サントのおすすめライド

Exceptional view, the most beautiful village in France.

Here you'll find a romantic little lighthouse, and behind it lies a garden with a bench overlooking the sea, a lovely place to stop for a break. Afterwards, you can continue along the cliff to the right until you reach Euro Velo 1 again.

Perfect beachside bike trail along the boulevard, with several rest stops with seating and beach acces.

A beautiful church with beautiful houses hidden in an ancient but romantic village, it's worth a stop. The Saint-Étienne church in Brives-sur-Charente is recent. It was consecrated in 1868 and reflects the 14th-century Gothic style. It replaced an older church, of which only a baptismal font, listed as a historic object in 1922, and a capital remain. This font, square and made of a single block of siliceous limestone, is a rare specimen of 12th-century sculpture and symbolism. Certain characteristic features, such as the draperies, allow it to be dated to the 1150s. On three sides, we discover the Annunciation made to Mary, then on the main face of the font, Christ officiating in heaven, and finally Christ descending into hell, savior of souls.

Chaillevette, from the Saintongeais "Chaille" which means "pebble" is a small town in Charente Maritime with 1620 inhabitants, on the Arvert Peninsula. Nestled on the left bank of the Seudre, in a setting of salt marshes, punctuated by "claires" where oysters are refined. The refinement gives them this blue-green color and this typical iodized flavor. Oyster farming by oyster farmers is an essential resource for maintaining two pretty ports: The port of Chatressac, (which almost entered history in the 17th century, having been considered for a time to accommodate the Grand arsenal maritime du Ponant wanted by Louis XIV, which was finally built further north and gave birth to the city of Rochefort), and the port of Chaillevettte. Typical with their oyster huts in various and shimmering colors, bordering the channel and welcoming barges, these two ports have managed to preserve their picturesque character. However, you can enjoy local products in the "tasting huts" and especially the oysters that make our town famous as the "cradle of the oyster". Each of these ports is animated each year by the July 14 festival in Chatressac and the August 15 festival in Chaillevette. In the Chaillevetonne countryside, the cultivation of cereals such as wheat or corn finds its place, without forgetting the vines, which will be used to produce, among other things, the Charente country wine, pineau and cognac.

On the beach of Royan (20,000 inhabitants). This is where the boat that takes you across the Gironde docks/departs.

The Terre-Nègre lighthouse is a landmark forming a cylindrical tower a little over 26 meters high. Located on the tip of Terre-Nègre, in the commune of Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, in Charente-Maritime, it is intended to mark the southern pass of the Gironde estuary and to signal the presence of a dangerous sandbank, the "Anglais bar". This building forms a tower-column 3.16 meters in diameter and 26.60 meters high. A spiral staircase with a central core of 143 steps leads to a summit platform equipped with a directional light. The tower is painted in two different colors to make it more visible: the upper part is red, the lower part is white. The base of the lighthouse is hidden by a building that once served as the keeper's accommodation. The installation of a beacon at this location was considered as early as 1763. De Kearney took over the beaconing plan four years later. Construction work on the tower began in 1770 and was completed in 1773, probably under the supervision of the Bordeaux engineer Claude Tardy. In 1807, the tower was raised. However, this work was considered insufficient by some of the estuary's navigators. In 1834, sailors from the nearby port of Royan sent a request to the Ministry of the Navy to study the possibility of equipping the tower with a light. However, this request was postponed the following year due to lack of sufficient funds. A new request from sailors prompted the lighthouse commission to experiment with a first light in 1836. Finally, on October 15, 1838, a fixed white 4th order light was permanently installed. The latter was replaced in 1856 by a fixed white light of the 4th order of a small dioptric model with a reinforced sector of the 5th order catoptric. It was equipped with new lights in 1899 and 1904. In 1939, it was electrified. During the German occupation, the lighthouse served as an observatory for the soldiers of the Wehrmacht. Damaged during the fighting of 1945 (presence of breaches at the top of the tower), it was restored in the immediate post-war period. In March 1947, the lighthouse was operational again. A light with 3 occultations — changing every 12 seconds — was installed. Its colors are white, red and green. Its current range is 18 miles. Listed as a Historic Monument since 2011, the lighthouse is not open to visitors. However, it can be admired from the outside and a pretty passage provides direct access to the coastal path.

It is an absolutely beautiful village.