Six buildings that lie on the main route to Santiago de Compostela have been included by UNESCO in its World Heritage Site list – the churches of St Hilaire in Poitiers and Melle, St Peter’s in Aulnay, the royal abbey of Saint-Jean d’Angély, St Eutrope’s church in Saintes, and the hospital in Pons.

Also classified by UNESCO are the murals inside the abbey church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, widely considered the finest set of Romanesque murals in France, if not the Western world. Painted on the vaulting of the nave are stirring scenes from the Old and New Testaments, from Genesis and Exodus, whilst the Galilee porch is decorated with episodes from the Apocalypse. Discover the secrets of the murals and the history of this thousand-year-old abbey at your own pace with the help of an audio guide and through video displays presented in the old monks’ cells.

The Saint-Martin-de-Ré citadel, on Ré island, is part of the Unesco World Heritage (fortifications of Vauban).

If you love architecture, interiors or simply nosing about other people’s properties, you’ll find plenty of châteaux to explore and enjoy throughout the region.

Step back into the 17th century at La Roche Courbon in Saint-Porchaire, a fortified château transformed into a classical residence by the young Marquis Jean-Louis de Courbon. Follow in the footsteps of our own Black Prince who stayed in Roumazières-Loubert at Château de Peyras, remarkable for its roof beams in the shape of an upturned boat. Or discover life under Napoleon at the Château de Rochebrune in Etagnac, home in the 19th century to one of his generals and still owned by his family.

The Château d’Oiron near Loudun was built in the 16th century to house the collection of paintings and collectables belonging to Claude Gouffier, equerry to Henri II.

The Château de Touffou at Bonnes is based on two defensive keeps built in the 12th century, but three hundred years later, the towers were joined together and the building gradually enlarged to form a magnificent Renaissance home.

And if you just can’t get enough of lavish interiors, enjoy an expert guided tour through twenty beautiful rooms inside the Château d’Epanvilliers at Brux.