The Charente-Maritime has produced a number of navigators, explorers and great travellers who set off to encounter new worlds by ploughing the ocean waves all over the world. Their tales have enriched the heritage of our département, bringing it a perfume of the exotic and a spirit of adventure.
Discover Famous People of Charente-Maritime !
Two great adventurers
The first, Samuel de Champlain, geographer to Henri IV of France, founded the province of Quebec and became the father of New France at the beginning of the 17th century. The other striking figure is Pierre Loti, traveller-writer whose works of fiction are indissociable from his travels around the world.
Places of Memorial
The two men today have places of memorial worthy of their achievements. Veritable museums, the Maison Champlain and the Maison Pierre Loti are located in their places of birth, in Brouage and Rochefort respectively. They enable visitors to measure the importance of their works and deeds, to experience a little of the exotic and travel, and to perpetuate their memory.
