Pierre Loti's adolescence
Discover the intimacy of Pierre Loti's youth at the home of his sister, Marie Bon, a painter.
Pstaged route
It is in Saint-Porchaire, in the heart of Saintonge, that one of the places that most marked the sensitivity of Julien Viaud, future Pierre Loti, naval officer and writer, is located: the house of Marie Bon, his sister 19 years his senior, wife of Armand Bon. It is an old house in the village that he named "Fontbruant" which was later one of the places on earth to which he became "most passionately attached».
Open to the public in July 2023, Marie Bon's house reveals another intimacy of Pierre Loti, through a visual, sound and poetic experience that evokes the writer's memories.
Each room offers a thematic point of view: The entrance corridor / the family; The large living room / the painting studio; The dining room / the meal on the return from La Roche Courbon; The kitchen / the landscape and Pierre Loti's escapades to La Roche-Courbon.
The trail “In the footsteps of Loti”
in the Bruant valley towards the Roche Courbon castle
2 km / 1 hour
It was during stays in Saint-Porchaire that the future Pierre Loti discovered a mysterious place that would haunt his imagination forever, so much so that he would return there as soon as he could, "like a pilgrim piously brought back by memory ».
Every opportunity is good to plunge into the Bruant valley, which unrolls its carpet of greenery from Saint-Porchaire, to go for a stroll in the forest, between the rocks, the mossy trees and the grasses, where you will discover incredible clearings with a “carpet of lichens that have never been trampled on”.
This 2 km (1 hour) marked path with signage takes you in the footsteps of Julien Viaud, the future Pierre Loti, and offers you 3 successive landscape sequences to discover in the Bruant valley:
- The beginning of the Bruant Valley with the circuit « in the footsteps of Loti »
- The route « Préhistozen » : immersion in prehistory with the reconstruction of Neolithic camps
- the French gardens of the Château de La Roche Courbon
*trail in sensitive nature area. Steep site, suitable shoes essential.
Practical information
Opening :
May 8, 9, 12 and 19 : Guided tour in the afternoons by reservation. From 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
From June 20 to September 21 :
During the week : 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day except Monday and Tuesday morning
The weekends : from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Last entry for the route every day except Saturday: 5 p.m.
Saturday afternoons in summer: during weddings at La Roche Courbon: last entry: 2 p.m.
Theatrical visits : in spring (Easter holidays), one in the fall (All Saints' Day holidays in October)
Group visit: by reservation. Tel.: 05 46 95 35 83
House accessible to people with reduced mobility
More information : www.coeurdesaintonge.fr / rubrique : « Loisirs & tourisme : visiter »
2024 PRICES
FOR THE HOUSE :
Entrance per person from the house
- Individual visitors : 3 €/pers
and €2/person if ticket with routing (€11.50 in total instead of €12). - On presentation of a ticket for the virtual tour of the Pierre Loti house at the Hèbre museum in Rochefort : 2 €
Children :
- From 0 to 10 years old : free with delivery of a short questionnaire game on the visit of the house and discovery game on the journey
- From 10 to 16 years old : 1.50 € with game booklet offered on the house and discovery game on the path
Family Pass
- 2 adults + 2 children over 10 years old: €7 instead of €9 for a visit to the house alone
and €6 instead of €9 if the ticket is combined with the “in the footsteps of Pierre Loti” trail »
Group: from 10 people
- Free visit : 2.50 €
FOR THE TRIP with visit to the Château de la Roche Courbon (excluding interior guided tour)
The castle closes its doors at 7 p.m.. Last departure at 5 p.m.
except Saturday: last visit departure at 2 p.m.
Entrance per person :
- 9.50 €/person
- 6.50 €/child from 6 to 12 years old
*The trail ticket includes: the “in the footsteps of Julien Viaud/Pierre Loti” trail; the “prehistozen” trail, the French gardens, the exhibition on the gardens in the vaulted cellars of the castle, the old wooden games, the prehistory museum in the dungeon.
Payment by check or cash only. Bank counter 200 m away.
Cœur de Saintonge Virtual tour of Pierre Loti house