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LOIRE
& POITOU-CHARENTES
Take a holiday in Poitou-Charentes and enjoy vineyards and
châteaux, a relaxing wilderness fringed by a stunning
coastline.
The sea along the central Atlantic Coast can be enjoyed actively in a
boat or on the surf, or at a more leisurely pace at one
of its attractive port towns. Running inland from the Atlantic, the
Loire Valley offers fairy-tale châteaux and countless
vineyards
for the visitor to explore. Poitou-Charentes is a peaceful wilderness
of pine forests, seaside resorts and lush marshlands,
not to mention Cognac and its world-famous brandy. RENT OUR GITE IN the
CHARENTES
If you are looking for a gite in the Poitou-Charentes, we offer a great
choice, with pools.
The
snail is an odd creature. It looks odd, it behaves oddly (so would you
if your top speed was just four yards an hour) and, when cooked, it
tastes odd.
A hermaphrodite that plays both male and female roles during
reproduction, the snail has a single, self-lubricating foot and two
sets of horns, one each for seeing and smelling its way around.
Why, then, is such a humble, altogether harmless animal the focus of
such gastronomic fervour in France, and the subject of books, recipes
and, believe it or not, festivals?
GETTING
TO LOIRE & POITOU-CHARENTES AIR Air France (0845 084 5111;
www.airfrance.co.uk) from Gatwick to Nantes;
British Airways (0845 773 3377; www.britishairways.com) from Heathrow
to Nantes;
Ryanair(0870 240 7070; www.ryanair.com) to Tours, La Rochelle and
Poitiers from Stansted.
British European (0870 567 6676; www.flybe.com) from Gatwick to Nantes.
ROAD A10 from Paris to Orléans, Tours, Poitiers and Saintes.
N137 from Saintes to La Rochelle.
For Nantes from Caen, take the A84 to Rennes then the N137. From Paris,
take the A11/E50 to Le Mans.
RAIL TGV to Le Mans, Angers, Nantes. Poitiers, La Rochelle and
Angoulême from Paris (Gare Montparnasse).
For all rail information, contact Rail Europe (0870 584
8848;www.raileurope.co.uk).
AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE (CELSIUS) °C
This Region 9 8 11 17 16.5 23 25.5 24.5 22 17 12.5 8.5
London 6 7 10 13 17 20 22 21 19 14 10 7
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC