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West Central
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West Central
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ALL
| Name | Type | Top+ |
|---|---|---|
| Poitiers | City | |
| Futuroscope | Theme Park | ✅ |
| Angles-sur-l'Anglin | Village | ✅ |
| Abbaye de St-Savin | Abbey & Garden | |
| Prieuré d'Orsan | Garden | |
| Bourges | Town | ✅ |
| Angoulême | Town | |
| Oradour-sur-Glane | WW2 Memorial Village | ✅ |
| Limoges | City | |
| Tapisserie d'Aubusson | Museum | ✅ |
Poitiers
Population 90 000
Perched between two valleys, Poitiers cuts an impressive figure with its church towers, golden stone façades and winding streets that have been around for nearly 2,000 years. Long known as both a religious and university town, it has always brought together student life and centuries of history.
Look up as you explore Notre-Dame-la-Grande. Its façade, covered in biblical figures and fantastic creatures, looks like a picture book carved in stone. A little further on, Saint-Pierre Cathedral impresses with its sheer size and centuries-old stained-glass windows.
Step further back in time at the Baptistery of Saint-Jean, one of the oldest Christian buildings in Western Europe. Adults were once baptised in a pool set into the centre of the building. The Palais, meanwhile, is a reminder of the power of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who became Queen of France and then Queen of England, with its enormous hall and grand fireplaces.
Between visits, wander past half-timbered houses and discover the stairways and passageways connecting the different levels of the town. From the gardens up on the hills, rooftops stretch out above the trees and waterways. Come evening, the squares in the town centre come alive with a student atmosphere that goes all the way back to the Middle Ages.
Futuroscope
In Our Top+ ✅
Type Theme Park
Price €59
Full Name
Parc du Futuroscope
At Futuroscope, near Poitiers, giant screens, moving images and special effects take you on a journey without ever leaving your seat. Well, almost. This theme park dedicated to technology and imaginary worlds combines spectacular projections, thrilling rides and immersive experiences that play tricks on your senses.
On “Chasseurs de Tornades”, you’re swept into a recreated storm on a moving platform. “Objectif Mars” delivers the kind of acceleration you might expect from a space mission, while “L’Extraordinaire Voyage” makes you feel as though you’re flying over faraway landscapes. The futuristic buildings add to the feeling of being somewhere completely different, even between rides.
Families will also find gentler experiences where discovery takes priority over speed. Depending on the attraction, you might be surprised by 3D images, moving seats or scenery that seems to come to life.
Angles-sur-l'Anglin
In Our Top+ ✅
Clinging to the rocks above the River Anglin, this village looks as though it grew naturally around the ruins of a fortress. Brown-roofed houses are scattered along steep streets, gardens and narrow passageways. From the heights, you get sweeping views over the valley and the old bridge, in scenery that almost seems too picture-perfect to be real.
Angles is also known for a delicate local craft called “jours d’Angles”, a type of intricate openwork embroidery done by hand. Long before the embroiderers arrived, prehistoric artists were carving animals into the walls of a rock shelter. At Roc-aux-Sorciers, you can discover these extraordinary works of art, created around 15,000 years ago.
Abbaye de St-Savin
Type Abbey & Garden
Price €12
Full Name
Abbaye de Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe
From the outside, the Abbey of Saint-Savin is already an impressive sight, with its pale stone church and tall spire rising beside the River Gartempe. But it’s when you look up inside that you understand why it’s so famous. A vast series of paintings from the 11th and 12th centuries covers the vaulted ceiling, telling stories from the Bible.
You can make out Noah’s Ark, figures in motion and scenes painted in shades of ochre, red and green. At a time when few worshippers could read, these images also helped bring religious stories to life. Their exceptional state of preservation has earned the church international recognition from UNESCO.
Prieuré d'Orsan
Type Garden
Price €12
Full Name
Prieuré Notre-Dame d’Orsan
Founded in the early 12th century, Orsan Priory was once a place of prayer and work for a small religious community. Today, it’s mainly the gardens that draw visitors. Restored from the 1990s onwards, they recreate the spirit of historic monastic gardens, with almost geometric precision in the layout of paths and planting beds.
