Saint-Même-les-Carrières: Holiday apartments and holiday homes

Culture

Saint-Même-les-Carrières is defined by its limestone quarries: they were exploited in the Middle Ages and probably long before that. The good-quality limestone extracted there was used for numerous buildings in the region and exported far and wide.

The Church of Saint-Maxime, also known as Saint-Mème, dates from the 12th century and was largely destroyed in 1569.

During restoration of the Church of Saint-Maxime, also known as Saint-Mème, in the first half of the 18th century, the inscription “F.P.M.C. BOUNEAU 1731” was added to or preserved on a keystone.

The village washhouse and fountain were rebuilt in 1873.

A guided tour of Saint-Même-les-Carrières’ cultural heritage leads to the communal oven, past the remains of the château, the church and the washhouse, and presents and explains the quarries from the esplanade.

The digital tour “Les pierres de Saint-Même-Les-Carrières” is accompanied by a narrated guide and can be experienced at your own pace.

Renting a holiday apartment in Saint-Même-les-Carrières is a personal choice for your own trip.

Nature

The Carrières de Saint-Même consist of an extensive network of underground limestone quarries with 40 kilometres of galleries on several levels. Extraction ended in the 1960s; some galleries are flooded.

The Carrières de Saint-Même are an important wintering area for bats in Poitou-Charentes and France; 11 species were recorded during winter counts.

The quarries of Saint-Même-les-Carrières can be discovered in their natural surroundings from the village centre.

Food and drink

The weekly market in Saint-Même-les-Carrières takes place every Thursday morning and features between six and nine local producers.

Maison Camps is a family-run wine estate in Saint-Même-les-Carrières that produces and sells Grande Champagne cognacs and Pineaux des Charentes.

During a visit to the Maison Camps estate, the tour leads from the vineyards through the ageing cellar to the distillery and explains double distillation in the Charentaise style.

During a visit to Maison Camps, Pineaux and cognacs are offered for free tasting, along with an introduction to their associated aromas.

Other destinations: Bourg-Charente, Ansac-Sur-Vienne, Brie-sous-Chalais, Verteuil-Sur-Charente, Mornac, Touzac, Vindelle, Mazerolles.

To the higher-level travel overview: Charente.