The best traffic-free bike rides around Voulgézac

A simple but elegant war memorial in Blanzac-Porcheresse, located near the church.

Among the oldest in the region, the Saint-Cybard church in Porcheresse was built in the 11th century. It is still surrounded by its cemetery and presbytery, which is one of its distinctive features. The church shares similarities with churches in the area (Etriac, Puypéroux, Bécheresse, and Côteaux du Blanzacais). It features narrow windows pierced in the buttresses, as well as rubble stone walls. In the 12th century, it was remodeled and reinforced to accommodate vaults. However, the building's condition currently prohibits visits; renovation work is planned for the very near future. This monument was listed as a "Historic Monument" in 1913. The church's patron saint was the monk Cybard, who came from Dordogne in the 6th century. He lived for a long time in a cave beneath the Angoulême plateau. https://www.sudcharentetourisme.fr/fiche-sit/eglise-saint-cybard-de-porcheresse-5895303/#truncate https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_Saint-Cybard_de_Porcheresse

This is one of the wayside crosses located between the villages of Champagne-Vigny and Bécheresse, in Charente.

Church located near the cemetery. It is a Romanesque church, pierced by an ogival door on important corner buttresses. Rebuilt in the 15th century, it was restored from 1656 to 1668, then in 1830. Two side chapels were added, and an arcade bell tower on the facade. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juillaguet

It was originally a Benedictine abbey from the 11th century. The abbey experienced the horrors of the 100 Years' War in the 14th and 15th centuries, then those of the religious wars which marked the 16th century. Seized as national property during the Revolution, the building was reborn when it fell into the hands of a new owner at the end of the 1980s who opened it to the public.

The extraordinary history of this grandiose residence began in 1924, in the heart of a small 19th century manor (to the left of the current façade): the troubadour castel of La Mercerie was then acquired by Alphonse and Raymond Réthoré. From then on, the two brothers, dreaming of the great Versailles, devoted all their resources to enlarging and embellishing the building. The work undertaken is commensurate with the ambition that drives it. Outside, colonnades and balusters in white stone soon extend the first building. the cut stone increases the gigantism and the rigor of a facade with a perfect rhythm. Inside, nothing is too beautiful for La Mercerie, Raymond brings back from his travels furniture and paintings, chandeliers and precious woods, marbles from Italy, azulejos from Portugal etc. He returns from Italy with a painter sculptor who will carry out on the spot the most monumental decorations with the assistance of the inhabitants of the country. The treasures are piling up, but 30 years of work will not be enough to complete the colossal project. The collections are dispersed during auctions in June 1987. When the two brothers died, the castle fell into oblivion, until the mobilization of the inhabitants of the town, who decided to found an association to safeguard this unique and prestigious heritage. The Béruges room, the central living room, the Vernet living room, the vestibule, the mahogany gallery and the large Azulejos gallery, each more impressive than the last, now fully conquers the visitor eager for cultural discoveries. A short tour of the belvedere of the castle allows you to admire it from the height. In the park of the castle, the rose garden and the arboretum can be visited by little train. The little train is random due to the health context and will be reserved for people with reduced mobility and children, and mainly on Sundays.

Pretty castle in height after a climb from Angoulême

Its dazzling white stone facade extends over 220 meters in length, in the middle of a 50 Ha green setting. Some rare and remarkable trees adorn the walk through the park.