In the vineyards, Canals & intimate rivers
25,98 Km
1 h 41 min
I begin / Family
The Charente River now becomes the main thread on your journey along La Flow Vélo. The route takes you gently out of Angoulême, French comics capital, keeping to the riverside. Then it leads you up to slopes featuring the first vines of the Pays de Cognac area. The sweet-toothed might stop at Letuffe chocolate-makers’ at Trois-Palis. While up on the slopes, savour the lovely viewpoints before dropping down to Saint-Simeux, a village with lovely houses and gardens practically bathing in the Charente. Just before Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, the Bain des Dames boasts a lovely beach where you can enjoy the river to the full.
Elevation of the stage
303 m 227 m
Waytypes of the stage
Cycle path: 4,62 km By road: 21,36 km
Surface of the stage
Lisse: 25,98 km
The route
La Flow Vélo cycle route hugs the Charente River as you leave Angoulême, the track here with a limestone surface. You then continue along quiet country roads, but in future, the plan is for the track to be extended along the towpath once it has been restored. At Saint-Simeux, you rejoin a greenway up to Châteauneuf-sur-Charente. This makes an ideal outing for families, with just one slope to tackle just after Trois-Palis.
Link towards La Scandibérique
At Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, La Scandibérique cycle route leads you straight south. After some 10km on small roads, you join a well-surfaced greenway for a 35km stretch.
SNCF train stations
- Stations in Angoulême and Châteauneuf-sur-Charente
- TER line Angoulême - Châteauneuf-sur-Charente - Jarnac - Cognac - Saintes - Saujon - Royan
- TER connection at Saintes for La Rochelle
- TER and TGV connections at Angoulême for Bordeaux, Poitiers, Tours, Paris
Don't miss
- Angoulême: The painted walls, the Comic Strip Museum, the International City of Comic Strip and Image, The Paper Museum, The Drawing Table, The regional fund of contemporary art Poitou-Charentes, the museum of Angoulême, The Cathedral Saint Pierre
- Saint Yrieix sur Charente: The Nautilis center, the nautical base
- Trois Palis: the church, the Letuffe chocolate factory
- Saint-Simeux: The port
- Châteauneuf-sur-Charente: Le Bain des Dames - Leisure centres, the islands of the escape, The church
Travellers’ reviews