Poitou-Charentes Geography

This region is located in the middle west of France. North it is bordered by the Centre and Pays de la Loire regions, east by Limousin, south by Aquitaine and its west side faces the Atlantic ocean.

	Poitou Charentes Geography and Key Data
Surface Area	Poitou Charentes consists of 25,810 km² equivalent to 3.85 % of France's total surface area.
Departments	Poitou Charentes is made of 4 departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne.
Communes	Poitou Charentes is composed by more than 1,450 communes with a population density of 69 inhabitants per sq km.
	Coast and Water in Poitou Charentes
Ocean	Poitou Charentes is bordered along its west coast by the Atlantic Ocean.
Beaches	Poitou Charentes offers many beaches over 400 kilometres from the Baie de l'Aiguillon to the Gironde estuary. 9 nudist beaches are to be found in the Charente Maritime department.
Islands	Ile de Ré: famous touristic destination with almost 100km of shoreline Ile d'Oléron: 2nd biggest island in France, it is nicknamed 'la Lumineuse' (the luminous) Ile d'Aix: a much authentic preserved natural area Ile Madame: a very small isle 'forgotten by time' all the more pleasant (0,78sq km)
	Forests and Natural Parks in Poitou Charentes
Forests	The forest is mostly leafy and stretches on 370,000 hectares, accounting for 15 % of the territory. With more and more planted trees, its area is constantly growing.
Protected areas	The region has several natural reserves to discover: Pinail, Lilleau des Niges, Moeze as well as preserved areas such as Les Iles du Pont. The Marais Poitevin, also called ‘Green Venice’ is the most famous. This marshland is a little gem absolutely not to miss.