BEACH BREAKS AND ISLAND LIFE : IN, ON AND BESIDE THE SEA

With so much delightful coastline and islands to choose from, it’s not surprising that the Atlantic Coast of Poitou-Charentes has been attracting holidaymakers for almost 150 years : Royan, The Gironde Estuary, Oléron Island, Madame and Aix Islands...

ROCHEFORT, CITADELS, FORTS, RAMPARTS, VAUBAN... A CHAIN OF COASTAL DEFENCES

The coast of Charente-Maritime has been strategically important since the Middle Ages and the shoreline is still dotted with forts, citadels and ramparts, many of them accessible to the public.
And the decision of Louis XIV - the "Sun King" - to order his minister Colbert to build him a dockyard and arsenal in Rochefort to rival the best in Europe gives the Poitou-Charentes coastline a unique miltary architectural heritage.