The best traffic-free bike rides around Torsac

The Tower is difficult to visualize; you must stay in the castle, which offers guest rooms, to access it.

Beautiful little town center

The Abbey of Notre-Dame de La Couronne is an exceptional monumental complex, composed of the remains of the old abbey church and the convent buildings. A major building representing the introduction of Gothic in Angoumois at the end of the 12th century. In the 12th century, the Abbey of Notre-Dame de la Couronne was founded (from 1118, laying of the first stone). The work was carried out quickly and on March 12, 1122, the monks (of the regular order of Saint Augustine) settled in the presence of Bishop Girard de Blay and the Count of Angoulême. From its creation, the abbey was a great success: a new church was built at the end of the 12th century (choir and nave: 1171-1194; the end of the work was slowed down by wars, famines, etc.): it was dedicated in 1201, in the presence of the Archbishop of Bordeaux. The convent buildings were also renewed at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century: cloisters, dormitory, refectory, infirmary, etc. A surrounding wall surrounded the abbey. During the 13th century, the furnishings were enriched, the Saint-Nicolas chapel was built and the bell tower was built. During the Hundred Years' War, the monks were dispersed and the bell tower collapsed (1450). At the end of the 15th century, the abbey was reborn: part of the collapsed church was rebuilt, a new abbey building was built (the work was completed after 1514). The Wars of Religion affected the abbey again: it was pillaged in 1562, part of its furniture was burned. The convent buildings were restored in 1571. At the beginning of the 17th century, the abbey, which now had only eight monks, was united with the Jesuit order; it was then placed under the obedience of the congregation of Sainte-Geneviève in 1644. In the 18th century, a final campaign of works (1750-1778) transformed the convent buildings. During the Revolution, the abbey became national property. It was sold in 1807, used as a quarry and was gradually dismantled and divided into several properties. This religious establishment is now in ruins and inaccessible to the public. But it is possible to imagine it thanks to a virtual reality tour with the Legendr application. Municipal website: https://www.lacouronne.fr/abbaye-notre-dame 3D reconstruction: https://www.rendr.fr/portfolio/reconstitution-3d-abbaye-notre-dame-la-couronne Heritage of Charente: https://patrimoine16.lacharente.fr/sites-du-departement/la-couronne/

On the forecourt of Angoulême train station are two stone monuments erected in homage to the author of the comic strip: a menhir and an obelisk. On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the death of René Goscinny, the René Goscinny Institute, with the support of the International Comic Strip Festival, is offering the City of Angoulême, the international capital of comic strips, a monument that will last a long time. Built in a public place, passers-by will be able to appropriate this obelisk and have fun deciphering its inscriptions. The obelisk for Goscinny is a stone monolith on which are engraved 82 quotes taken from the works of the screenwriter including Asterix, Lucky Luke, Iznogoud, Le Petit Nicolas, Les Dingodossiers... Some of these phrases are part of our everyday language: "They are crazy these Romans", "Find the magic potion", "Be afraid that the sky will fall on our heads", "Shoot faster than your shadow", "Want to be caliph in the place of the caliph"... Translated into 150 languages and dialects, the work of René Goscinny has traveled around the world. Thanks to his qualities as a screenwriter and the talent of his co-authors, Albert Uderzo, Morris, Sempé, Tabary, Gotlib, the comic strip becomes the 9th art. This monument is a tribute to the entire comic strip. https://www.angouleme-tourisme.com/equipement/parvis-de-la-gare-lobelisque-et-le-menhir/#:~:text=Cet%20ob%C3%A9lisque%20BD%20a%20%C3%A9t%C3%A9,cultes%20des%20albums%20d'Ast%C3%A9rix.

The parish church of Notre-Dame is Romanesque and dates from the 12th century. It has a Romanesque bell tower with two floors of arched bays and a conical spire. A dome is at the crossing and the capitals are decorated with sculptures. On the gable of the façade, bas-reliefs depict Christ between evangelical symbols. Its façade was damaged during the Revolution, and heavily restored in the 19th century10. It was classified as a historic monument on July 12, 1886 https://www.angouleme-tourisme.com/patrimoine-culturel/eglise-notre-dame-de-trois-palis/ A little history of the town of Trois Palis by following this link: http://trois-palis.fr/histoire-et-patrimoine/

