We will have a car for three days of day trips from Poitiers. What would be your top picks? (and if some of the Loire is your choice, would you give some advice on which chateaus you recommend?) I've never been to this part of France. Thanks much.

I'f you're willing to drive a bit, I'd spend one day in La Rochelle and the Ile de Ré and one day in Saumur and Angers. Do spend some time in Poitiers itself.

I visit friends in Poitiers and have discovered in Chauvigny, Les Géants du Ciel at the Chateau des Aigles. Vividly colored parrots, eagles, vultures and marabous, etc fly amoung the audience.
My favorite was La Vallé e des Singes.
The valley of apes. We had so much fun, one. In an eight-hectare park, unbridled
marmosets, macaques, gibbons and capuchin monkeys live in semi-freedom. Across a small body of water live the mandrills, colobi and white-nosed monkeys. They will give you a black large canvas bag to zip in your belongig because, as we saw, one little monkey had a tug of war with us trying to take our camera, Another ran off with our bottle of water.a previous year we stayed in La Rochelle and Ile de Ré(today I biked with my white canvas Ile de Ré bag slung over my shoulder) If you stop at a waterside cafe and you are a beer drinker, try the
"Blanche de Ré"I brought home, my empty flip top bottle for my top of the kitchen collection.

Thanks very much for the suggestions. We will be in Poitiers for a total of five days and hope to spend three of them on the road. We are big fans of romanesque architecture, and I know the area is full of romanesque churches. Has anyone been to Chauvigny, for instance? Are there other small towns nearby that you would recommend? And as between Saintes and Angouleme, does anyone have a favorite?

We had a marvelous time in Cognac and Saintes. The amount/variety of sights to see is impressive and they have excellent eateries. We stayed in Cognac and visited Saintes. Really enjoyed La Rochelle if you want to go that far. Will relay hotel/restaurant info if you are interested.

Yes, I've stayed in Chauvigny, in a B&B right under the château, which was nifty because a falconer appeared on the ramparts every evening as the château lit up and sent his eagles soaring down over the lawn of the B&B. But what I remember most about Chauvigny was that there wasn't a decent place to get anything to eat in the entire town - very unusual in France.

Montmorillon has a large number of Romanesque buildings. One of my favorite villages that is classified as one of the most beautiful, Angles-Sur-L'Anglin. I snapped a beautiful photo that I use as wallpaper. that I can send you. I'm at hotmail.

P.S. the Notre-Dame-la-Grande in Poitiers is stunning when lit up at night.(Moyan Age)

If you like Romanesque churches, don't miss St. Savin which is about 30 km east of Poitiers.

We had a wonderful trip to Poitiers last March visiting the Romanesque villages.
We stayed at the Chateau du clos de la Ribaudiere which was very nice and centrally located in Chasseneuil. Our favorite village was Angles sur L'Anglin. It is also the smallest and the longest drive. Very quaint and unspoiled. We ate lunch in the courtyard of Le Relais du Lyon d'or. Savin has a beautiful Church and museum. The village of Chatellerault is larger and very pretty. It was very busy the day we were there as it was the starting point of a road rally, fun to see, but hard to find a place to park. The church in Chauvigny was closed for repairs when we were there, but the town is charming. There is an interesting town cemetary right on the road as you enter town. Be sure to take the walking tour in Poitiers. There are several routes, the blue the most interesting. You can't get lost as there is a color stripe all along the route to guide you. We loved the area and if you love Romanesque architecture, it is the place to go. Have a great trip!

We've also stayed at the Ribaudière. Dinner on the lawn with linens and crystal by the old basin was very good and made me think I was on a movie set.

Thanks for the info, everyone. Klondike (and anyone else), I would really appreciate restaurant information and recommendations. I don't need hotel suggestions, because we're already booked in Poitiers for the five days.
And where is Angles sur l'Anglin? I can't find it in any guidebook, yet two of you have recommended it. Thanks again.

We spent several days near Poitiers quite a while ago. If you don't mind the drive, Château Villandry and the gardens are fantastic. We also particularly enjoyed Fontevraud Abbaye.

It's beautiful wherever you go. Enjoy your trip.

Angles is NE of Poitiers, midway between Chatellerault and Poitiers.