and anyone who wants rural France without crowds

Not for you if: You want both bases close together: Montmorillon and Civray are about an hour apart.

When to go to Poitou-Charentes

June and September are the best months inland: warm, dry and quiet, with boats running on the Marais Poitevin. July and August are hotter and busier, especially around Coulon and Futuroscope, and the coast fills with French families. Cognac harvest runs from late September into October. Spring brings rain and green marshes. From November the boat hire in the Marais winds down and many restaurants keep shorter hours, though Angoulême's comics festival fills the city in late January.