Four stops, a royal detour. Grand Cognac opens the 2026 season with resurrected heritage, the art of distillation and a world-renowned paleontological site.

COGNAC
DISTILLER THE WORLD
The summer event in Cognac. The town that gave its name to the brandy looks to the whole world through its still. In its two museums, the Merchant's House and the Museum of Cognac Know-How, the exhibition recounts a thousand-year-old art born of alchemy, which it intersects with contemporary practices and the challenges of tomorrow. Ancient manuscripts, technical objects and testimonies from distillers explore the transmission of knowledge and the hybridization of practices. The Museum of Know-How, housed on the city's old ramparts, gives this global exploration a Charente anchor.

Merchant's House - Museum of Art and History
48 bd Denfert-Rochereau, 16100 Cognac
Museum of Cognac Know-How
Les Remparts, pl. From the Green Room, 16100 Cognac
From June 19 to November 29, 2026

ANGEAC-CHARENTE
AMONG THE DINOSAURS
Beneath the Charente soil, Angeac-Charente preserves the memory of a tropical marsh 140 million years old. This paleontological site has become one of the richest in Europe with 56 identified animal species. This story comes to life in the immersive experience Among the Dinosaurs, reopened in version 2.0. Angeac-Charente reveals its status as the world kingdom of ornithomimosaurs.

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
Route des Bergeries, Old Village School - Angeac-Charente Town Center, 16120 Angeac-Charente
Price: €6 - Family Pack: €15

THE SAINT-JACQUES GATE
A RESURRECTED MARVEL
On the banks of the Charente River, the Saint-Jacques Gate reopens after two years of a colossal construction project. Rebuilt at the end of the 15th century, its two round towers controlled access to the bridge. The last remaining vestige of Cognac's three medieval gates,it has survived six centuries, from royal defense to the prison it housed until 1860.

Did you know?

The restoration of the Saint-Jacques Gate preserved the graffiti carved by soldiers and prisoners into the stones:1720, 1752, 1771, 1783. A contemporary exhibition now accompanies the visit.

LA PORTE SAINT-JACQUES
1-3 quai Maurice Hennessy, 16100 Cognac

CHÂTEAU DE BOUTEVILLE
A THOUSAND YEARS OF HERITAGE
Above the vineyards, Château de Bouteville has regained its splendor. Inaugurated on June 1, 2024, after six years of construction, the building can be explored like a thousand-year palimpsest, from the Carolingian castrum to the revolutionary prison. Dynamic model, video projections and interactive kiosks accompany the story.

BOUTEVILLE CASTLE
Château Printing House, 16120 Bouteville

RIVER CRUISE
ABROAD TO LA DEMOISELLE
What if you discovered Cognac from the river? Two-hour guided tour aboard La Demoiselle, a modern flat-bottomed barge faithful to the boats that once plied the Charente River. Vineyards and limestone cliffs drift by to the rhythm of the water. In July and August, festive boarding on Wednesday evenings.

BOARDING POINT LA DEMOISELLE
11 Quai des Flamands, Cognac