You move from a medicinal herb garden to a vegetable garden, then on to a rose garden, orchards and a leafy maze. Neatly trimmed hedges, pergolas and fruit trees create a setting that’s as carefully organised as it is full of life. Everything changes with the seasons, from the first spring flowers to the colours of autumn. The gardens are closed in winter.
Bourges
In Our Top+ ✅
Bourges may seem peaceful, but its past is anything but dull. In the Middle Ages, it attracted merchants and artists from far and wide. Today, it still has a maze of narrow streets and hundreds of half-timbered houses, some with upper floors that lean at rather unusual angles.
You can’t miss the enormous Saint-Étienne Cathedral, with its five sculpted doorways and richly coloured stained-glass windows. Just a few streets away, the Palais Jacques-Cœur tells the remarkable story of a merchant who became one of the richest men in the kingdom during the 15th century. His tower-studded mansion was anything but modest.
There’s another, much greener side to Bourges: the marshes just outside the centre, where a surprising network of canals and little gardens forms a patchwork across the landscape. You can wander between trees and water in a peaceful setting that feels a world away from the busy old streets. Climb a little higher and the cathedral’s silhouette appears once again above this mosaic of greenery.
Angoulême
In Angoulême, comic-book art is everywhere, even on the walls. The town attracts illustrators from around the world, but its characters don’t stay on the pages. Murals pop up around street corners, and even some street signs are shaped like speech bubbles.
Perched above the River Charente, the old town has preserved its ramparts, elegant houses and lovely little streets that are perfect for exploring without a plan. Saint-Pierre Cathedral is worth a stop, especially for its 12th-century façade, covered in dozens of sculpted figures. It’s storytelling through pictures, long before comic books existed.
Angoulême also has a long history of papermaking, thanks to the river’s water and the mills in the surrounding area. The Paper Museum tells the story of this industrial heritage, while the Comic Strip Museum traces the development of the ninth art.
Oradour-sur-Glane
In Our Top+ ✅
Type WW2 Memorial Village
Price Free (Village) – €7.80 (Museum)
Full Name
Village Martyr d’Oradour-sur-Glane
On 10 June 1944, Oradour-sur-Glane was the scene of a horrific massacre of civilians carried out by the Nazis. German soldiers rounded up the population, killed the men in several buildings and murdered the women and children inside the church. The village was then set on fire. The death toll now stands at 643.
The ruins have been preserved as a memorial. Walking past the shattered façades and rusting remains of vehicles, you begin to grasp the horror of what happened that day. The Centre de la Mémoire explains the events and their historical context through documents, photographs and eyewitness accounts. Portraits help put faces to the victims.
Limoges
Population 130 000
Porcelain, of course. But there’s much more to Limoges than plates and vases. Built on high ground, the town is home to two historic districts, once separate from each other, that reveal themselves through cobbled streets, half-timbered houses and charming little squares.
Around Saint-Étienne Cathedral, terraced gardens offer lovely views down towards the river. The cathedral took several centuries to build, which explains its unusual mix of architectural styles. In the Boucherie district, old houses recall the days when craftspeople lived and worked side by side in the same narrow streets.
Limoges owes its fame to the decorative arts that use fire: porcelain, colourful enamels on metal and stained glass. The Adrien-Dubouché Museum takes you through the history of ceramics with pieces from around the world. The Fine Arts Museum also houses enamels made here as far back as the Middle Ages.
And then there’s the Bénédictins railway station. With its huge copper dome, tall clock tower and 1920s decorations, it looks more like a palace than a train station. Take time to admire its glasswork and sculptures before heading down to the banks of the Vienne, lined with old bridges and peaceful walking paths.
Tapisserie d'Aubusson
In Our Top+ ✅
Type Museum
Theme Tapestry
Price €9
Full Name
Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie d’Aubusson
Housed in a former art school, the Cité internationale de la tapisserie gives a fresh twist to an art form often associated with old castles. Inside its spacious galleries, you’ll discover centuries of textile creations and the painstaking work involved in turning a drawing into a woven picture, one thread at a time.
The vast tapestry gallery is particularly impressive, with monumental works displayed in settings inspired by the grand residences of the past. Historic tapestries sit alongside contemporary creations, showing that this traditional craft is still very much alive. The exhibition also explores how designs are prepared, colours chosen and looms operated, with every movement requiring remarkable precision.
