Description:

Geography and Transport

Chabanais is a village covering 15.01km² and situated in the north east corner of the Charente Department, 15km/9mi from the town of St Junien (Haute Vienne) at an altitude of 148m to 250m.  The picturesque Vienne River flows through the town.  Chabanais is located on the RN141, and this gives access to Angouleme (58km/36mi/56mins) to the south west, and to St Junien and Limoges (46km/29mi/54mins) to the east.  The closest Airport is Limoges Bellegarde which offers flights to numerous UK destinations with Flybe and Ryanair.  The village is on the regional railway line between Angouleme (TGV) and Limoges, and offers 4 trains per day. 
See also:  St Claud

Climate

Climate here is Maritime, and therefore temperate with 4 clearly defined seasons. July and August are the hottest months with average daytime temperatures of 24C (14C-15C night), but June and September are also warm with averages of 20C to 21C (12C night).  Winters here on average are not excessively cold with temps of 7C to 8C (2C night).  Wettest months are April, October and November (all over 70mm).  Chabanais is part of a zone which receives between 1750 and 2000 hours of sunshine per year.

Tourism

Whilst Chabanais is 2.5hrs from the coastal beach at St Georges de Didonne, it is situated close to two large lakes (Lac Lavaud and Lac de Mas Chaban) where activities such as swimming, sailing, rowing, and canoeing are available.  There are two fine sandy beaches at the Lac de Levaud, and the beach at Guerlie has handicap facilities.  At Exideuil (5km) rafting and canoeing are available on the Vienne River.  Also close-by at Etagnac (5km) is the Chateau de Rochebrune (11^th and 12^th Century), Etang de la Féculerie and the Forest of Etagnac.  Chabanais is also home to Chêne Vert, a large tree-garden with over 3,000 species of plant.

Economy

The largest business in the area is Destampes Emballages, a packaging firm based at Etagnac, but the economy and jobs are centred around commerce, services and education.  Chabanais is part of the Haute Charente economic zone, which has an unemployment rate of 7%, compared against the regional rate of 8.6% and the national rate of 9.1% (INSEE 2006).

Facilities

Chabanais has all amenities including shops, restaurants and a swimming pool.

Education

There is a joint Nursery/Primary School as well as a separate Nursery School in the village, and one High School (College).   Chabanais has a municipal swimming pool, and there are cinemas at St Junien (15km) and Confolens (16km).

Key Stats

Of the properties in Chabanais, 84.3% are classed as main homes (against national average 83%), and 5.8% are used as second homes (fewer than the national average of 10.1%).  There are fewer males than females resident here (52.8% vs 47.2%), and 34.7% of the population is over the age of 60 against the national average of 21.3%, and it follows that the number of retired people resident here is also higher (29.7% vs 18.2%). The percentage of people below the age of 19 is lower than the national average (18.3% vs 24.6%)

 

Key Facilities and Services:

 

Supermarket	Post Office	Swimming Pool
Baker	Hairdresser	Dentist
Cafe	Bank	Doctor
Bar/Tabac	British Shop	Butcher
Restaurant	Library	Pharmacy

 

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