Angoulême: the world capital of comics

Every January, the world's most important comic festival transforms the medieval streets of Angoulême into an open-air gallery dedicated to the ninth art.

The center, world capital of comics, is comfortably explored on foot among murals dedicated to speech bubbles.

The comic murals scattered throughout the city, some several stories tall, transform Angoulême's facades into a permanent artistic route dedicated to comics.

A few steps away, the International Comic Art Center houses one of the world's most important museums dedicated to comics, with original panels by international authors.

Continuing, one walks along the medieval ramparts of the city, which offer a panoramic view of the Charente valley below.

Toward evening, the Cathedral of Saint Peter, Romanesque, preserves a carved facade with over seventy biblical figures among the best preserved in southwestern France.

The International Comics Festival of Angoulême, held every January since 1974, attracts over two hundred thousand visitors each year, temporarily transforming the small city into the world capital of the ninth art.

The comic murals of the city, created over decades by different artists, today cover dozens of city facades, making Angoulême an open-air museum even outside the festival period.