Angoulême

Angoulême^{[dead link]} is the capital of the Charente department. It lies about 135 km north of Bordeaux in south west France.

Get in

Map of Angoulême

You can get to Angoulême by the very frequent service in 2h10 from Paris Montparnasse, south towards Bordeaux, Libourne, Chalais, Arcachon and further south. You can get Corail intercities, TER, and the very well-known TGV, renowned for its speed.

By plane

Budget airline Ryanair flies from London Stansted to Angoulême-Brie Champniers airport, about 15km northeast of the town. The airport is also known as Angoulême Cognac^{[dead link]}.

Get around

See

The cathedral Saint Pierre
The Saint Marial church
The Hergé Statue
The green garden (Jardin vert)
the court (Francois premier place)
The market " Les halles"
The view from the ramparts (which replaced the medieval city walls)
The Hôtel de Ville^{[dead link]}' (Town Hall)
The murs peints, walls painted with cartoons
Centre International de la Bande Dessinée (Comic Strip Museum), 121 rue de Bordeaux (bus #3 or #5), ☏ +33 5 45 38 65 65, fax: +33 5 45 38 65 51. Sep–Jun Tu–F 10:00-18:00, Sa Su 14:00-18:00; Jul Aug: open M and until 19:00. €5. (updated Jun 2024)
Atelier-Musée du Papier (Paper making Museum), 134 rue de Bordeaux, ☏ +33 5 45 92 73 43. Jul Aug: Tu–Sa 12:00-18:30; Sep–Jun: Tu–Su 14:00-18:00. free.
Art and Historical Museum, 1, Rue de Friedland, ☏ +33 5 45 95 79 88. free.

Do

Angoulême International Comics Festival (Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême). January. The largest comics festival in Europe, held since 1974.
Circuit des remparts: an old car race - in September
Festival Musique Metisse: worldwide music show at the end of May
Festival du film Francophone: French language movie exhibition at the end of August
La Nef (Concert Hall)

Buy

Chocolat is the city speciality (the shape of the marguerite the real Angoulême symbol)

Eat

Restaurant in the old Angoulême ("Vieil Angoulême") (lots of choice)
For see food: Le Terminus in front of the train station
For Meet: Le Boucher next to "Champs-de-mars",
Local ambiance: Le Bruleau Charentais
Young ambiance: Megane et Bastien
For sushi: Sushi H at Gallery Champ-de-Mars
For best quality: La Ruelle, Les artistes

Drink

Cognac
Pineau
Local cocktail: Cognac Schwepps

Sleep

Mercure Hotel

Connect

Go next

There are many places you can explore:

Bordeaux (amazing architecture, wine, views, shops and pretty much the entire lot)
Royan (1 hr 30 min by car) — famous seaside resort, closer sea access
Chalais (amazing array of shops and spectacular French markets and architecture)
La Rochelle (2 hr by car)
Saintes (1 hr by car)
Sarlat (2 hr by car)
Poitiers (view points, restaurants and markets).

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