Introducing the Painted Walls of Angouleme

It was a glorious morning as we enjoyed our breakfast, complete with croissants and home made jam and muesli.  Sylvie asked to have her photo with us and we chatted a while to Claude, learning more about life in France and the joys of living in Chevanceaux.

After a quick stop at the boulangerie for our requisite bread and pastries, we headed out of town and soon picked up the Galope Chopine Greenway, a 21km route from Chatillac to the south of Barbezieux. The route climbed through vineyards with fabulous 360 degree views when we reached the top before continuing down towards Chateauneuf sur Charente.  We stopped for lunch just before the town and then regretted it when we later found a glorious spot on the river complete with toilets.

The La Flow Velo route followed the Charente River for some time, though with a few detours as the towpath is still under development.  There was one final big climb into Angouleme and we finally reached our accommodation in a little stone terrace.  

In need of breakfast supplies, we headed into town, crossing the Charente River via the Hugo Pratt footbridge with its statue of Corto Maltese, a sailor who starred in a series of adventure comics.  Known as the “Ville de l’Image”, Angouleme is famous for its International Comics Festival and a number of film festivals.  We passed two painted walls paying tribute to Angouleme which has been recognised by UNESCO as a creative city.  There are painted walls on buildings throughout the city, transforming it, and surrounding neighbourhoods, into an open air gallery. 

After a day’s cycling, it seemed a long climb up the path towards the town centre which sat on a plateau high above us. Finally we entered Old Angouleme, located within the ramparts and made our way through winding streets and small squares to the town centre. First stop was the tourist information centre to buy a map so that we could follow the trail to see the painted walls tomorrow.   

 Shopping done, we sat outside at one of the bars and enjoyed a beer – as well as the toilets with their doors painted with superheroes. Lots of people were out and about in the squares enjoying the beautiful evening as we headed back to the apartment, passing more painted walls on the way, including “The Cosmos of Uderzo”, recognising Albert Uderzo, the co-creator and illustrator of the Asterix comics.   

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