Montendre: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

The Château de Montendre stands on a 114-metre-high hill and offers sweeping views over heathland, forests and meadows, as well as the old town centre below.

Those who have chosen Montendre as their destination may wish to rent a holiday apartment.

Culture and History

The origins of the Château de Montendre date back to the Gallo-Roman period. A first oppidum was built there in 52 BC by a Roman legionary named Andron.

Parts of the fortification walls, a round tower, a square tower, a guardroom and underground passages have been preserved at the Château de Montendre.

The Halles are an octagonal market hall inaugurated in 1863, featuring a wooden supporting structure without pillars in the shape of an upturned boat hull.

Since their renovation, the Halles have no longer been used for markets, but are admired by tourists and enthusiasts of fine wooden structures.

The Église Saint-Pierre is a large building in a Romanesque-inspired style. It was constructed between 1812 and 1821, replacing a medieval church.

Montendre lies in the linguistic area of Saintongeais, a dialect belonging to the Langues d’oïl family. Saintongeais also shares similarities with Gabaye, spoken in the neighbouring Haute Gironde.

Nature

Lac Baron-Desqueyroux is a ten-hectare lake surrounded by pine trees.

Lac Baron-Desqueyroux is the starting point for numerous hiking trails.

A permanent orienteering area extends around Lac Baron-Desqueyroux across approximately 250 hectares of pine forest.

The Lac Baron-Desqueyroux area is designated as a ZNIEFF and features vegetation typical of marshes and wetlands, as well as habitats for wetland animals.

Activities

La Double Aventure is an adventure park in a natural setting in Montendre, with treetop courses, net courses, paintball and family games.

Montendre used to have the night-time Terra Aventura trail “Dans les bois de Morphée”, which was considered the only night-time trail of its kind in Charente-Maritime.

Geographical Location

The D 730 passes through Montendre and provides access to the southern part of the Charente-Maritime département, including via Montlieu-la-Garde from La Roche-Chalais in the Dordogne.

Other places: Bourcefranc-Le-Chapus, Pouillac, Saint-Hippolyte, Guitinières, La Jarrie, Aujac, Vinax and Neuvicq-Le-Château.

To the higher-level travel overview: Charente-Maritime.