The famous Circuit des Remparts returns to Angouleme

The annual Circuit des Remparts is due to take place in Angouleme this weekend from the 16th - 18th September. Visitors will be flocking to the town to watch the procession of cars and the famous rally on Sunday. We caught up with Douglas from the Ruffec office who has been going to this event every year for the past 14 years to get some top tips on how to get the best from the weekend:

What do you enjoy most about the Circuit des Remparts?
For us whilst the racing, which is around the city of Angouleme’s remparts on the Sunday, is a great spectacle, we prefer to go to the tour of the Charente on the Saturday. We find out in advance which route the tour is taking and find a good spot for a picnic and spend the day watching numerous fantastic cars go by.

What can you see / do?
You can see over the weekend a wide range of cars which can range massively in speed, age and value. Friday night is great in Angouleme as you can walk around and see all of the cars close up. There is also the "concours d’elegance" where numerous stunning classics are presented to the crowd on a platform in the centre of the city. Saturday is the tour of the Charente with over 400 cars driving through country lanes. Sunday is the actual remparts races which are numerous races of timed laps including GT cars, Bugati’s, etc which are racing in their class head to head. You need to buy / book tickets.

Any top tips for visiting it?
Book hotels if you are staying in advance. Book restaurants in advance as the good ones are very busy. Go to the tour on Saturday. Usually the circuit des remparts release a map of where the tour is going a few days before the actual event on their website https://www.circuitdesremparts.com/en/