Véloroute Jarnac – Local itinerary 23 C

History and heritage are on the agenda of this tour which follows the contours of the river and plunges into the rich past of this region. In Jarnac, François Mitterrand's homeland, the President's shadow is everywhere: from his birth house to his final resting place in the Grand Maisons cemetery, not forgetting the museum which houses the donations made during the two septenniums as well as models of major state works (National Library, Bastille Opera etc…). But Jarnac is also the heart of the town, the quays of the Charente and the trading houses, including Courvoisier, which you will discover as soon as you leave. All along this loop in the Charente Valley, you will pass through pretty little villages and places said to be full of history and traditions. In Lartige, on the road to Bassac, you will pass along the buildings of a distillery before arriving in Triac where you will discover the original architecture of the castle and the Pyramid of Condé: a monument erected on the site of the battle of Jarnac where the Prince of Condé died in 1539 and where the future Henri III won victory against the Protestants. In Bassac, a stopover will be necessary to visit the abbey and its French-style gardens. Then, a few turns of the wheel will take you to St Simon, the Mecca of the history of the gabariers as told in the museum and a stroll on "La Renaissance". Crossing the Charente on one of the humpbacked bridges at Vibrac will allow you to discover a river which divides into several branches forming charming islands and a small diversion to the lock will be a must. On your way back, you will pass in front of the stele Claude Bonnier, one of the leaders of the Resistance and in Angeac, in addition to the church and the wash houses, you will discover one of the richest dinosaur deposits in France discovered in 2010. On the way back to Jarnac, along the river, you will appreciate the calm of the river stop at Graves St-Amant, the small heritage and the banks of the Charente classified natura 2000 at Gondeville.