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Southwester France

 Aquitaine – Midi Pyrénées

Bordeaux  –  Biarritz  –  Saint-Jean-de-Luz  –  Bayonne -

Sarlat  –  Toulouse  –  Arreau  –  San Sebastian

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Place de la Bourse - Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants (08) and the capital of the Aquitaine region. The city is among the world's major wine industry centres. Bordeaux wine draws its name from the famous wine that has been produced in the region since the 8th century.

Bordeaux

Aux Girondins - Bordeaux

Monument Aux Girondins

Bordeaux Cathedral - St-Andre

Bordeaux Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Bordeaux-Bazas, located in Bordeaux. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096. The Royal Gate is from the early 13th century, while the rest of the construction is mostly from the 14th-15th centuries. The building is a national monument of France.

Bordeaux Cathedral

Place de la Bourse - Bordeaux

Miroir D'eau.

Place de la Bourse - Bordeaux

Place de la Bourse by night.

Bordeaux

Bordeaux

La garonne

Pl. du parlement - Bordeaux

The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century.

Sunflowers in Margaux

Bordeaux vineyards - Margaux

Bordeaux has about 117,000 hectares of vineyards, 57 appellations, 9,000 wine-producing châteaux, 13,000 grape growers, 400 traders and sales of 14.5 billion euros annually. With an annual production of over 700 million bottles, Bordeaux produces large quantities of everyday wine as well as some of the most expensive wines in the world.

Arcachon

Arcachon is a popular bathing location on the Atlantic coast 34 miles southwest of Bordeaux in the Landes forest. It has a fine beach, and a mild climate said to be favourable for invalids suffering from pulmonary complaints. The town of Arcachon is only 150 years old.

Arcachon

Dune de Pyla

At its southern entrance from the Atlantic ocean, Arcachon Bay is crowned by Europe's largest sand dune, the Dune de Pyla (or du Pilat), nearly 3 kilometres long, 500 metres wide, reaching 107 metres in height, and moving inland at rate of 5 metres a year.

Hossegor

Soorts-Hossegor is a commune in France. It located is in the Landes département, in the Aquitaine région. It is well known as a seaside resort and surfing center, considered as one of the best surfing locales in the world. The city's economy is centered around surfing. Recently Hossegor has become one of the premier surfing locations in Europe, with a series of world class beach breaks such as Gravière, La Nord, Capbreton, La Piste and Seignosse. It supports a thriving nightlife through the summer.

Bayonne

Grand Bayonne is the commercial and civic hub, with small pedestrianised streets packed with shops, plus the cathedral and Hôtel de Ville.

Bayonne

The Cathédrale Sainte-Marie - Bayonne

The Cathédrale Sainte-Marie is an imposing, elegant Gothic building, rising over the houses, glimpsed along the narrow streets. It was constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. The south tower was completed in the 16th century but the cathedral was only completed in the 19th century with the north tower. The cathedral is noted for its charming cloisters.

The Cathédrale Sainte-Marie - Bayonne

Biarritz

Biarritz is a town and commune which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in southwestern France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers. Biarritz also boasts some of the best beaches in Europe and has won multiple awards for their top class standards. Biarritz is famous for its coast and the rocks in the sea.

Biarritz

Biarritz

Biarritz

Biarritz

Grand Plage beach - Biarritz

The beaches are excellent and this is a major surf resort. The main beach, Grand Plage.

Biarritz

Overview from the Pointe Saint-Martin

Overview from the Pointe Saint-Martin toward Biarritz.

Biarritz

Rocher de la Vierge - Biarritz

Beautiful sunset at Rocher de la Vierge in Biarritz.

Biarritz

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a fishing port on the Basque coast of France and now a famous resort, known for its architecture, sandy bay, the quality of the light and the cuisine. The town is located south of Biarritz, on the right bank of the river Nivelle opposite to Ciboure. The port lies on the estuary just before the river joins the ocean.

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Socoa

The bay of St Jean de Luz terminates, on its western side, in the small village of Socoa. The entrance to the bay is guarded by Fort Socoa, which is situated on a promontory in extreme north-west of the bay. Plans to build a fortification at Socoa were first put forward during the reign of Henri IV in 1595, but work did not start until 1627. Before the work was completed, the Spanish took Socoa, adding their own defensive work.

