La Roue Blanche (The white wheel)

The Roue Blanche is connected to the Flow Vélo linking Thiviers (Dordogne) to the Ile d'Aix and to La Vélodyssée, a cycle route between Roscoff (Brittany) and Hendaye (the Netherlands).

The total length of the route is 77km, with a variant that allows you to do a 29km or 55km loop.

Why the Roue Blanche (white wheel)? The wheel, of course, refers to the bicycle and "white" to the colour of the Crazannes stone and the buildings of Saintonge (+ colour of the road leaving the tyres white). The writing style of La Roue Blanche symbolises the path, the cycle track.

• CHATEAU DE CRAZANNES :

Classified as a Historic Monument, the Château de Crazannes was built in the 14th century in place of an old feudal castle. Its nickname of "Château du Chat Botté" (Puss in Boots) dates back to the 17th century, when it was owned by Jules Gouffier, Count of Caravaz. A prominent character who inspired Charles Perrault to create the Marquis de Carabas, Master of Puss in Boots in his famous tale.

• CHATEAU DE LA ROCHE COURBON :

The fortress from the end of the Hundred Years' War was converted into a pleasure residence in the 17th century by the battling Courbon family, then abandoned by its owners in the 19th century. A teenage boy then lived around its walls. He became the writer Pierre Loti and did everything possible to have the site restored and saved. The Château de la Roche Courbon has been a family property for three generations, and since its resurrection by Paul Chénereau, the current owner's grandfather, it has never ceased to open its doors to visitors in order to share its passion for heritage.

• CHATEAU DE PANLOY :

Built on the banks of the Charente during the reign of Louis XV. The Château de Panloy still belongs to the same family. This is why it has been able to preserve all its period furniture and many stylish objects, witnesses of the life of yesteryear

• Numerous ROMANESQUE CHURCHES:

19 churches are spread thoughout the area.

• The nature Escape « LA PIERRE DE CRAZANNES » :

Located on a 13-hectare site, the old quarries of Crazannes offer a surprising landscape made up of steep stone cliffs and narrow gorges invaded by luxuriant vegetation where ivy, ferns and wild clematis are mixed. The resistant white stone, extracted for 2000 years from these quarries, was used to build or restore famous monuments such as Fort Boyard or Cologne Cathedral. It is a protected natural area where passionate guides will share their specific environment and their know-how. You can take part in guided tours, workshops, games, observe the fauna and flora during twilight nature outings, discover exhibitions, shows...

• LES LAPIDIALES :

In the old quarry at the place called "Les Chabossières" on the road to Port d'Envaux, discover a cultural space based on stone and a place of creation dedicated to stone sculpture. "Les Lapidiales" is an association under the law of 1901 founded in 2000 by Alain Tenenbaum. It has about 250 members to date. Its aim? To welcome sculptors in residence from all over the world so that they can create their works on the quarry face of the Chabossières on defined themes. Over the past thirteen years, around fifty artists have stayed at the Lapidiales, leaving around 60 monumental sculptures. Entrance to the site is free, day and night. Each year, five to seven sculptors in residence are present between 1 May and 30 September. The public can watch the artists at work and share their impressions with them.

• THE ABBEY OF TRIZAY :

This priory, founded at the turn of the 11th / 12th century, depended on the powerful abbey of La Chaise-Dieu in Auvergne. Entirely restored in the 1990s, it is one of the most enigmatic Romanesque monuments in Saintonge. The church, of which the chevet remains, is designed on an exceptional octagonal plan. The contemporary art centre at the abbey offers a permanent dialogue between the Romanesque monument and today's artists throughout the year.

• THE RIVER CHARENTE :

The river Charente offers many nautical activities, the departures are mainly located on the commune of Port-d'Envaux (the beach/bathing of Port-d'Envaux, boat rental (Les Canotiers), river cruises (Bernard Palissy).

• THE FLOW VÉLO :

At the gateway to the South-West, this 290 km long cycle route links Thiviers in the Dordogne to the Ile d'Aix in Charente-Maritime. After an incursion into the Périgord Limousin Regional Nature Park, it reaches Angoulême and then flirts with the river Charente, in a setting of vineyards. Along the way, Cognac, Saintes and Rochefort are all "Art and History" stops... before embarking on the Ile d'Aix, the pearl of the estuary. Breathe in, breathe out, pedal... on the Flow Vélo ®. On our territory, it passes through 5 communes (Port-d'Envaux, Crazannes, Geay, Romegoux, La Vallée). 

• VILLAGES DE PIERRES & D'EAU :

The "Villages de pierres et d'eau" network brings together 14 charming villages emblematic of the Charente-Maritime region around a common heritage where two elements come together: stone, with remarkable built ensembles, and water... in all its forms: ocean, rivers, marshes, ...

• LES JARDINS DE COMPOSTELLE :

The floral park "Les jardins de Compostelle" was designed in 1998 by the Rochefort landscape architect Jean-François Galinet on a Spanish-Moorish inspiration. They extend over 2 hectares overlooking the Bois Fleuri and offer 7 landscaped sequences between ponds and water fountains

• LAKE OF TRIZAY :

The lake of "Bois fleuri" was inaugurated in August 1995. The void left after the exploitation of the quarry is now the happiness of the village and its visitors. By developing the lake and its shoreline, by planting, by installing playgrounds, by attracting a fast-food restaurant and then a luxury hotel-restaurant as well as, since the spring of 1998, the upper edge of the lake, on the north side, has been laid out as a landscaped garden called the "Gardens of Compostela", open to the public in season, the village has given this lost piece of land a sudden appeal which is a joy for walkers, fishermen and nature lovers.

• TERRA AVENTURA :

The aim is to discover the locations where boxes, called "caches", are hidden. Inside, a treasure awaits the players! Indeed, it is in the caches of Terra Aventura that the Poi'z live, small characters with strong characters, present in the form of badges to collect. To find them, it's easy, you just have to download the application, choose your route and let yourself be guided... The walk can then begin. Players can see their position on the map and must answer the riddles to advance from stage to stage. They then have to enter the answers to the riddles and the GPS coordinates of the next cache are displayed!