La Gaitrie is in the Poitou-Charentes region of south-west France, within one hour's drive of Bordeaux and Cognac.
La Gaitrie is located on the edge of a quiet hamlet in the heart of beautiful countryside, a short drive from a bakery in Léoville and from the village of Montendre which has an excellent Thursday market, supermarket, tennis courts, horse riding, bike hire, a six-hole golf course and a swimming lake.
There are restaurants and a wider range of shops in the elegantly pretty town of Jonzac (20 minutes), as well as a tropical leisure pool complex (Les Antilles) with free internet access, a cafe and bar.
The Gironde estuary is just 35km away. The Blaye/Lamarque ferry provides easy access to the famous Medoc vineyards and sandy Atlantic beaches. There are further excellent beaches in and around Royan (79km).
The vineyards of St Emilion are one and a quarter hours drive.
On the banks of the River Charente, the lovely town of Cognac with its famous distilleries is less than one hour's drive away. There are 18 hole golf courses in Saintes and Cognac.
Average driving times:
Local towns: Montendre - 10 minutes; Jonzac - 20 minutes; Cognac - 50 minutes
Airports: Bordeaux - 1 hour; La Rochelle - 90 minutes
Trains: Angoulême (for TGV Lille/Paris) - 1 hour
Wine Regions: St Emilion - 75 minutes; Medoc - 90 minutes
