Living life in a small French town.
Submitted: April 13, 2013
Stayed: June 2012
We prefer to stay in non touristy towns to experience more of living life in France. La Charite-sur-Loire filled the bill. We spent 2 weeks in this comfortable, spacious, 2 storey apartment with its tower top sitting out area in the centre of town overlooking the cathedral and the main street. Lots of unlimited time parking was available off street a short walk away. This is a sensitive reno preserving lots of character while updating to modern. Attention has been given to details like the 450 year old terra cotta floor tiles . . tommettes, exposed stone walls and old wood beams, with the addition of some small opening skylights, and a quality HVAC unit. The top floor bedroom is what it must be like to sleep in a barn loft with old exposed beams. The bathrooms were modern with a good supply of nice towels. If you wanted to do a reno of an old house in France, Byron would be your man.We really enjoyed Byron’s very informative town tour. La Charite is a walkable town on the Loire River. The Saturday morning market on the town square is a ½ block away. Look for the lady with 5 levels of firmness of Crottin (goat cheese) . An excellent selection of small producer, local wines is found at Le Vin across the street from the Cathedral. Visit Cerre Artisan Charcuterie Traiteur on the main street for a wide range of tempting prepared foods. I even found a depot – vente/second hand clothes shop with nice quality, La Flanerie, on a side street parallel to, and one block back from the river. La Charite is well located for exploring the area. Highlights for us included Guedelon, a small castle being built using medieval techniques which we had seen on PBS, Loire wine country, Bourges, modern stained glass at Nevers cathedral, Pont Canal at Briare, the chant at Vezelay. Lots of literature in the apartment led us to more places to visit like the garden town of Apremont, with a disused round lock nearby, and the pyramid barn at Vailly sur Sauldre, NW of Sancerre. We happened upon Rogny and the now disused les-7-Ecluses, 7 locks like a grand staircase whose construction was started by Henry IV in 1605. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the area. Kelly and Byron were good hosts who made us feel welcome.Merci Kelly and Byron.
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children,
Romantic Getaway
Owner's Response: We are delighted you enjoyed our Lucarne Suite and your holiday in our area of France. We hope to see you both here again soon!
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