GREAT DESTINATIONS ❘ DEUX CHARENTES


“ANGOULÊME IS TRANSFORMED INTO A HUGE CELEBRATION OF EVERY POSSIBLE ASPECT OF COMIC-BOOK CULTURE”


DEUX CHARENTES FOOD AND


there are exhibitions, lectures, shows, workshops, book signings and innumerable book stalls. The next festival is from January 25 to 28, 2024 (www.bdangouleme.com).


From top: Les Chais Magelis, home to Angoulême’s comic-book museum; the flamboyant Gothic cathedral at Saintes; Festival International de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême; Marennes- Oléron oysters for sale; a glass of Pineau des Charentes makes the perfect aperitif


Come outside of these dates, though, and you can either visit La Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l’Image – with a museum, library, bookshop and cinema dedicated to the art form – or book a guided tour of the many colourful comic-book murals emblazoned around town (boutique.angouleme-tourisme.com/billetterie/ angouleme-bd-murs-peints-street-art).


THAT’S THE SPIRIT


From Angoulême it’s a short drive west to Cognac, the world capital of the very best brandy. Here, feel free to stuff yourself with the richest of French food in the knowledge you can always aid digestion with a large glass of cognac. It’s a fine-looking town, lined with half- timbered 15th- to 17th-century houses and dissected by the River Charente. But you’re not here to admire the architecture. Park the car and head for one of the many cognac houses that open their doors for tastings: Otard, Rémy Martin, Camus, Hennessy, Meukow, Martell… take your pick and drink responsibly, bien sûr. From Cognac, it’s a short skip, following the course of the River Charente back into the Charente-Maritime department and to


❯❯ 98 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Oct/Nov 2023


DRINK It all starts with the seafood, naturally. And sooner or later, you’re going to find yourself shucking an oyster. These bivalves are the star gastronomic attraction on this portion of the Atlantic coast, but the most famous of all are the Marennes-Oléron oysters which spend the latter stages of their lives in brackish water, giving them their distinctive nutty flavour. The mussels here – many of them grown on ropes curled around long wooden poles, or bouchots – are rather special too. For a bit of turf with their surf, some Charentais eat garden snails in a dish called cagouilles à la charentaise – snails cooked in white wine, carrots, garlic, onion, thyme, bay leaves, tomato and a dash of cognac. There’s also plenty of food that doesn’t come in a shell: try Charentais grillons (a pork dish), Chalais veal, Barbezieux chicken, lapin à la saintongeaise (rabbit casserole) or potatoes from the Île de Ré. The best known local cheeses are Manslois and Joncheé. For dessert, there’s galette Charentaise (a spongy cake), kroumir (marzipan dipped in sugar), pichotte (marzipan dipped in chocolate) or the famous Charentais melon. Cognc is the obvious liquid to wash all this down,


double-distilled and aged in oak casks to give it its distinctive flavour. You’ll also quaff lots of pineau des Charentes, a popular aperitif made from a blend of lightly fermented grape must and cognac.


IMAGES © CHARENTES TOURISME, SHUTTERSTOCK


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