"Historic Cognac" Top 5 Page for this destination Cognac by Steve-H

I had visited cognac a few years ago but I was in the region again, plodding around on my old Triumph, the sun was shining and I wanted to go somewhere nice, Cognac was the answer.
The old part of the town & the remains of the castle are a good place to start, take a walk through the town and the ancient cobbled streets, sit by the river and have a leisurely lunch before going on a tour of one of the great Cognac Houses. The most obvious place to start would be Hennessy, right by the river, or Otard but it was a lovely day so I chose to ride out of town a few miles to Remy Martin' grand estate in Merpins, about 3 miles from the town centre.

Remy Martin estate, Merpins

The most obvious place to start would be Hennessy, right by the river, or Otard but it was a lovely day so I chose to ride out of town a few miles to Remy Martin' grand estate in Merpins, about 3 miles from the town centre, follow the road along the river & turn left at the 1st roundabout and right at the second (make sure you turn sharp right or you'll miss it) You will be on the road to A10/Pons/Bordeaux/Royan. Keep going but do not turn right onto the Peage, keep left and look out for signs to the Remy Martin estate further down the road on the left. The tour cost 15 euros each, the usual type of thing, potted history, a few films, some touching & smelling, Q&A etc then a tasting before being let loose in the shop. Here you can buy Cognac from 50 euros to 1300 euros! A class act.

I wonder what their trade was?

I don't know who Drounau was or what he and his did sons did but that magnificent winged wheel over the entrance caught my eye. This is typical of the older parts of Cognac, it has largely been left intact, often unrestored and always interesting. Magnificent timbered houses still wear their old wooden doors, the streets are cobbled and the tiny streets invite you to explore them, it won't take long but there are plenty of other distractions in Cognac.

• Pros:Interesting, historic & beautiful.
• Cons:The bars in the old part of town can be expensive.
• In a nutshell:Underated and relatively undiscovered.