Activities around the

La Ferme du Champ du Parc

Activities and astractions in the area

We present here a small selection of activities to practice and curiosities to discover around our cottage.

Do not forget that we provide you with bikes, two of which are fitted with child seats, which you can take for a ride of around two hours with a Poitou donkey, visit our farm at leisure and feed chickens, goats , donkeys
(remember to bring carrots ...).

Javerzay Castle

5 km from the cottage

It was rebuilt in 1514 by the Rochechouart falmily on the remains of an ancient castle which then had twelve towers along its surrounding wall. There are only two left today.

Javarzay is one of the most beautiful witnesses of Renaissance architecture in Deux-Sèvres: superb entrance pavilion flanked by four corbelled turrets, conical roofs covered with slate, everything is there!

Property of the municipality since 1982, the castle of Javarzay houses the Hairdressing Museum, there are exposed more than 400 hats and headdresses…

The Romanesque church of Saint-Savinien

in Melle, 20 km from the gîte

The Saint-Savinien church is the oldest of the three Romanesque churches in Melle.

Transformed into a prison during the 19th century, it was not until the 1960s that she regained her true identity.

It hosts an annual classical music festival every August.

The Romanesque church of Saint-Pierre

in Melle, 20 km from the gîte

The Romanesque church of Saint-Pierre dates from the 12th century.

It has stood alongside a cemetery divided into two parts since 1804, when a law authorized Protestants to bury their dead on Catholic soil.

The Romanesque church of Saint-Hilaire

in Melle, 20 km from the gîte

The Saint-Hilaire church, a UNESCO World Heritage monument, was built between the 11th and 12th centuries.

It is one of the treasures of Poitevin Romanesque art. Do not miss admiring it from the outside.

The harmony of the proportions of the building is remarkable.

The silver mines of the Frankish Kings

in Melle, 20 km from the gîte

The oldest mines that can be visited in Europe, used to strike Carolingian royal coins.

Here, the limestone soil has enclosed crystallized lead rich in silver ore in underground pockets, or "geodes".

They were used from the 6th century, but it was during the reign of Charlemagne that money was minted for the first time in Melle's workshops ...

The site, in addition to visiting the mine, offers a retrospective of the striking techniques used at that time.

Three animations are also presented around the themes of metallurgy in history, vegetable dyeing and weaving, and the art of illumination and calligraphy.

The visit of the "Carolingian garden" will allow you to discover the plants which were cultivated at that time, for consumption purposes, of course, but also for medicine or the making of clothes.

Green Venice

swamp poitevin, 50 km from the gite

Green Venice is a very special part of the Marais Poitevin ...

It covers 15,000 hectares on either side of the Sèvre Niortaise ...

We walk there, on foot, by bike, and of course by boat ...

Prefer the walk guided by a boatman because there are only the natives for whom the canals are not alike!

Slowness required and silence just disturbed by the sounds of nature, the beauty of the landscapes and the harmony of colors, nothing is more exotic than letting yourself slide on this tranquil water, covered with its green carpet of duckweed, shadow of the trees, far from everything ... take advantage of a stop in one of the villages to take this walk from the small piers.

From Coulon to Maillé, passing through the villages of Arçais, Damvix, Garette or Vanneau, it is a succession of paintings that many painters wanted to transcribe on their canvas: willows whose branches come to touch the water, the "huts of the marsh", these white houses with blue shutters, posed there at the edge of the canal, their boats ready to go, as before when the boat was the most used means of transport ...
Exceptional but fragile heritage, the Green Venice is the subject of much attention: consolidation of the banks by replanting trees after the storm of 1999, protective measures in particular for flora and fauna.

The Royal Abbey and its park

in Celles sur Belle, 25 km from the gîte

17th century Royal Abbey of exceptional architecture.

Rebuilt on the remains of an old abbey complex dating from the 11th century, a major site in history, the abbey nowadays hosts a large number of cultural activities (exhibitions, academies, music festivals, etc.).

The Corderie Royale

Rochefort sur Mer, 75 km from the gîte

A stone's throw from the Hermione basin, take the Chemin de Charente to explore the “Versailles of the Sea”: La Corderie Royale.

Longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, the royal factory illustrates with its decorations, the grandeur and power of Louis XIV in the 17th century.

Cognac distilleries

57 km from the gîte

Discover the Cognac distilleries.

They offer you a wide range of cellar visits, workshops or initiation meetings.

Futuroscope

Poitiers, 80 km from the gîte

The Futuroscope or Futuroscope Park is a leisure park with a technological, scientific, anticipation and fun theme, whose attractions combine sensory approaches and image projections.

Angoulême comics festival

70 km from the gîte

The Angoulême International Comics Festival, more commonly known as the Angoulême Festival, is the main French-language comic festival and the second most important in Europe in terms of notoriety and participation rate after the International Band Fair drawn from Lucca, Italy.

It takes place every year in January.

Fort Boyard

Fouras, 85 km from the gîte

Fort Boyard is a fortification situated on a high bottom originally formed by a sandbank, called the "longe de Boyard" which is discovered at low tide and is located between the island of Aix to the northeast , the island of Oléron in the south-west, with the island Madame in the south-east and the island of Ré in the north, belonging to the Charente archipelago.

The citadel of Brouage

90 km from the gîte

Brouage in Charente-Maritime is one of the most beautiful villages in France.

Discover the citadel of Brouage, a stone star placed in the middle of the marsh.

Francofolies

La Rochelle, 100 km from the gîte

Francofolies is a music festival created in 1985 in La Rochelle in Charente-Maritime. The festival takes place every year in July.

Puy du Fou

120 km from the gîte

Puy du Fou is a leisure park with the theme of the History of France and the Vendée.

It is one of the most important parks in France. The park is made up of 2 parts: the Grand Parc, and Cinéscénie.

Open from April to November.

But still...

Many festivals

Throughout the year: Confolens (folklores of the world), Lusseray (puppets in the countryside), Niort (clown), ...

La Ferme du Champ du Parc