 |
|
CIVRAY, FRANCE
About 50km South of Poitiers.
The nearest channel port is St Malo, four and a half hours drive, with Calais and Boulougne maybe seven and a half to eight hours including stops.
The nearest airports are Poitiers, Angouleme or Limoges. Flights arrive at Limoges from East Midlands, Liverpool, and Stanstead. Poitiers links to Stanstead and Birmingham and Angouleme to Stanstead
|
La Rochelle airport has flights from Birmingham and Stanstead, Bordeaux from Birmingham, Luton, Bristol, Manchester and Southampton.
There are many local attractions within a pleasant 1/2 hour drive of our cottage in the heart of rural France and a little further afield (around an hour) the famous French regional cities of Poitiers, Angouleme, Limoges and La Rochelle is within 2 hours drive for a great day of sight-seeing on the Atlantic coast.
More locally we have the market town of Civray which is just 5 minutes drive, or 25 min walk, with it's picturesque riverside location on the Charente, a Romanesque church and shops. Charroux and Ruffec around 20min drive. A number of good local restaurants serving traditional French cuisine for a reasonable price and a good Italian restaurant at Condac.
Activities
| Futuroscope |
|
|
| |
|
Located about 9 km north of Poitiers in Jaunay-Clan. This amusement park is a wonderland of science and technology where you will be absorbed into a world of sounds,images and sensations of some of the most advanced film-projection techniques. |
The Kinemax is a rock crystal covered in mirrors with a cinema which can seat 400. In the Omnimax you will see films projected on a massive dome with a special fish-eye lens, which gives you the sense of being right in the middle of the action. The 3-D cinema takes you on a journey through monuments and sites of natural beauty. While watching Le Tapis Magique-Everest you will experience what it feels like to fly over the Himalayas. At the Ocean Oasis you will go on a underwater adventure and explore a reef off the coast of Baja Califirnia. Open daily from 9 am - 8.30 pm. Admission 21€ to 30€ adults, 16€ to 22€ children 5 to 12, free for children under 5.(Please check times and prices) |
Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, Vienne |
|
|
The Romanesque Abbey Church, begun in the mid 11th century, contains many beautiful 11th- and 12th-century murals which are still in a remarkable state of preservation. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. The cruciform church carries a square tower over its crossing. |
|
 |
The transept was built first, then the choir with its ambulatory with five radial chapels in the polygonal apse. In the next building campaign, three bays of the nave were added, the bell tower and its porch, and finally the last six bays of the nave. The bell tower is finished by a fine stone spire more than 80 meters high, added in the 14th century (and restored in the 19th century). The barrel-vaulted nave is supported on magnificently-scaled column with foliate capitals. Below the church is the Crypt of St Savin and St Cyprien, also frescoed with the lives of these two saints.
|
La Vallee des Singes
The Valley of the Apes
Meet the 30 species of primates close to. More than 350 animals roam in total freedom within 15 hectares of natural, wooded parkland. Discover the largest concentration of chimpanzees in Europe. Witness feeding-times throughout the day. Since it opened, Monkey Valley has seen over 250 births, including 5 baby gorillas. |
|
|
Discover what goes on at the Valley behind the scenes ; various exhibitions show what happens when a new monkey arrives, the everyday routine, the births, research.
A film relates the birth of Kwanza, one of the 5 baby gorillas born at Monkey Valley ! There is a mini-farm too, where the children can stroke goats and sheep, plus game and snack areas. |
Giants of the Sky - Chauvigny
Thrills and sensations guaranteed ! Birds from the four continents take wing against the background of the ruined walls of the baronial castle. Marvel at the eagles and falcons as they nosedive at breakneck speeds ! Enormous marabout and white storks, condors and toucans skim over your head. And you can admire rare, surprising birds like the kookaburra, red-legged seriema or secretary bird. Also to be seen, the Medieval town. |
|
This year , you will discover new species of parrots and predatories, come and admire "the dance of sea birds" with pelicans, herons, ibis, cormorants, aigrettes.... |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
and much more, just google Poitou-Charentes.
I'll add more content when I can!
|
