| Saintes' gare SNCF is on avenue de la Marne at the east end of the main road, avenue Gambetta. The tourist office is housed in grand old Villa Musso, 62 cours National (Mon–Sat: 9.30am–noon, 2.15–6pm; tel 05.46.74.23.82, www.ot-saintes.fr), and organizes boat trips to Cognac during the summer. There are several hotels in the vicinity of the gare SNCF, the best of the bunch being the now rather tatty old Hôtel de France (tel 05.46.93.01.16, fax 05.46.74.37.90; €30–40). More congenial and more central is Les Messageries in tiny rue des Messageries, off rue Victor-Hugo (tel 05.46.93.64.99, www.hotel-des-messageries.com; €40–55), with a laundry service available. Another agreeable place is the Bleu Nuit at 1 rue Pasteur, the crossroads of cours National and cours Reversaux (tel 05.46.93.01.72, fax 05.46.74.43.80; €40–55; locked garage available); it has some character and is well insulated against the noise of the street. The hostel, 2 place Geoffroy-Martel (tel 05.46.92.14.92, fax 05.46.92.97.82), is right behind the Abbaye aux Dames. The municipal campsite (tel 05.46.93.08.00) is to the right (if you are coming from the Arc de Germanicus) immediately after the bridge, along quai de l'Yser. For eating, there's a good restaurant, the Tartine (tel 05.46.74.16.38), by the river on place Blair, and a popular crêperie at 20 rue Victor-Hugo, off rue Alsace-Lorraine, the pedestrianized shopping street. Le Jardin du Rempart, 36 rue du Rempart (tel 05.46.93.37.66), serves top-value menus from €14.50, including salads, seafood and grills, while Le Ciboulette, 36 rue Pérat (tel 05.46.74.07.36; closed Sat lunch & Sun), serves lots of Charentais specialities at moderate prices. Out of town, the Restaurant de la Charente (tel 05.46.91.03.17; closed Sun), 10km upstream at Chaniers, is the Sunday haunt of prosperous locals and makes a more expensive but fulfilling gastronomic experience.
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