Cooking Holiday in France - The Village and Surrounding Area

The village of Sommières du Clain is overlooked by the imposing Château de Sommières which can be enjoyed from one of our larger bedrooms, 'Château View', and from the grounds of our house at your cooking holiday in France at Les Ruches.

Sommières du Clain is a small country village that boasts the beautiful St. Gaudent church, a charming restaurant, a café bar/tabac, a boulangerie, a small local store and a pharmacy. The surrounding countryside is dominated by stunning sunflower fields, rolling fields of maize and woodland typical of the Vienne region of France. There are many activities in and around Sommières that we can advise you on and arrange including country walks, canoeing and fishing on the river Clain.

In the immediate area you will find the Vallee des Singes (Valley of the Monkeys), Le Vieux Cormenier (an automated scenographic history of rural France in the 1900’s), Parc Floral de la Belle (beautiful gardens in nearby Magné) and Futuroscope. There is also the fortified abbey of Nouaillé-Maupertuis, which is well worth a visit. Back at Les Ruches, we can, of course, provide you with information on other acitivities in the area and a little further afield if wished.

Poitiers, the elegant capital of the Poitou-Charentes, is a 35 minute drive away should you wish to do some serious shopping or sightseeing during your free time from the cooking holiday in France.

Rich in history and culture Poitiers has a labyrinth of pedestrianised streets with small shops and boutiques, café bars and restaurants. It also has numerous markets including gastronomic markets, flea markets and colourful clothes markets. We have just discovered the most amazing chocolaterie so if you're in Poitiers we urge you not to miss it!

If you don't wish to drive you can visit Poitiers by the bus service which runs from the square in Sommières du Clain several times a day right into the heart of town. A welcome break from the kitchen on your cooking holiday in France.