Photo: Cobber17, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Formerly known as Parc Bassompierre, the garden on the Charente river offers great views to the old town and the cathedral. It's divided into a French and an English garden, and has a music kiosk and a playground for children.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
One of the biggest skateparks in the region.
Housed in 19th century slaughterhouse, this museum displays items from life during the Roman times. In particular, there's a great collection of gemstones excavated when ramparts were reconstructed in the late 19th century.
Wooden ferry taking passengers on 1.5 hour-long river cruises where you can enjoy the landscapes and the city views in a relaxed way.
The large cathedral that's the namesake of the district dominates the old town. There has been at least two cathedrals here earlier, a Merovingian cathedral founded by St Pallais, and a Romanesque cathedral of which the southern cross and a dome have been incorporated in the current building. The Gothic cathedral was once much higher, up to three times higher than its current version. Traces of the ridge raising up to 39 m are still visible on the bell tower, and arcs on the outside raise up above the roof. During the 15th and 16th centuries it was built to those grand proportions, and the cathedral was almost finished when it was largely destroyed by Protestant troops in 1568 during the French Wars of Religion. There weren't funds to rebuild it as large as it had been, and the current height is about a third of what it once was. Surrounding buildings related to the cathedral like the bishops' residence were also not rebuilt.
An important pedestrian and shopping street, with more than half of the old town's shops. As such it's a great place to just walk around and do window shopping; or to make some side trips along the alleys. Most façades date from the 17th and 18th centuries though there are still some medieval houses left.
A square built in 1843 and named after 17th century bishop Louis de Bassompierre. It's a kind of an esplanade in front of the Fernand-Chapsal gardens where the Germanicus arc was reassembled in 1851. On the square there's a statue of 16th century potter Bernard Palissy who pioneered the Palissy ware ceramics style. The square is a venue for different events and a departure place for river tour boats.