Le Logis du Paradis - Self-catering cottages in Charente

Local points of interest from Marie-Laure Fornas:

• This early 18th Century Logis, on the edge of a small hamlet surrounded by vine-covered hills, was used originally to house 500 horses of Louis X1V's army, garrisoned there to fight the English.
• In the 19th Century it became a Cognac distillery, which ceased to run in the 1960's, and was then largely abandoned. Now there is a piano bar with the old copper stills, opening onto the pool garden and the park.
• The huge barn is a party room with ping pong, there is a croquet lawn, tree house and swings. Secure within the walls, children can run free in the large garden.
• Cognac, Angouleme, Chateauneuf and Jarnac, all nearby, are pretty towns on the beautiful river Charente - you can swim, canoe, take boat trips and picnic along its banks, taste the local Pineau and Cognac, and try the many shops and restaurants.
• The lovely, unspoilt western coastline is an hour's drive from the Logis Du Paradis, visit the wild beaches of Royan, the port of La Rochelle, taste oysters at Marennes, wander through the cobbled streets and arty shops of Talmont.
• The zoo at Royan is a day's outing, St Palais sur Mer idyllic for parents and children alike. Eat fresh fish at Bob's, build sand castles and swim in gently lapping waves or take a stroll along the headland and coastal paths.