Whatever your budget, you’ll find representatives from all the major French hotel chains across the region, covering country inns to city centre and chateaux hotels. You’ll also come across some names you may not recognise. Esprit de Poitou-Charentes, for instance, is an association of individual hotels combining character properties with exceptional levels of comfort and service. Or sample the hospitality of a chambres d’hôtes – private homes with up to five rooms for bed and breakfast guests. Every property is different so you could stay in an elegant town house one night, a rural farm the next, or perhaps play lord of the manor at a historic chateau with all the comforts of home and a lot more beside. Some hosts also offer evening meals on reservation – a great chance to pool your language skills in a convivial atmosphere.

A holiday in a self-catering gîte offers the freedom to browse the local markets for food to cook in or let someone else do the cooking on a tour of local restaurants. With no other guests to consider, it can be the perfect solution for families with young children, as well as couples in search of a cosy bolthole to wind down in after a day spent walking, cycling or sightseeing.

Or try something completely different by booking into a yurt – a very different kind of canvas holiday – or maybe a wooden cabin high in the trees with a rope ladder for access.

Explore the lanes in the compact comfort of a horse-drawn caravan or glide lazily along the Charente river in a full-equipped motor cruiser.

Whichever style of accommodation you choose, it’s the starting point to discovering a very special region.