A tiny village of low whitewashed cottages and 3-m high hollyhocks on the Gironde estuary, Talmont has a lovely Romanesque church in the Eglise de Sainte-Radegone. It was built 1140-70 by Benedictine monks, and despite its fortress-like appearance boasts a fine flowering of neat blind arches, heraldic symbols and gargoyle decorations. As befits a mariners’ church, there are ferocious-looking sea beasts fighting it out by the porch (beneath marvellous acrobats) and some endearing bug-eyed fish posted around the feet of the pillars inside. Then stroll down through the narrow streets to the water’s edge for a look at the wooden fishing huts perched on stilts and hung with gaping nets.