Remparts d'Angoulême & Place des Halles Panorama
Angoulême sits on a dramatic limestone plateau 80 metres above the Charente valley, and its medieval ramparts offer a virtually unbroken 4-kilometre promenade with sweeping views over the river, the railway viaduct and the rolling Charentais countryside beyond. This is the single best free experience in the city.
Walking the Rampart Circuit
Start at the Hôtel de Ville — itself a flamboyant 19th-century château grafted onto two surviving medieval towers — and head south along the Boulevard Besson Bey for the widest river panorama in the city.
The walk passes a succession of public gardens planted with lime trees and lavender, and several strategically placed benches invite you to sit and watch barges drift along the Charente far below.
The best single viewpoint is the Plateau de Beaumont terrace at the south-western tip of the plateau, where on a clear day you can see the church spires of villages 20 kilometres away.
The Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Next Door
The Romanesque Cathédrale Saint-Pierre, just steps from the ramparts, has a west façade covered in 70 carved figures depicting the Last Judgement — one of the most elaborate sculptural programmes in south-western France, and almost always overlooked by visitors rushing to the comic museum.
Inside, the nave is roofed by a sequence of domes in the Périgord-Romanesque style — cool, hushed and utterly beautiful on a hot summer afternoon.
Climb the north tower (small fee, seasonal opening) for an aerial view of the rampart walk you have just completed and the red-tile rooftops of the vieille ville.
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