Socoa

Saint-Emilion

Saint-Émilion's history goes back to prehistoric times and is a World Heritage site, with fascinating Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century AD. In the 4th century, the Latin poet Ausonius lauded the fruit of the bountiful wine.

Chateau de Castelnaud - Sarlat

Open to the public since 1985, this one-time fortress is now given over entirely to displaying the art of warfare in the Middle Ages. Inside, it has a unique private collection of arms and armour, as well as furniture from the period. Outside, you will find reconstructions of war machines, such as siege catapults, in actual size. These are reinforced by models and videos, explaining a medieval château’s different methods of attack and defence.

Chateau de Castelnaud - Sarlat

Dordogne River

View from top of the Chateau de Castelnaud.

La Roque-Gageac

La Roque-Gageac is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. Perched above the Dordogne River, has been designated one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France").

Beynac-et-Cazenac

View from Dordogne River.

Beynac-et-Cazenac

Beynac-et-Cazenac is a commune in the Dordogne department in south France. The village is classified as one of Les plus beaux villages de France (The most beautiful villages of France). The medieval Château de Beynac is on top of a limestone cliff.

Beynac-et-Cazenac

Beynac-et-Cazenac

The Château de Beynac

The Château de Beynac in Beynac-et-Cazenac is one of the best preserved and best-known in the region. This Middle Ages construction, with its austere appearance, is perched on top of a limestone cliff, dominating the town and the north bank of the Dordogne River.

The Château de Beynac

The castle was built from the 12th century by the barons of Beynac to close the valley. The sheer cliff face being sufficient to discourage any assault from that side, the defences were built up on the plateau: double crenellated walls, double moats, one of which was a deepened natural ravine, double barbican.

The Château de Beynac

View from The Château de Beynac.

Cave

Cave

Sarlat

Sarlat-la-Canéda, or simply Sarlat, is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. Sarlat is one of the most attractive and alluring towns in southwestern France.

Toulouse Cathedral

Toulouse Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toulouse) is a Roman Catholic cathedral, and a national monument of France, located in the city of Toulouse. The exact date of the original building is unknown; the first mention of the church on that site is found in a charter dating from 844.

Saint-Lary Soulan

Saint-Lary Soulan is located in the Midi-Pyrenees, the largest région in France. Saint Lary-Soulan is one of the largest ski resorts in the French Pyrenees with over 100km of downhill slopes. There are 53 pistes spread over three linked, and yet distinct sectors. Saint Lary Soulan is also a popular base camp for walkers. The Pyrenees National Park and The Néouvielle Nature Reserve are close by.

Col D Aspin

View from Col D Aspin toward Arreau.

Lac de Payolle - Hautes-Pyrénées

The Hautes-Pyrénées offer almost endless walking possibilities, from scenic footpaths suitable for families, to day hikes on waymarked trails and trekking on the long distance Grand Randonnées and Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne.

Pic du Midi

View toward The Pic du Midi de Bigorre or simply Pic du Midi (altitude 2,877 m) is a mountain in the French Pyrenees famous for its astronomical observatory, the Observatoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre (Pic du Midi Observatory).

Pic du Midi

The cabel car to top of Pic du Midi (2877m).

Pic du Midi

The cabel car to top of Pic du Midi (2877m).

Observatory

Construction of the observatory at Pic du Midi began in 1878. A 106-centimetre (42-inch) telescope was installed in 1963 funded by NASA, and was used to take detailed photographs of the surface of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo

View from Pic du Midi

View from Pic du Midi

La Mongie

The village of La Mongie is at 1800 metres altitude. It is in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France and around 20km from the Spanish border. La Mongie is a winter ski resort offering alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowpark, cross-country skiing, snowmobiles and hiking in snowshoes. In the summer cycling (on and off road) and the use of trials motorcycles is popular.

San Sebastian - Spain

Donostia-San Sebastián is the capital city of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, Spain. Locals call themselves donostiarras, both in Basque and Spanish. Its population is 183,090 (07), and its metropolitan area's population is 405,099 (07).

San Sebastian - Spain

Old part of San Sebastian

This is the traditional core area of the city, surrounded by walls up to 1863, when they were demolished so as to occupy the stretch of sand and land that connected the town to the mainland.

Ayuntamiento San Sebastian.

 

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