Stop Press: Stansted/ Poitiers every day by Ryan-Air

The Poitou-Charentes is situated in mid-western France bordering the Atlantic Ocean with the Loire valley to the north and the Aquitaine and Dordogne to the south. The region is easily accessible with good road links from all the channel ports and the A10 Paris-Bordeaux autoroute passes by Poitiers. There's also the excellent TGV or "Train Grande Vitesse". The TGV will rush you (at 300 km/hr in places!) from Paris to Poitiers in just 95 minutes and from the Charles de Gaulle (ROISSY) airport in 2hr. The region is also well served by the national airlines.

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Poitiers, the administrative capital of the region, is steeped in history with it's Romanesque churches, half-timbered houses and ancient market place, dominated by the Roman church "Notre-Dame", seen here during the evening polychrome projections (Jun-Sep) which try to re-create the original 13th century painted facade. Just a 10 minute drive from the city centre we arrive at what is undoubtedly the region's largest tourist attraction. The Futuroscope, although less well known, receives twice as many visitors as the Mont St Michel. France's answer to the Epcot centre, the Futuroscope is Europe's premier image theme park. Attractions include giant imax cinema screens, 3-D cinemas, 360° screens, virtual reality/internet park and many more too numerous to list here. Futuroscope home page in English.

Slightly further a field, to the west of Niort, you'll find the "Marais-Poitevin" or Green Venice. This protected natural park is a rich fenland labyrinth, crossed by hundreds of canals, now mainly used for pleasure trips in flat bottomed boats although some of the locals still transport goats and cattle. The fabulous sandy beaches of the Charente-Maritime are about 1hr30 away, as is the bustling harbour town of La Rochelle with it's imposing twin towers, fine houses and arcaded shopping streets. The Loire valley with it's famous chateaux and wines is 1hr to the north.

Average daily temperatures (°C/shade)

Approximate distances to Poitiers from channel ports