The village of Verteuil-sur-Charente, with several hundred residents, is about 27 miles north of Angoulême, with about 42,000 people, and about 45 miles south of Poitiers, with about 88,000. Both cities are historic attractions in the Poitou-Charentes region, and Angoulême is known for its annual international comic-book festival. There are several high-speed train options to arrive in central Paris in about three hours, or Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in about four hours, Mr. Besse said. Image The main staircase is topped by a grand dome built by Italian craftsmen after the French Revolution. “Obviously, foreign customers were very absent from the first months of this pandemic, but the French have largely compensated for this absence,” Mr. Besse said.

Source: International New York Times October 07, 2020 13:30 UTC