Discover Saintes: History, Music and the Charente

Every July, Saintes hosts the Festival de Saintes, which presents concerts of early music and Baroque music.

History and Culture

The Gallo-Roman amphitheatre was built around 40–50 AD under Emperor Claudius. The Arc de Germanicus was built in AD 18–19 at the entrance to the Roman bridge leading into the city of Saintes. It stands at the end of the Via Agrippa and preserves an inscription in honour of Tiberius and Germanicus.

The Basilique Saint-Eutrope houses one of the largest Romanesque crypts in Europe. The Abbaye aux Dames is a former Benedictine abbey founded in 1047. You can consider the dates separately and view the buildings as distinct historical points of access.

Museums and Collections

The Musée archéologique conveys an impression of ancient Saintes 2,000 years ago through its urban planning and the lives of its inhabitants. It also displays sculptures that adorned public and private areas of Saintes in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

The collections also include everyday objects relating to topics such as domestic games, religion and food. Urban planning, sculptures and utilitarian objects thus offer different perspectives on life in Saintes; you can mentally structure your museum visit around these topics.

Events and Sound

The grounds of the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre are regularly used for concerts, theatre performances and national events such as the Archaeology Days. At the Abbaye aux Dames, Saintes offers sound journeys with 3D audio from the cloister to the bell tower.

Music, staged performance, archaeology and spatial listening each place different emphasis within the cultural programme and can be considered separately when planning your personal trip.

Getting Around Saintes

A walking tour through Saintes and its history is available from the tourist office and begins at the Arc de Germanicus. A green tourist route connects five important sights in Saintes: the Abbaye aux Dames, the Arc de Germanicus, the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre with the old town, the Église St Eutrope and the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre.

The historical tour and the connection between several sights appeal to different forms of orientation. You can view the locations mentioned as individual destinations or as a thematic selection for planning your day.

Landscape

Upstream of Saintes and along its final stretch, the Charente follows a calm, low-gradient course between broad flood meadows, making it suitable for relaxation. For personal planning, the cultural sites and the river section can be placed side by side as distinct themes.

When comparing holiday apartments in Saintes, you can review travel dates, room category and cancellation policies side by side on the respective listing pages. When planning individually, this information can be considered alongside your own interests in history, music, routes or landscapes.

Other Places

St-Pierre De Pérignac, Guitinières, La Tremblade, Fontcouverte, Saint-Hilaire-De-Villefranche, Grézac, Villars-En-Pons, Saint-Bonnet-sur-Gironde

To the main travel overview: Charente-Maritime.