Rather touristy, but very beautiful with its ancient galleried and turreted houses, AUBETERRE-SUR-DRONNE hangs on a steep hillside above the river, some 30km downstream of Ribérac. Its principal curiosity is the cavernous Église Monolithe (daily: July to Oct 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–7pm; Nov–June 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–6pm; €3.50), carved out of the soft rock of the cliff face in the twelfth century, with its rock-hewn tombs going back to the sixth. A (blocked-off) tunnel connects with the Château on the bluff overhead. There's also the extremely beautiful church of St-Jacques, with an eleventh-century facade sculpted and decorated in the richly carved Poitiers style on the street leading uphill from the square.The tourist office is on the main square (July & Aug Mon 2.30–7pm, Tues–Sun 10am–7pm; Sept Mon 2.30–6pm, Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; Oct–June daily 2–6pm; tel 05.45.98.57.18), round the corner from the simple, old-fashioned Hôtel de France (tel 05.45.98.50.43, [email protected]; €30–40; menus from €12). There's a campsite (tel 05.45.98.60.17; closed 15 Sept–15 June) just below the village, and the modernized Hôtellerie du Périgord, beside the bridge (tel & fax 05.45.98.50.46; €40–55; closed 2 weeks in Nov/Dec and 2 weeks in Jan), where you can eat well for between €15 and €25. On weekdays a daily bus runs to Angoulême, while Chalais, which is on the Angoulême train line, is only 12km away. South of Aubeterre, towards LA ROCHE-CHALAIS, the country gradually changes. Farmland gives way to an extensive forest of oak and sweet chestnut, bracken and broom, interspersed with sour, marshy pasture, very sparsely populated. It's ideal cycling and picnicking country. In La Roche-Chalais, the tourist office on the main square (May–Sept Tues–Sat 9am–noon & 2–7pm; Oct–April Tues–Fri 9am–noon & 2–6pm, Sat 9am–noon; tel 05.53.90.18.95) has information on local walking routes and farm visits. For an overnight stay, the Hôtel Soleil d'Or, across the square from the tourist office (tel 05.53.90.86.71, fax 05.53.90.28.21; €40–55; restaurant from €11.50), has a magnificent view over the surrounding area and very comfortable rooms. Campers will find a campsite here (tel 05.53.91.40.65; closed 1 Oct–15 April) and another in ST-AULAYE, 12km northeast on the Aubeterre road (tel 05.53.90.62.20; closed Oct–May), where the small restaurant, Au Petit Gourmet, on the central square (closed Wed), serves good-value regional cuisine from €10.
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