Talmont-sur-Gironde, in Charente-Maritime, is a picturesque village listed among the Most Beautiful Villages of France, perched on a promontory above the Gironde estuary. Founded in the Middle Ages, it has kept the regular plan of a bastide, with lanes lined by white houses with coloured shutters and hollyhocks that bloom in summer.
Its Romanesque church of Sainte-Radegonde, built at the edge of the cliff, is its emblematic monument: it seems to watch over the estuary and is best seen from the quays or the coastal path. The carrelets, fishing huts on stilts, add to the charm of the landscape, while craftsmen and small galleries enliven the village.
A few kilometres from Royan, Talmont can be visited in one to two hours, combined with the Cordouan lighthouse or the Côte de Beauté. Sunsets over the estuary make it especially popular at the end of the day.