The leading English language magazine. Now covering Poitou-Charentes, Dordogne, Vendée and Haute-Vienne too!

Brard Blanchard has been a family-run pineau and cognac producer since the early 1900s. It's also one of the rare vineyards that is still harvested by hand...

The ancient Château de Nieuil, with its modern restaurant - La Grange aux Oies - boasts a pleasing mix of the historical with the contemporary...

You can hardly visit friends in this region without someone pouring a glass or serving a melon-half full of the soft, subtle liqueur that is Pineau. Here, Johnny Keggler, author of the bilingual book ‘Le Pineau, the Passion of the Charente/la Passion Charentaise’ lets us into some of its secrets...

The Charente has a long tradition of artisan work and today many a village has communities of potters, painters and sculptors making beautiful and unusual pieces. And then there are the remnants of the industries that once brought great wealth to the area but now have declined. To visit them is to get a glimpse of Charente's past...

Stunning scenery, grazing donkeys, a medieval bath and a 15th century fortified castle - welcome to Le Logis de Puygaty, a stylish and luxurious Chambre d'hôte in the heart of South Charente.