Arrived at the hostel at 4.30pm so only had to wait half an hour for reception to open. When I got the key to my room I saw that the numerology was still keeping to the fives, as my room number was 302. I was a bit surprised when I entered the room and realised I was sharing it with two other people. There was one single and one bunk bed, and mine was the bunk at the top. I'd become used to having the privacy of my own room...no, even my own hostel, so it took a bit of getting used to at first, but the two French women who eventually showed up were both very pleasant and were only staying one more night anyway. I kind of missed their company after they both went the next day, but was glad to be sleeping at ground level when I changed beds, and was able to resume having a sneaky cigarette with my head stuck out the window.
Saintes is walkable from the station, and there were many shops along the fairly long road to the main part of town, which was spread out on either side of the river. Not much of an old residential quarter though, but the many Roman ruins make up for that. The older part of town doesn't have the medieval half-timbered houses which is more of a feature further north in France, but I still liked the steep winding roads and old houses with shutters at the windows. On my day trip from Angouleme the Saturday food market was still going strong.
Saintes has a population of about 27,000 and is a modern small town which still retains many reminders of its Roman origins, particularly the Arc de Germanicus standing alongside the main bridge over the Charente into the town and dating from 18AD (about the time that Saintes was originally founded), and the Roman amphitheatre built in the first century AD and able to accommodate 20,000 spectators.
The highlight of my stay here was the Roman amphitheatre. It is larger than it looks in the photos and I just sat there watching the lizards darting in and out of the rocks, wondering what it must have been like in Roman times and feeling wonderfully free that I could stand in the middle of the amphitheatre and know that I'm perfectly safe from being fed to the lions.
Having walked around most of the town, looked in the shops and sat by the river a number of times, there were only two things left to do before leaving :
1) have my hair cut as it is half the price to go to the hairdressers in France compared with London.
2) see a French movie. They have a lovely art-film cinema here, and although I knew my French was probably not up to it, I decided to go see an animation as at least I could appreciate the film visually even if I couldn't understand all of it.
I missed the earlier screening so went to the 9pm one, where only the front two rows in the balcony were occupied, the stalls downstairs being totally empty. I didn't take a photo of the cinema, but the film Persepolis was a delight to see and I got the gist of it even though I couldn't understand a lot because they were talking way too fast. Persepolis that year became the first animation film to win an award at Cannes since René Laloux’s Fantastic Planet in 1973.
Saintes is walkable from the station, and there were many shops along the fairly long road to the main part of town, which was spread out on either side of the river. Not much of an old residential quarter though, but the many Roman ruins make up for that. The older part of town doesn't have the medieval half-timbered houses which is more of a feature further north in France, but I still liked the steep winding roads and old houses with shutters at the windows. On my day trip from Angouleme the Saturday food market was still going strong. As usual, I collected all the little train timetables at the station when I arrived in Saintes because for some reason you can only pick up the local timetables when you arrive at your destination, which makes planning ahead a bit difficult. I find them much easier to read than UK train timetables, but its frustrating not being able to acquire them in advance. I was already wondering where the next side-trip from Saintes would be because I prefer to only stay 3 days in one place.
The River Charente here is the same river that flows through Angouleme, although here there were more seats and green spaces to sit by the river, which would be ideal for picnics.
The River Charente here is the same river that flows through Angouleme, although here there were more seats and green spaces to sit by the river, which would be ideal for picnics.
I'd asked the Tourist Office about hiring a bike, but there was no bike hire shop in town. There was one in a village not that far away and they deliver to your hotel for the price of a day's bike hire, but the next day it was pouring with rain all day so I changed my mind about cycling and felt I'd lost a day in Saintes, which is why I booked the fourth night at the hostel. I was told that the countryside to the east of Saintes is very green and pretty, but that would have to wait for a dryer day, or even another trip. My main aim on this brief trip was to find the nearest large town to live within about 30 mins train journey to, and once I'd decided on the town I'd be in a better position to know which countryside to explore.
Saintes is in the centre of the Charente-Maritime region, in the south west of France. Different areas of France have their own microclimate, and the following map shows the number of sunshine hours per year in the various regions of France - the red areas being highest number. The Charente Maritime, in which the town of Saintes is located, is the little red area on the west coast.
Saintes is in the centre of the Charente-Maritime region, in the south west of France. Different areas of France have their own microclimate, and the following map shows the number of sunshine hours per year in the various regions of France - the red areas being highest number. The Charente Maritime, in which the town of Saintes is located, is the little red area on the west coast.
Saintes has a population of about 27,000 and is a modern small town which still retains many reminders of its Roman origins, particularly the Arc de Germanicus standing alongside the main bridge over the Charente into the town and dating from 18AD (about the time that Saintes was originally founded), and the Roman amphitheatre built in the first century AD and able to accommodate 20,000 spectators.
The highlight of my stay here was the Roman amphitheatre. It is larger than it looks in the photos and I just sat there watching the lizards darting in and out of the rocks, wondering what it must have been like in Roman times and feeling wonderfully free that I could stand in the middle of the amphitheatre and know that I'm perfectly safe from being fed to the lions.
Having walked around most of the town, looked in the shops and sat by the river a number of times, there were only two things left to do before leaving :1) have my hair cut as it is half the price to go to the hairdressers in France compared with London.
2) see a French movie. They have a lovely art-film cinema here, and although I knew my French was probably not up to it, I decided to go see an animation as at least I could appreciate the film visually even if I couldn't understand all of it.
I missed the earlier screening so went to the 9pm one, where only the front two rows in the balcony were occupied, the stalls downstairs being totally empty. I didn't take a photo of the cinema, but the film Persepolis was a delight to see and I got the gist of it even though I couldn't understand a lot because they were talking way too fast. Persepolis that year became the first animation film to win an award at Cannes since René Laloux’s Fantastic Planet in 1973.
My day trip to St. Jean d'Angely follows this entry, which I actually did while staying in Saintes.
The weather had changed dramatically since my arrival in Saintes, in this supposedly sunniest region of France. The youth hostel receptionist booked me into Blois hostel for the remaining 3 days of my trip. They say it is sunny in Blois right now, she told me. See 'Blois Youth Hostel' in the Loire section posted previously.
The weather had changed dramatically since my arrival in Saintes, in this supposedly sunniest region of France. The youth hostel receptionist booked me into Blois hostel for the remaining 3 days of my trip. They say it is sunny in Blois right now, she told me. See 'Blois Youth Hostel' in the Loire section posted previously.
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