Poitou-Charentes consists of the departments of Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne and is a very popular region with the British.
The major attraction is the futuristic theme park Futuroscope which is very much an interactive hands-on theme park as opposed to one that just treats you as a spectator.
Outside that there are numerous historical towns and villages scattered around the region. Of these, perhaps the most noteworthy is the town of Angouleme with it's ancient ramparts, 12th century cathedral and, from the modern era it's the European centre of the cartoon art.
Amongst the collection of Les Plus Beaux Villages in this region are Angles-sur-l’Anglin, Ars-en-Ré, Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, Coulon, La Flotte-en-Ré, Mornac-sur-Seudre, and Talmont-sur-Gironde.
The principal airports in the region are Angouleme (ANG) and Poitiers (PIS).
The rail network is extensive. You can get the Eurostar from London to Lille and change there.
Photo courtesy of Les Toogs