Property Poitou-Charentes - Vienne, France

Vienne, Poitou-Charentes France

The Poitou-Charentes region is made up of four Départements, which are the French equivalents of English counties. Charente (16), Charente-Maritime (17), Vienne (86), Deux-Sevres (79)

The Department of Vienne:

The department of Vienne was formed in 1790 from parts of the former provinces of Poitou, Touraine, and Berry. The department tends to slope downwards from the north to the south with the highest point reaching 764 ft and the lowest point being 115ft at the confluence of the River Creuse and the River Charente. The department gets its name from the River Vienne, which flows straight down the centre.

Main Towns of Vienne

Poitiers

Poitiers - The departmental capital and capital for the region of Poitou-Charente, situated on the Clain River. It is home to around 90,000 people, many of whom are students. It's perched on top of a hill with fine views over the Clain and Boivre Rivers and has many interesting buildings, including a large number of Romanesque churches. The most notable is the Eglise Notre Dame la Grande dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. The pedestrianised centre is also renowned for its bustling shopping scene.

Chatellerault

Chatellerault - An industrial centre where armaments, cutlery, aeronautical equipment, rubber products, and clothing are produced. From 1816 to 1968 Chatellerault was the centre for sword and arms manufacture for the French government. There are many buildings dating from the 15th to the 17th century in the old part of the town, including the house (now a museum) where René Descartes spent his childhood.

Montmorillon

Montmorillon - Lies above the river Gartempe. There is a church of Notre-Dame which was partly built over the crypt of St-Catherine, where there are Romanesque wall paintings of the 12th and 13th centuries.

The old Maison-Dieu (a 12th century hospital) now houses an archeological museum. It has a 12th century chapel of St- Laurent (with later alterations) and an octagonal bell-tower. In the courtyard is the Octogone, originally a funeral chapel.

Montmorillon is near to Futuroscope - Poitou-Charentes' ambitious theme park that offers visitors a glimpse of what a high tech future could look like. When night falls the park becomes the setting for a spectacular laser and fireworks display.

The International Arts Centre, with a Tea Room and English book Exchange, which arranges a variety of art and creative writing courses, residential and day, for the local English, French and German, and those from abroad.

Gites, Hotels and Tourist Accommodation in Vienne

This increase in tourism, especially since it is fuelled to some degree by the increase in low cost air fares, opens opportunities for those wishing to start or run a business in France.

Many people find converting an old barn or outhouse to a gite enables them to earn a useful supplementary income from those looking for a French gite holiday. Rural gite holidays are increasingly popular and a 'gite to rent' or 'gite louer' could be how you enjoy life without working in the rat race.

House & Property Prices in Vienne

The average price of a 4 bedroom property in good condition with some land is between 185,000 and 205,000 euros which is well below the national average and hence fairly cheap. It is further inland than the typically popular areas but is a good place to find a country farmhouse or cottage.

Site copyright © WebOneUK.com 2007 - Web Design & Marketing

Part of the Home France group of Web Sites