The best traffic-free bike rides around Fontcouverte

beautiful passages along the Charente with pretty monuments and small waterfront cafés in Port d’Envaux and Saintes.

The Gallo-Roman amphitheater of Sainte, also called the Arena of Saintes, is an elliptical monument built between 40 and 50 AD, probably during the reigns of Tiberius and Claudius. It measures approximately 126 meters by 102 meters and could accommodate between 12,000 and 15,000 spectators, making it one of the largest and oldest amphitheaters in Gaul. Located in a natural valley called the "Arènes valley," it takes advantage of the topography to limit construction work, with stands backing onto the hill. The site has two monumental gates, the "Gate of the Living" to the east and the "Gate of the Dead" to the west, and has been the subject of a major restoration project since 2021 to preserve this exceptional heritage. Accessible on foot from the city center, it offers an immersion in Roman history with an educational trail and activities for families

stunning

Saintes train station. Direct connection to La Rochelle, La Roche-sur-Yon, Nantes… (By bike, via prior reservation).

The Saint-Pierre Cathedral is located in the heart of the old town on the left bank of the Charente. According to tradition, the founding of this episcopal see goes back to Saint Eutrope. The construction of the first Christian building on the site of the current cathedral could not be dated with any precision. It probably dates back to the 6th century.

The Basilica of Saint-Eutrope de Saintes is a true masterpiece of Romanesque art and amazes with its two superimposed choirs and its crypt, one of the largest in Europe.

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The Santons people occupied Saintonge during the Gallic era. The Romans conquered the region and settled on the banks of the Charente. The town of Saintes (then designated Mediolanum), located at the western end of the Via Agrippa which linked Lyon (capital of the Three Gauls) to the Atlantic coast, quickly became monumental. At the time of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), the city probably became the capital of the province of Greater Aquitaine (Aquitania). This then extended from the Loire to the Pyrenees. Mediolanum is endowed with important public monuments: the amphitheater, the arch of Germanicus, the thermal baths and the aqueduct are still partially visible today. At the time of its peak (end of the 1st century – beginning of the 2nd century), the city must have had several thousand inhabitants. The amphitheater of Mediolanum is one of the earliest in Gaul. It is estimated that its construction began during the reign of Tiberius (14 – 37 AD), and was completed during the reign of Claudius (41 – 54 AD). Like many amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, that of Saintes was located on the outskirts of the ancient city in a chosen and developed site: the “vallon des Arènes”. Thanks to a favorable topography, the builders were relieved of part of their work, the amphitheater resting on the slope of the valley. This elliptical monument, with imposing dimensions (126 meters long and 102 meters wide), made it possible to accommodate several thousand spectators around bloody and violent representations such as gladiator fights (munera) or animal hunts (venationes ). In the 3rd century, the city declined and was entrenched within an impressive rampart, built from the remains of public and funerary monuments from previous decades. The amphitheater is then no longer used. Since the Middle Ages, it has been used, among other things, as a stone quarry. It was classified as a Historic Monument in 1840. It was from this moment that it was gradually restored. Today, despite the disappearance of the superstructures, the remains provide a faithful image of what this monument could have been at the time of its splendor. The site welcomes visitors all year round. Certain objects found during various excavations in the amphitheater district are visible at the archaeological museum.