Take a holiday in the Charente Maritime region,  just below the Vendee, on the west coast of France and which is renowned for being a sun trap.

If you are looking for a holiday in the sun which isn't too long a trek from the UK then the Charente region was just made for you! The whole region is reputedly the second sunniest in the whole of France, and it has a low rainfall rate in the summer months too.

Getting there is easy too, though we strongly recommend that you use thye ferry to either Caen, or better still, to St Malo. From St Malo just head south to Rennes and then Nantes where you join the Nantes Peripherique (ring road). Make sure you get on this and follow signs for Bordeaux or you have to go right through the city and lose time. Exit the peripherique at junction 48 and follow the signs for Bordeaux. When you reach La Rochelle you are in the Charente region which reaches down part of the river Gironds above Bordeaux.

La Rochelle is an interesting place to visit as for centuries, this ancient walled city was an important maritime port, but now it is a major tourist centre, there are plenty of things to see and do. The walls were probably used to keep out the invading English as well as others, but we won't delve too far into that here. These days we invade by peaceful  means by taking a holiday in the Charente region, not from a boat with a cutlass between our teeth.

Other major places of interest are Rochefort of the cheese fame, and this town is directly south from la Rochelle, and like la Rochelle, Rochefort is also on the Atlantic Coast facing what we call the Bay of Biscay. Rochefort has a military harbour dating back to the 17th century, when it was an important naval base, and the town itself was built up around the harbour, making a new town in it's da. The straight lines of houses remain much as they were at that time, very  military looking  but very impressive nonetheless.

Further down still on the same coast is Royan which is situated on the northern bank of the mighty river Gironde, part of which flows though Bordeaux as the Garonne. Royan has a long history as a seaside resort and as part of the Charente region is lucky enough to share a micro-climate on a par with the Mediterranean coast. It was one of the very first resorts in France to benefit from the newly discovered fashion for sea-bathing early in the 20th century. It became very fashionable and wealthy visitors from Paris would set up home there for the summer.