Hotel Mercure Angouleme
///prepared.rock.desk
45°38’58.4376″N, 0°9’27.9864″E

After a good rest in our hotel (photo above) we were ready to go out and explore Angouleme. We started our morning by walking across the street to the public market.

The market building was built in 1888. It’s design was inspired by buildings in Paris of the same era. It’s not all that attractive on the outside but the interior is very interesting & it’s easy to imagine what it must have been like when it was first built.

Many of the vendors were still setting up their stalls & the prepared food breakfast choices were limited so we opted to find a nearby cafe instead.

After enjoying our “traditional” coffee, baguette & croissant we went for a brief walk in the neighborhood.

Just up the street from the market is the Hotel de Ville (city hall).

This building is very imposing, as it is located on one of the highest points in the city. The oldest part of it was built at the end of the Roman Empire & various parts of the castle were added to it over the following centuries. The City purchased the castle in 1869 & converted into their main office building.

Some of the streets surrounding the castle spread out like spokes on a wheel  & as you look up each street you can see the castle. It’s a great landmark to help you stay oriented.

Even though it was still pretty early on a Sunday morning there were still a few other tourists exploring the city.

Angouleme is well known for its building murals & we enjoyed several of various sizes.

I liked the restaurant window mural below. We had dinner there this evening.

And also the full wall mural on a building just around the corner from our hotel.

While we were exploring the area we often saw a familiar couple enjoying the same sights.

It’s nice to see that graffiti “artists” are leaving these little masterpieces alone.

We wrapped up the evening by taking a  stroll around the neighborhood and enjoyed a view of the city from the market plaza.

Our ages are starting to show a bit because while we were getting ready to call it a day many of the locals were just coming out for dinner!

Oh well, tomorrow we pick up our boat.

Cheers!