332 Properties for sale in Vienne, Nouvelle Aquitaine (formerly Poitou-Charentes, Aquitaine and Limousin), France
Vienne
One of the four departments that make up the Poitou-Charentes region, Vienne is named after the river that meanders lazily through the lush green countryside. Positioned between the Atlantic coast and the centre of France, the department is an active farming area with rolling fields full of cheerful yellow sunflowers, and is an ideal place for soaking up the pleasures of rural France.
CAPITAL: POITIERS - The Vienne department is home to some stunning Romanesque architecture, much of which can be found in the departmental capital, Poitiers, which provides excellent transport links around Vienne and is also home to the popular high-tech Futuroscope theme park, with its 3D and 4D cinemas.
Access from UK
By air: Poitiers
By train: Eurostar to Paris, then TGV to Poitiers
By road: Poitiers is 628km from Calais
Climate
Average annual temperature: (Poitiers): 6.9ºC/16.6ºC
Average annual rainfall: 685.6mm
Average annual sunshine hours: 1,888.8
Highlights
The area is home to the Vallée des Singes, where some 350 monkeys roam in natural surroundings, and offers visitors the opportunity to get up close and personal with nature. The history buffs among you will be interested to learn that, although only officially created during the French Revolution, it was in Vienne that Eleanor of Aquitaine lived, and her marriage to Henry II brought this part of France under English rule. There are some 50 abbeys and churches dotted throughout the department, some of which are still inhabited by monks, not to mention countless castles and museums.