MonPetitCoeurBlog

Mervent Forest in the Autumn

Posted on by Dominic

We found this article about the forest of Mervent recently and it really struck a chord with us. The forest is a fantastic place to visit and the article.

The forest is a beautiful place to visit at any time of the year, a stroll amongst the trees in the summer can be a good way to exercise in a cool open space. The village of Mervent itself is also a great place to stop, it is perched high above the lake offering spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.

What we didn’t appreciate until reading this article is that the forest has 200 km of pathways offering plenty of scope to explore, either on foot or by bicycle.

Once you have wandered through the Forest a visit to the village of Mervent itself is worthwhile, there is a nice bar with outdoor seating where you can admire the view from on high whilst enjoying a glass of something refreshing. If you are feeling really adventurous why not take to the lake in a kayak or on a paddleboard?

Deux Sevres Office de Tourisme Guides

Posted on by Dominic Moss

Our departments Tourism Office does a wonderful job in promoting the region. Every year they produce a fabulous full colour guide called Escapades which provides suggestions for places to visit and events that are planned to occur in the department during the year.

In addition to the Escapades guide they also produce a guide to walking routes in the department suitable for visitors keen to explore the natural beauty of the region.

Tourist Map of Deux Sevres

They also produce a tourist map of the Department which gives you a great idea of what to see and where to see it.

We have copies of these in the Gite for our guests – you can also view them online, download a copy or order copies for your personal use. Full information is available on the Deux-Sevres Tourisme website.

Play Total WipeOut

Posted on by Dominic

We love Parc de Pierre Brune, conveniently located less than 25 minutes drive from our Gite. There is plenty to do for kids of all ages and it makes for a great value day out for all the family. The Parc is very French and has a delightful slightly yesteryear feel to it which makes a visit even more memorable.

Parc Pierre Bruin Total WipeOut
Parc Pierre Bruin Total WipeOut

Parc Pierre Brune have added a new attraction this year which is similar to one of the challenges in the TV show Total WipeOut. There are differences of course. Firstly you don’t get wet if the sweeping arm knocks you off your perch and secondly you don’t have Richard “The Hamster” Hammond commentating on your performance.

Parc de Pierre Brune

STOP PRESS: There is now even more to love about Parc Pierre Brune. If you book your tickets online up to 72 hours in advance of your visit you can enjoy a 10% discount. A great day out is now even more of a bargain.

You can book your tickets using Parc Pierre Brune’s online service using this link.

Only 10?

Posted on by Dominic

France Today recently published an article entitled 10 reasons to visit the Vendee, maybe they were working to a deadline. It’s a great article to read but we can think of a lot more reasons to come visit the Vendee. Our Gite provides a great base from which to go and explore this beautiful department in France.

Explore the Mervent Forest

Posted on by Dominic

We found this article recently extolling the virtues of the Mervent Forest in the autumn. The forest is a beautiful place to visit and it is just 15 minutes drive from our Gite.

What we hadn’t appreciated is that it has 200km of tracks to follow, fantastic for those who enjoy a good walk or even for those who like to get out on their bikes.

Memories from la Plage

Posted on by Dominic

Last year two of our young guests, Noe and Ona, left us with a beautiful picture of a mermaid in appreciation of the great time they had staying with us.

This year one of our young guests called Amelie found a stone on the beach and made this little arrangement next to the entrance to the Gite.

We pride ourselves in saying that Happy Holidays Happen Here, these tributes from our young guests are a good sign that this is true.


Apart from being a lovely arrangement and very appropriate given our use of MonPetitCoeur as the name for our holiday home the heart motif also has significance given the name of our guest who assembled this lovely arrangement.

Our guest Amelie was named after the film of the same name starring Audrey Tautou so we think this scene is the perfect compliment and way to say thank you for the wonderful display created by our lovely guest Amelie!
Please note the YouTube video may not play in all territories.

parroted.lift.otters

Posted on by Dominic

No we haven’t lost the plot, if you use What Three Words these 3 will bring you to our door, easy.

If you haven’t heard of this App check them out at

https://what3words

They have divided the entire Globe in to a grid of 3 by 3 metres, every unique square can be located using just three words. In our case parroted.lift.otters will direct you to the parking area in front of our Gite. IT’s that simple you really don’t have any excuse for not finding us.

parroted/lift/otters - our W3W Location
parroted/lift/otters – our W3W Location

Save with this Liber-T tag promotion

Posted on by Dominic

We love our tags for the autoroutes, cruising through the tolls without the stress and hassle of having to find your ticket and then pay using cash or a card is a simple pleasure. More than once in the past we have been caught out by certain UK cards not being accepted at the toll booths.

Rhinocarhire.com have a special offer available that means you can avoid the €10 application fee and you don’t even have to hire a car through them to enjoy this discount.

Even if you will not be travelling the autoroutes this year getting a tag is still a good idea for future travels.

SVT do it again

Posted on by Dominic

Sud Vendée Tourism do a great job of promoting the region, their latest example can be viewed using this link.

You don’t have to rely upon Sud Vendée Tourism or ourselves, here is Lonely Planet’s view of the attractions of the Poitou-Charentes region.

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel has listed Poitou-Charentes as one of the Top Ten Regions of the world to visit:

“What makes Poitou-Charentes so different from the rest of France is that it encapsulates the best of France in one small, easily digestible region. Put simply, Poitou-Charentes combines all the best clichés of the French countryside – the sleepy rural villages, the endless fields of sunflowers and the delicious food and drink – and this alone makes it different from every other region in the country.“

“Much more laid back than the Med (but with almost as much sunshine) and ideally suited to family holidays, this is a place where you can slow the pace right down, settle in and indulge in the finer things life has to offer.” 

Taken directly from Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel