Charente-Maritime

General info

Charente-Maritime: general information

Charente-Maritime is located on the Atlantic coast of western France, in the Poitou-Charentes region. The department extends from just north of La Rochelle to the Gironde estuary (north of Bordeaux) to the south.

The department is a 'transition zone' between northern France and southern France, and some of the coastal areas have a very warm micro-climate with a great deal of sunshine, and warmer conditions than you would expect.

Away from the beaches and coast the countryside here is largely flat, with small scale agricultural with crops such as sunflowers and maize interspersed with small woodlands.

Non-coastal highlights

While it is true that the coastal regions attract most attention the Charente-Maritime also has several places of interest to discover if you venture inland!

Among these the most popular is the region of marshes and canals known as the Marais-Poitevin to the north-east of the department.

See central and eastern Charente-Maritime for highlights away from the coast

Nature reserves

For bird watchers and nature lovers there are several nature reserves in Charente-Maritime. Each of these also organises guided visits that will enable you to see the flora and fauna in a natural habitat.

These include the lagoons at Rochefort; the natural reserve of Marais de Moeze Oleron (on the coast south of Rochefort); the natural reserve of Marais d'Yves (coast between la Rochelle and Rochefort); the Maison du Fier (at Portes-en-Ré on the Ile-de-Ré); and the Natural reserve of the Bay of Aiguillon (inlet north of La Rochelle).