Charente (, Saintongeais: Chérente, Occitan: Charanta) is a department in southwestern France, in the Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.

Charente (, Saintongeais: Chérente, Occitan: Charanta) is a department in southwestern France, in the Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.