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Fernand-Chapsal public gardens

Jardin public Fernand-Chapsal

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.

Address: Place Bassompierre
Getting there: Quartier Saint-Pallais
Price: free
Website: fr-fr.facebook.com (opens in a new tab)

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Saintes, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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de mai à septembre
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Cathédrale Saint-Pierre
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.