From The Sunday Times
April 20, 2008

Undiscovered France: Poitiers
Poitiers is a treasure trove that's uninvaded by the hordes.
Anthony Peregrine has the lowdown

Poitiers is for the discerning few. By that, of course, I mean people like me. Mature and civilised, we are as hip and cool as an Austin Princess. On our travels, we avoid techno-chic cocktail bars, purple-lit boutique hotels and anything at all described as “cutting edge”. We favour lived-in landscapes, church frescoes and meals that come from recognisable sources rather than laboratories.
We also favour quite a lot of wine, flavouring, as it does, the calm of continuity rather than the clamour of the contemporary.

“Yeah, right, has-beens,” says a juvenile close at hand.
“No, my boy,” I reply. “Timeless.” That is why we go to Poitiers, which nestles in west-central France, largely unnoticed. It doesn’t care. The place had its moments in the Middle Ages, as base to Eleanor of Aquitaine’s court, with a full complement of artists, aristocrats and bad-tempered bishops. The period equipped it with a framework of outstanding buildings, noble (if narrow) streets and a lasting sense of self-worth. Then, about eight centuries later, the city had a rush of blood to the head and built the Futuroscope theme park.......

DAY ONE
First job is to hurry to the 12th-century Notre-Dame-la-Grande church on Place Charles-de-Gaulle. The facade is alive with statuary and reliefs, a stone-cut, multistorey comic book of the New Testament’s greatest hits. I was particularly impressed to see baby Jesus in the bath, overseen by a sheep. The whole thing is a marvel, the finest Romanesque frontage in France.
Check into the Grand Hôtel (28 Rue Carnot; 00 33-5 49 60 90 60, www.grandhotelpoitiers.fr; doubles from £60), which is grand in a modest way, with art-deco overtones. Fortuitously, Rue Carnot is crammed with restaurants. Bistrot La Villette (No 21; 05 49 60 49 49; menus from £14) is bright and right opposite the hotel.

DAY TWO
There are a few – but only a few – joys more intense than setting off to explore a French town as the sun burns off the early-morning mist. Especially in Poitiers, where the limestone buildings speak of men of the robe and the cloth bustling about vital provincial business. Amble around the centre as people open up food shops, swab pavements, take a first coffee of the day and leg it for work. There’s a rooted sense of purpose abroad...
...Take a walk, then lunch at the Restaurant Saint-Roch, just off the main square (05 49 19 49 00; two courses £16.50). Next, totter south along the River Gartempe to Angles-sur-l’Anglin, the French HQ of drawn-thread embroidery. This is the art of making decorative holes in table- and bedlinen. Village ladies are all at it, displaying their wares in a little exhibition centre.
On examining the price tags, you may conclude that France’s obsession with artisanship has finally got out of hand: £800 for a tray cloth is, perhaps, £785 too much.
Fortunately, the village is so peaceably pretty that you forgive it this foible. Dropping to the river like a packed amphitheatre, it has a cliff-topping castle crumbled to perfection. Stay at the lovely Lyon d’Or (4 Rue d’Enfer; 05 49 48 32 53, www.lyondor.com; doubles from £59). Dine there, too; £20 for two courses.

DAY THREE
The locals have been prettifying this place for 15,000 years. That’s how long ago Magdalenian man was carving the rock walls hereabouts. The reliefs are closed to the public, but are recreated and explained at the new Roc-aux-Sorciers centre (2 Route Certeaux; 05 49 83 37 27, www.roc-aux-sorciers.com; £5).
....
So to Lussac-les-Châteaux and Hôtel les Orangeries (12 Avenue Dr Dupont; 05 49 84 07 07, www.lesorangeries.com; doubles from £68 mid-season, £76 high). This wears an eco-label, which had me fearing the worst: insufferable bearded blokes lecturing me about polar bears over the wholemeal porridge.
In truth, it’s a delightful 18th-century spot, magnificently restored and furnished. The lady owner has indeed caught the eco-bug (recycling, energy conservation, local organic suppliers, that sort of thing), but passes it on with charm and optimism. Have a drink in the lounge, stroll in the gardens, note the 35-metre pool – it’s like the end of a canal – and dine on the £23 fixed menu.

DAY FOUR
Back to Poitiers and follow the signs for Futuroscope (05 49 49 11 12, www.futuroscope.com; adults £26, 5-16 years £19.50). The theme park looks like a city of the future as envisaged about 1968, and delivers a punch that left me laughing. No space to do it justice here, so please believe me. This is where the discerning few let their hair down and join the discerning many.

A un journaliste: Benoît Théau

Benoit Théau, journaliste-consultant (Igapura), spécialiste du développement durable, a choisi l’expérience de labellisation des Orangeries pour initier sa nouvelle série vidéo : "Le développement durable au coeur de l'entreprise". Un DVD de 8 minutes a été réalisé en collaboration avec Didier Lanquetin (Enviro-Stratégies).  

Il illustre très concrètement la façon dont une société de service peut mettre en oeuvre les principes du développement durable.