Staying in Angoulême you will discover life in a small walkable city, with a rich past dating back to the 12th century and so beautiful stone buildings. A lot of museums, walks and cafés and restaurants to try. From the station, if you do not wish to use my car, you can take the TGV to Bordeaux, Poitiers and La Rochelle. You can go to Cognac and Saintes using the regional train, and there are buses from the train station to Limoges and Périgueux in Dordogne. If you use my car, driving to Dordogne takes only one hour, and the countryside around the city is different depending on which direction you take: many small villages with romanesques churches, castles of course! and lovely walks in woods or along rivers. Of course, as we are in Cognac country, visits to wineries are top of the list. And Bordeaux wineries are not so far from Angoulême, driving or taking the train. The Atlantic ocean is less than 2 hours away, with wonderfully quaint and posh islands to explore: île de Ré, Oleron etc.. oysters and salt are a specialty. Gastronomy rates high in the region all around.