Page 408 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

century, when the Council of bustling arrival point for
Charroux declared the “Truce transatlantic steamships in
of God”, the earliest-known the 19th century. Today, this
attempt to regulate war in the now sleepy port is mostly
manner of the Geneva conven- used by plea sure boats.
tion. A huge tower marks what The commune of Pauillac is
was once the centre of the also one of the most famous
church, and some superb areas in the Médoc wine region;
sculpture from the original three of its châteaux are Médoc
abbey portal can be seen in premiers grands crus classés.
the small museum. Château Mouton Rothschild
uses leading artists to create
its wine labels and has a small
16 museum of paint ings on wine
themes from all over the world.
Confolens The Château Lafite Rothschild
is of medieval origin and the
! C4 ⌂ Charente @
n 8 rue Fontaine des Château Latour is recognizable
Jardins; www.mairie- by its distinc tive stone turret.
confolens.fr They can be visited by appoint-
Ascending angels around ment (contact the tourist office
the cherry­red door to On the border with Limousin, well in advance).
Église St­Pierre at Aulnay Confolens, once an impor tant
frontier town, now suffers from
rural exodus. Efforts to make 18
14 the town more attractive La Rochelle
include the annual folklore
Aulnay de Saintonge festival, held in August.
The medieval bridge that ! B4 ⌂ Charente-Maritime
! C4 ⌂ Charente-Maritime ~ £ @ n 2 quai Georges
n 290 av de l’Église; www. runs across the River Vienne Simenon, Le Gabut; www.
saintongedoree-tourisme. was heavily restored in the larochelle-tourisme.com
com early 18th century.
La Rochelle, a commercial
Perhaps the most unusual fact centre and busy port since
about the lovely 12th-century 17 the 11th century, has suffered
Église St-Pierre at Aulnay is that much from a distressing ten-
it was all built at once; there is Pauillac dency to back the wrong side –
no ill-fitting apse or transept ! C5 ⌂ Gironde £ @ the English and the Calvin ists,
added to an original nave. The nLa Verrerie; www. for example. This led to the
church is covered in glorious pauillac-medoc.com ruthless siege of the city by
sculpture, particularly the out- Cardinal Richelieu in 1628,
side of the south tran sept. It is Situated on the west bank of during which 23,000 people
a rare example of a complete the Gironde, this town was the
Romanesque façade, with rank
on rank of raucous monsters
and graceful human figures. HIDDEN GEM
Note the donkey with a harp. Coriobona
Just east of Confolens
is Coriobona, a recon­
15 structed Gallic village
with thatched­roof
Charroux houses. Here, actors in
period clothing prac­
! E4 ⌂ Vienne n 2 rte de ticing various crafts
Chatain; www.civraisien such as weaving,
charlois.com forging and pottery.
The 8th-century Abbaye
St-Sauveur in Charroux was
once one of the richest abbeys
in the region. Today it is a ruin
(go to the tourist office to visit). Yachts moored in the
Its chief contribution to his- peaceful harbour at
tory was made in the 10th La Rochelle, after sunset
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