Cognac, gites / holiday accommodation. Chateau de Gurat, Southwest France

Cognac

To say that Cognac is where brandy comes from would be a little bit of an understatement. The area around Cognac lives and breaths this devilish and at the same time, angelic nectar. With its ancient streets and mansions of the brandy merchants, Cognac is the jewel of the Charente.

The great vineyards of Cognac cover an area of around 200,000 acres, you can drive for miles and miles through impeccably groomed vineyards, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Things to do and see in and around Cognac

Visit the producers, many of the larger firms offer sophisticated tours of their distilleries Hennessy, Martell, and Courvoisier with the Napoleon museum at Jarnac.

The Saint-Gobain glassworks offer tours in July and August where 2,000,000 bottles a day are produced for Cognac, Bordeaux wines and Armagnac.

Also at Jarnac, boat trips on the Charente river with lots of places to stop and picnic.

There is an excellent Golf course between Jarnac and Cognac.