The best cycling routes around Saint-Brice

Château Saint-Martial de Jarnac is an elegant neo-Renaissance-style residence, built between 1882 and 1884 for Maurice Laporte-Bisquit, a cognac merchant and mayor of Jarnac. Its main façade is organized around two polygonal towers and a central H-shaped plan; the facades are decorated with ceramic panels, a tribute to the founding family. The château boasts a majestic stone staircase with a wrought iron railing, large reception rooms adorned with woodwork and gilded stucco, and a landscaped park. The building served as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the First World War and later became a home for art collections. Listed as a historic monument in 2014, the château now houses guest rooms and remains a testament to the prestige of cognac houses during the Belle Époque.

The iconic building housing the Courvoisier house in Jarnac, founded in 1828, is located on the banks of the Charente River in the town center. A former trading site and historic winery, it retains a strong connection to history, particularly with Napoleon, who made the house world famous by taking his cognac into exile. The site includes a museum retracing this rich history as well as a Renard winery, a prestigious storage facility still in use today. Courvoisier perpetuates the art of distillation, aging, and blending there, offering visitors wine tourism experiences that combine heritage and expertise. The romantic setting, close to a lock and a water reserve, underscores its historical and natural local roots.

The birthplace of François Mitterrand, former President of the French Republic, is located at 22 rue Abel Guy in Jarnac, Charente, where he was born on October 26, 1916. This house, built in the early 19th century on the site of the last authorized Protestant church before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, belonged to his family for several generations before being acquired by the city in 2005. François Mitterrand grew up there until 1934 and was very attached to it, the house retaining an intimate family atmosphere with antique furniture, objects, and documents. Today, after a complete renovation, it is open to the public as a museum, allowing visitors to learn about his childhood and family, with permanent exhibitions supported by the François Mitterrand Institute. This site, labeled "Maisons des Illustres" and listed as a historic monument, is a living testimony to his Charente origins and his family history.

There are e-bike chargers here

You can even rent canoes there to discover the Charente river in a different way.

The original construction of the bridge was carried out from 1876 to 1878 by the contractors Chaumont and Bonnamy; the bridge was rebuilt in concrete in the second half of the 19th century

The Garde-Épée dolmen is classified as a historic monument. It is made up of five slabs which delimit the room and slabs which cover it. The dolmen is five meters long and more than two meters high.

Cognac is a beautiful, wealthy town where the future François 1st was born (hence the house of the same name). This wealth comes mainly from the pineau and cognac trade… It was in the 15th century that this distillation process appeared to better preserve these wines which were sent throughout Europe and in particular to the countries of the Hanseatic League where this "burnt wine", brandevin or brandy is very appreciated, most often cut off from water. In Cognac, the Henessy, Rémy Martin, Courvoisier and Martell houses have numerous buildings. I also passed in a town next to an old building used as a cellar, a very pleasant smell emanated from it.