Eating during your visit: typical French cuisine and dishes

Take time for a gourmet getaway in the footsteps of your ancestors. French gastronomy is renowned, but get off the beaten track and try the local culinary specialities, pEnjoy a good meal in a restaurant, have a drink on the terrace of a café, taste local products, stroll through the alleys of markets...

Normandy and Charente-Maritime are French regions renowned for their gastronomy. The restaurants know how to highlight local products such as cheeses and seafood. Discover the specialities of Normandy and Charente when you come to France!

Culinary specialities of Normandy :

- Camembert and other AOC cheeses: livarot, neufchâtel and pont-l'évêque
- Normandy cutlet
- Calvados, a Norman spirit
- The traditional Teurgoule
- Tripes à la mode de Caen
- Cider from Normandy
- Milk jam
- Mortagne black pudding
- Isigny caramel
- ...and many other specialities!

Culinary specialities of Charente-Maritime :

- Oysters
- Bouchot mussels slices
- Shrimps, shellfish and fish
- Swamp beef
- Pineau des Charentes
- Cognac

To discover the producers and taste the specialities of the bassin de Marennes, don't hesitate to discover the Maritime Flavours Route.

Live the French way of life for a meal, without spending the whole day at the table!

The French are known for spending long periods of time at the table. It's true! But there's no need to plan three hours a day to eat during your stay. 

To be served quickly, make sure you respect the service times, usually from 12 noon for lunch and 7.30pm for dinner. Few restaurants offer continuous service throughout the day except in busy places or large cities.

Many gourmet addresses are waiting for you for a family meal with your children or an inexpensive evening with friends during your stay. Whatever your budget, if you are looking for low prices and according to your desires, you will inevitably find the best restaurants to suit you.

Do you prefer to eat on the go? Most bakeries offer sandwiches or take-away food until around 1pm. It is also possible to eat local products at the markets via various stalls offering local dishes made on the spot.

Many cafés, brasseries and bars also offer quick, low-cost snacks for a quick bite to eat before resuming your visits: croque-monsieur, sandwiches, salads, charcuterie or cheese boards, etc. Remember to look at the slated-signs as you walk past, as they are usually marked!

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The tourist offices guide you to the best restaurants

During your stay in the footsteps of your ancestors, the territories offer you a wide choice of gustatory discoveries. The tourist offices will guide you to discover the good restaurants that will delight your taste buds...

You can also use the famous Guide du Routard or rely on the many sites and applications available. For example, if you are on a tight budget, the The Fork (recently renamed "The Fork", the English language is definitely everywhere...) is often used in France for occasional discounts on meals.

But if you go off the beaten track in the small towns of our beautiful regions of France, you will get better advice from the locals and the tourist offices who know the area much better!

Restaurants that welcome you to the land of your ancestors

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