Well there is another Petite Cite de Character" in our region so of course we had to check it out. It also has the title of "The Venice of the Charente". I wonder how many places are the "Venice of Something"? Last summer we visited a different one as well.
You've got to give this little town credit for turning its location on the Charente river into a place that tourists might want to visit! Its Venice claim is based on the fact that several houses actually have "their feet in the water". But, if you blink you can miss them. But, in typical entrepreneurial fashion, there are several B and B's for rent close by and they were all filled.
Another attraction that impressed us is something called "Port Miniature". For a very reasonable fee you can ride in an electric boat around a large pond with a couple of off channels. The miniature boats hold anywhere from 3 to 5 people. They have to be steered and they are an absolute delight for the children and parents as well. We've never seen anything quite like it. There was a steady stream of people buying tickets and taking off on their cruise.
Some 30 years ago a French naval carpenter turned his skill into quite an enterprise. He started building the miniature boats which resembled real ones, Including a Mississippi Steamboat. He now has completed more than thirty of them
These electric boats are a marked improvement over the peddle boats at Lakes Park. And they would be perfect for the lake there. Maybe the Frenchman would design some for us!
Many interesting pohotos of these "ships" in th gallery. The people in the "ships" give them scale.
