Angouleme is a large fortress town with wonderful ramparts, overlooking the Charente valley below. Every third weekend in September, Angouleme hosts the Circuit des Remparts, a historic street race which was first run in 1939 around the ramparts of the old city. The circuit is 1.279 kilometres in length, with three 90-degree hair-pin bends, and two fast straights, where the drivers of the historic cars can reach speeds of up to 120mph.