Notre Dame de Trois-Palis is a small church located in the center of the town of Trois-Palis. From the Romanesque period, it was listed as a historic monument in 1886. The conical spire covered with pine cone scales that rises above the square bell tower can be seen from afar. It dominates a small Romanesque building located in the heart of the town. Its façade is divided into three floors: At the top, in the triangular gable wall, Christ in Majesty is surrounded by the tetramorph (set of four symbolic representations of the evangelists: the bull of Saint Luke; the eagle of Saint John; the lion of Saint Mark; the angel of Saint Matthew). This theme is directly inspired by the Saint-Pierre cathedral in Angoulême. The central space, between the gable and the portal, is occupied by modern high reliefs representing Christ surrounded by the Virgin and Saint John. On the ground floor, the sculpture made of foliage and animals is present on the arches of the portal. Restored in 1891 century, the small church of Notre-Dame has undergone major modifications. A semicircular apse replaced a flat chevet and the nave was vaulted. Inside, the building consists of a single nave, split into three bays. The walls of the nave are clad with large pointed arches. The south wall of the nave is pierced by three bays, while the north wall is blind. In the extension of the nave, a bay under a bell tower deserves attention. The columns arranged in this space are all endowed with a rich sculpted program that develops in the capitals. They are all historiated and represent the themes frequently deployed near the sanctuary: original sin and the fight between Good and Evil. The semicircular apse replaced a flat chevet in the 19th century. It has a cul-de-four vault. Listed as a Historic Monument in 1886. Open every day from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Notre Dame de Trois-Palis is a small church located in the center of the town of Trois-Palis. From the Romanesque period, it was listed as a historic monument in 1886. The conical spire covered with pine cone scales that rises above the square bell tower can be seen from afar. It dominates a small Romanesque building located in the heart of the town. Its façade is divided into three floors: At the top, in the triangular gable wall, Christ in Majesty is surrounded by the tetramorph (set of four symbolic representations of the evangelists: the bull of Saint Luke; the eagle of Saint John; the lion of Saint Mark; the angel of Saint Matthew). This theme is directly inspired by the Saint-Pierre cathedral in Angoulême. The central space, between the gable and the portal, is occupied by modern high reliefs representing Christ surrounded by the Virgin and Saint John. On the ground floor, the sculpture made of foliage and animals is present on the arches of the portal. Restored in 1891 century, the small church of Notre-Dame has undergone major modifications. A semicircular apse replaced a flat chevet and the nave was vaulted. Inside, the building consists of a single nave, split into three bays. The walls of the nave are clad with large pointed arches. The south wall of the nave is pierced by three bays, while the north wall is blind. In the extension of the nave, a bay under a bell tower deserves attention. The columns arranged in this space are all endowed with a rich sculpted program that develops in the capitals. They are all historiated and represent the themes frequently deployed near the sanctuary: original sin and the fight between Good and Evil. The semicircular apse replaced a flat chevet in the 19th century. It has a cul-de-four vault. Listed as a Historic Monument in 1886. Open every day from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

HISTORY BOURG GRAVES SAINT AMANT Like its neighbor Angeac, the parish of Saint-Amant-de-Graves was a dependency of the seigneury of Vibrac. During the Revolution, the commune of Saint-Amant-de-Graves was provisionally called Amant-Charente. On January 1, 1997, the commune of Graves merged with that of Saint-Amant-de-Graves which then took the name of Graves-Saint-Amant. HISTORY CHURCH GRAVES SAINT AMANT The village of Graves is home to a parish church, the Saint-Martin church built in the 12th and 15th centuries. The latter contains in particular a mural painting (main shades red and yellow) dating approximately from the 15th century apparently representing a biblical scene (restored in 1977), which is classified as a historical monument as an object. The church has been listed as a historical monument since 1986. The church of Saint-Amant was given in 1124 by the Bishop of Angoulême, Girard II, to the Abbey of Savigny, who gave it to the priory of Bouteville. The latter kept the parish until the end of the 15th century. In 1460, Saint-Amant was the seat of a priory of its own. Unfortunately, the Wars of Religion were detrimental to it, and it was suppressed in 1580. The church of Graves, which formerly depended on the archdeaconry of Saintes, occupies a picturesque site on the left bank of the Charente. It forms a long rectangle in plan. The nave is composed of a long single bay under a barrel vault, originally Romanesque, but rebuilt at a later date. A square bay under a bell tower follows it. It is vaulted with ribbed liernes. A similar bay, whose vault bears a large, crude shield as a keystone, forms a choir with a flat chevet. Its axial bay is slightly offset to the north. The façade, high under an obtuse triangular gable, bears a cornice with modillions decorated with animals and human masks. The portal has two bare semicircular arches, separated by a chamfered joint cover with large sculpted flowers. The capitals of the side columns have been redone. Between the top of the portal and the level of the pediment, four large stone corbels once supported a canopy. Below, an enigmatic relief, probably late, shows a bearded face between the sun and the moon. The side walls have flat buttresses ending in glacis. They show that the nave, before its renovation, had two short bays. The bell tower is a beautiful piece of architecture. It has a bare base and an openwork floor with two semi-circular bays on each side. A spiral serves it in the southwest corner. Its bays were once separated in two by a small column that supported a small monolithic bare tympanum notched with two arches, and surmounted by a circular opening. This arrangement has been partially preserved. The exterior of the choir has bays from the end of the 12th century, and others probably after the Wars of Religion. Furniture: in the north wall of the bay under the bell tower, a painting shows a kneeling donor on the left, three figures against a background of yellow and red flowers, and, on the right, a priest saying mass near a kneeling altar boy. Despite the state of wear, which has made the inscriptions accompanying the scene illegible in particular, one can see the "Mass of Saint Martin", patron saint of the church. On the north wall of the choir there is another painting showing several scenes from the Passion: Jesus in the Garden of Olives, the arrest of Christ, Christ before Pilate, and the flagellation. These paintings are late, popular in style and somewhat naive.