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Charente is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former province of Angoumois, west and south of Saintonge.
Cognac and pineau are two of the major agricultural products. They also produce excellent butter. But the Charentaise slipper is the 2nd most well-known product (after cognac).
Major towns and cities include
Angouleme
In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow and apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville the architecture is of little interest to the purists. However, the "old town" has been preserved, maintained and largely pedestrianised, and is now a charming cobbled restaurant quarter, with some interesting galleries and boutiques, much appreciated by locals and visitors.
Angoulême Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Peter, a church in the Byzantine-Romanesque style, dates from the 11th and 12th centuries, but has undergone frequent restoration.
Tours of the town also include the "murs peints", the various walls painted in street-art cartoon style, a feature of Angoulême and related to its association with the "bande dessinée", the comic strip. The attractive covered market "Les Halles", on the site of the old Jail, was restored and refurbished in 2004 and is a central part of city life.
Cognac
Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right bank area known as the Saint Jacques district.
The town's medieval quarter "Vieux Cognac" runs from the Tours Saint-Jacques, alongside the river, up to the Saint-Léger church. The area contains many unusual buildings, built between the 15th and 18th centuries, situated on narrow cobbled streets. Many contain sculptures of the salamander, the symbol of King Francis I, as well as gargoyles and richly decorated facades.
The town gives its name to one of the world's best-known types of brandy or eau de vie. Drinks that bear this name must be made in certain areas around the town of Cognac and must be made according to strictly-defined regulations in order to be granted the name Cognac.
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