The best city hikes and walks in Bois Du Sable

The Arch of Germanicus, built around 18-19 AD in Saintes, is a two-bay road arch erected in honor of the Emperor Tiberius, his son Drusus, and his nephew Germanicus, financed by a local notable, Gaius Julius Rufus. It marked the main entrance to the Roman city of Mediolanum Santonum, at the bridge over the Charente, organizing traffic in both directions. This sober monument, nearly 15 meters high, is adorned with fluted pilasters and composite capitals, among the oldest in the West. Saved from demolition in 1843 thanks to Prosper Mérimée, it was moved and restored, becoming a major symbol of Romanization and one of the best-preserved Gallo-Roman remains in Saintes. Listed as a historic monument since 1905, it testifies to the importance of the city during the Roman era.

View of the Arch of Germanicus and the Saintes pedestrian bridge

The Archaeological Museum of Saintes has been redesigned and its permanent exhibition renewed. Visitors are invited to discover the ancient city of Saintes through its urban planning and the lives of its inhabitants 2000 years ago.

Located in the heart of the city, the public garden is a place of life for the residents of Saintais, to be discovered by walkers. The kiosk, the orangery, the animals or the games. The park was designed in 1925 on the banks of the Charente and forms the connection between the city and the Palu.

Set in a poetic fairground universe, the carousel is an extraordinary hands-on carousel that utilizes the senses of touch, hearing and sight. Under a dome of silver mirrors are giant digital musical instruments: a harp, percussion, keyboards and even vocal cords. Participants choose an instrument with which they would like to experiment, and as the carousel spins, they collectively create a score that is played in a grand final performance.

The Abbaye-aux-Dames is built around the church of Sainte-Marie, built in the twelfth century. Famous for its facade and its characteristic "pinecone" bell tower, it is one of the emblematic monuments of Saintonge's Romanesque art. After several wars and fires, the place was restored in the 1970s and 1980s and is now a hotel. When you walk through the long corridors you feel like you have been transported back to the time when the abbey was still alive.

The arch was first built on the Roman bridge over the Charente. It is not a triumphal arch, but rather a homage to Tiberius, Germanicus and Drusus.

A former Benedictine abbey created in 1047, Abbaye-aux-Dames was the first women's monastery in Saintonge. These powerful women were nuns, that is to say, nuns living cloistered and having taken a vow of piety, occupying their lives in contemplation. They carried the crosier, in other words the pastoral staff of a bishop, and minted coins. Richly endowed, the abbey carried its influence well beyond the borders of the county and over time it became one of the most powerful women's monasteries in all of South-West France. With up to a hundred nuns at its peak, it was entrusted with the mission of instructing young girls, often from the French nobility, and counted among its most illustrious residents the future Marquise de Montespan, favorite of Louis XIV. The Abbaye-aux-Dames is structured around the Sainte-Marie church, built in the 12th century, famous for its facade and its characteristic “pine cone” bell tower. The premises were restored during the 1970s and 1980s and now house a Cité de la musique in which the Saintes Festival dedicated to classical music takes place each year. You can also stay in a wing of the building, the cells having been converted into hotel rooms, and leave your bike in a secure room.