Angouleme is a small city or large town of barely over 43,000 inhabitants. It is located in the district of the same name in the Central-West area of France. Angouleme is a city lost in the mists of time. There are no Roman monuments to be found, although the place was known to exist at the end of the Roman Empire, and Catholicism entered early, with a bishop located there in the third century.

Sights

Because the city is so small, there may not be that many independent sights to see. However, because of its age, the buildings themselves can be sights. From the train station, you can hire a car to see many churches, including the Angouleme Cathedral, the Abbeys of Saint Cybard and of Saint Ausone, The Church of Saint Martial, The Church of Our Lady of Obezine and many others. There are government buildings such as the ramparts, City Hall, The Palace of Justice, The Municipal Theater and others that are worth getting out of your car hire and walking around.

The not-far off city of Angers has a surprising number of museums based on its population. It is even more surprising and fascinating for Angouleme as this city has just a ninth of the former’s population. Yet, it has a Museum of Fine Arts of Angouleme, a Museum of Paper, Museum of Resistance and Deportation (most likely as a result of World War II), Museum of the Archeological and Historical Society of Charente, and even a Museum of Cartoons. The city is aligned with animation and, in addition to the aforementioned Museum, has a International Comics Festival in late January of every year.

For Travellers

Because of its minimal size, you will definitely want to car hire from Angouleme train station. In doing so, you may want to benefit from the same things that I seek out in travelling.

You may want to go to the beach. There are no beaches by the city, but Angouleme is in the administrative region of Poitou-Charentes, which does border the Atlantic Ocean. You will definitely need a car hire to get there. Because it is so small and ancient, you will be able to see the stars at night, a pastime that I greatly enjoyed while growing up. You will also want to imbibe the rich cultural history of the city by driving around and seeing the ancient wonders.