Talmont-sur-Gironde

Talmont was founded in 1284 as a bastide by Edward I of England, then holding Aquitaine, on a limestone promontory in the Gironde estuary. The church of Sainte-Radegonde stands right on the cliff edge, and it is shorter than it was: a violent storm brought down part of the cliff beneath it, carrying the first two bays of the nave and part of the crypt into the estuary, and the cliff has since been consolidated against further loss. The village behind is a small grid of low white houses, with hollyhocks self-seeding along every wall in summer, which is the image on the postcards. Carrelets, square lift nets on stilt platforms, stand along the shore.

History

The enclosed and fortified village was founded around the church in 1284, on the plan of a bastide, on the orders of Edward I of England. In the Hundred Years' War between England and France Talmont became a strategic prize, and in 1652 the village was wrecked by the Spanish (Wikipedia, Talmont-sur-Gironde).

Highlights

• Sainte-Radegonde - a Romanesque church on the cliff edge, part fallen away.
• The hollyhocks - flowers seeding along the white walls in summer.
• The carrelets - stilted fishing platforms with square lift nets.
• The estuary view - the wide Gironde from the promontory.

When to go

May to September for hollyhocks, which peak in June and July. The village is very crowded on summer afternoons and calm early. Winter is bleak and windswept.

Before you go

It is tiny, walked in half an hour, and packed with day visitors and craft shops in season. Parking is outside and charged. Cliff erosion means parts of the churchyard are fenced.

Nearby

Royan lies north; Cordouan lighthouse is at the estuary mouth.

Key facts