Distance: 4.5 km
Duration (average) : 01h
Departure: Town Hall Square
LOOP
Circuits of France_POI
In the city
In the historic center
Walking
Why we love
Discover the monuments of the city center of Angoulême.
Your itinerary
Angoulême
1
Hôtel de Ville
This building, formerly a castle and count's residence, was transformed into a town hall from 1858 to 1869 by the architect Paul Abadie fils. The latter has retained only two towers of the old castle: the polygonal keep built by the Lusignans in the 1492th and 1th centuries, and the round tower (or Valois tower) from the XNUMXth century where Marguerite d 'Angoulême, sister of François XNUMXer.
2
Herge Bust
This bronze bust is the work of Chinese sculptor Tchang Tchong-Jen, in homage to his Belgian cartoonist friend George Rémy, known as Hergé.
3
St. Martial Church
The imposing bell tower-porch of this church built in the XNUMXth century by Paul Abadie Fils in a neo-medieval style opens onto a vast square. At this location, there was once a simple Romanesque church surrounded by its cemetery.
4
Les Halles
Built by the architect Edouard Warin and the engineer Pommier, the Halles replaced the Châtelet in 1888, a former XNUMXth century fortified castle later transformed into a prison. This beautiful architecture combining iron and glass is directly inspired by Parisian models and in particular the central halls of Paris.
5
Puck Square
From the Middle Ages until the end of the XNUMXth century, this square housed the largest market hall in the city. Not far from there was the main gateway to the city through which solemn entrances were made. The name of "palet" recalls the executions and the stake erected until the XNUMXth century on the edge of the road linking the abbey of Saint-Cybard, below, to this gate of the Palet.
6
St Andrew's Church
Located in the heart of old Angoulême, Saint-André is one of the oldest churches in the city, along with the Cathedral and the Cordeliers chapel.
7
Courthouse
Built in 1826 by the architect Paul Abadie senior, in a neo-classical style, the Palais de Justice dominates Place Francis Louvel. It was built on the site of the former Jacobin convent, whose garden has been replaced by a public space adorned with a XNUMXth century fountain.
8
Mining Square
The square was fitted out in the XNUMXth century with a fountain adorned with cherubs riding tritons, and cherubs holding ears of wheat in memory of the grain and fish market, which had stood on this site since the XNUMXth century.
9
Les Remparts
The city was protected by ramparts from the Lower Roman Empire which were rebuilt and enlarged in the Middle Ages, then reinforced again at the end of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. Rendered useless, they were leveled and the gates of the city destroyed from the XNUMXth century, in order to allow the city to extend beyond its walls.
10
Place Beaulieu
The layout of this square as a promenade lined with trees, at the western end of the plateau, corresponds to the urban developments undertaken by the intendant of the generality of Limoges, Bernage, in the XNUMXth century.
11
The Green Garden
Created in 1860, this park of approximately 4 hectares spreads out under the ramparts of the city. This picturesque place to walk, very popular with city dwellers, has winding paths lined with massifs.
12
Private mansion of Bardines
Built by the De Bardines family, the Hôtel de Bardines is one of the finest examples of private mansions from the end of the XNUMXth century in Angoulême.
13
Chapel of the Cordeliers
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, two mendicant orders settled in Angoulême: the Jacobins and the Cordeliers. The latter built a convent to the west of the town, of which the church remains, attached to the Beaulieu hospital, two main buildings and some traces of the cloister.
14
St. Peter's Cathedral
Angoulême has the particularity of having a Romanesque cathedral, and not a Gothic one like so many other towns in France. The highly sculpted facade is the centerpiece of the cathedral. Several major themes are represented: Evangelization, the Ascension of Christ and the Last Judgment.
To the right of the portal, there is a hunting scene and a sculpted frieze representing a combat of horsemen inspired by the Chanson de Roland.
The architect Paul Abadie fils undertook a vast restoration campaign in the XNUMXth century.
To the right of the portal, there is a hunting scene and a sculpted frieze representing a combat of horsemen inspired by the Chanson de Roland.
The architect Paul Abadie fils undertook a vast restoration campaign in the XNUMXth century.
15
Angouleme Museum
Installed since 1920 in the former episcopal palace at the bedside of the Saint-Pierre cathedral, the museum reorganized in the years 2005-2008 houses around a new scenography three major collections: archeology of Charente, arts of Africa and Oceania, collection of international importance and fine arts.
16
Live Drama
It was built between 1868 and 1870 by the Parisian architect Antoine Soudée. The allegories of Comedy and Drama, Dance and Music are sculpted on the facade facing the "New York" square.
17
Margaret of Valois Statue
This stone statue was made in 1871 by Jacques-Joseph-Emile Badiou de la Tronchère in memory of Marguerite de Valois, sister of King François 1er, born in Angoulême on April 14, 1492 in the round tower of the former county castle of Angouleme.
18
Paper museum
Installed in the building-bridge over the Charente, the museum succeeds the industrial buildings of Joseph Bardou. Its factories manufactured "JOB" cigarette paper. Part of the production was shipped to the Middle East and especially to Egypt. One of the paper marks then bore the name "le Nil".
19
Comic Strip Museum
The International City of Comics and Image is divided into three superb buildings:
the "Museum of Comic Strips" also hosting a reference bookshop,
"le Vaisseau Moebius" housing temporary exhibitions, a heritage library, a specialized public library, an arthouse and research cinema, an internet consultation area and a panoramic brasserie
"the house of authors", international residence of artists.
the "Museum of Comic Strips" also hosting a reference bookshop,
"le Vaisseau Moebius" housing temporary exhibitions, a heritage library, a specialized public library, an arthouse and research cinema, an internet consultation area and a panoramic brasserie
"the house of authors", international residence of artists.
20
Regional Contemporary Art Fund
The contemporary architecture of the new FRAC Poitou-Charentes building mixes steel, glass and concrete, and leaves plenty of room for natural light. The transparency of the facade opens the building wide to the outside and offers its users a magnificent view of the river.
21
L'Houmeau district and old port
The district developed around a port created in 1280 by royal decree of Philippe le Hardi. It reached its peak in the XNUMXth century and in the first half of the following century. It was a district of trade and commerce, prosperous until the arrival of the railway in Angoulême in the middle of the XNUMXth century.
22
The Green Coulee
The Charente River was once a communication channel and an essential commercial axis. There remains of this rich past a historical and natural heritage to be discovered and safeguarded.
Since 1997, the Greater Angoulême Agglomeration Community has been developing the towpath along the entire crossing of the agglomeration between Saint-Yrieix and Nersac, i.e. 17 km.
Since 1997, the Greater Angoulême Agglomeration Community has been developing the towpath along the entire crossing of the agglomeration between Saint-Yrieix and Nersac, i.e. 17 km.