DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Dordogne, Bordeaux and the Southwe st Coast

322 Pages·2012·62.698 MB·English

by  Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff;Parry, Lyn

EYEWITNESS TRAVEL
dordogne, bordeaux
& the southwest coast

EYEWITNESS TRAVEL
DORDOGNE, BORDEAUX
& THE SOUTHWEST COAST
CONTENTS
PRODUCED BY Hachette Tourisme, Paris, France
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Cécile Boyer-Runge
SERIES EDITOR Catherine Laussucq
PROJECT EDITOR Amélie Baghdiguian
EDITOR Aurélie Pregliasc
ART DIRECTOR Éric Laubeuf
DESIGNERS Maogani
CARTOGRAPHY Cyrille Suss
MAIN CONTRIBUTORS Suzanne Boireau-Tartarat, Pierre Chavot, Renée
Grimaud, Wilfried Lecarpentier, Santiago Mendieta, Marie-Pascale Rauzier
PHOTOGRAPHY Philippe Giraud, Pierre Javelle, Éric Guillemot
Dorling Kindersley Limited
PUBLISHING MANAGERS Jane Ewart, Fay Franklin
PROJECT EDITOR Cécile Landau
ENGLISH TRANSLATION Lucilla Watson
DTP Jason Little,Conrad van Dyk
CARTOGRAPHY Casper Morris
PRODUCTION Louise Daly
Reproduced in Singapore by Colourscan
Printed and bound in Malaysia by Vivar Printing Sdn.Bhd
First American Edition, 2006
Decorative panel, the Pink Chamber,
12 13 14 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Château de Roquetaillade, Gironde
Published in the United States by DK Publishing,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 INTRODUCING
Reprinted with revisions 2008, 2010, 2012 AQUITAINE
Copyright © 2006, 2012 Dorling Kindersley Limited,
London. A Penguin Company
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WITHOUT LIMITING THE RIGHTS UNDER COPYRIGHT DISCOVERING
RESERVED ABOVE, NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED
IN OR INTRODUCED INTO A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, OR TRANSMITTED, IN ANY FORM, AQUITAINE 8
OR BY ANY MEANS (ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING,
OR OTHERWISE), WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF BOTH THE
COPYRIGHT OWNER AND THE ABOVE PUBLISHER OF THIS BOOK. PUTTING AQUITAINE
PUBLISHED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY DORLING KINDERSLEY LIMITED. ON THE MAP 10
A CATALOG RECORD FOR THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
ISSN 1542-1554
ISBN: 978-0-75668-425-9 A PORTRAIT OF
FLOORS ARE REFERRED TO THROUGHOUT IN ACCORDANCE WITH EUROPEAN USAGE; AQUITAINE 12
IE THE “FIRST FLOOR” IS THE FLOOR ABOVE GROUND LEVEL.
NOTE: THE FRENCH NAME OF AQUITAINE IS USED TO DESCRIBE
THE AREA COVERED BY THIS GUIDE. AQUITAINE THROUGH
Front cover main image: Château de Monbazillac THE YEAR 32
THE HISTORY
OF AQUITAINE 36
The information in every DK Eyewitness
Travel Guide is checked regularly.
Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is as up-to-date
as possible at the time of going to press. Some details, however, such
as telephone numbers, opening hours, prices, gallery hanging
arrangements and travel information are liable to change. The
publishers cannot accept responsibility for any consequences arising
from the use of this book, nor for any material on third party
websites, and cannot guarantee that any website address in this book
will be a suitable source of travel information. We value the views
and suggestions of our readers very highly. Please write to:
Publisher, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, Dorling Kindersley, 80 Strand,
London WC2R 0RL, Great Britain, or email: [email protected]. Bunches of ripe grapes in a
vineyard in Bordeaux
The village of Saint-Cirq Lapopie
SURVIVAL
GUIDE
PRACTICAL
INFORMATION 284
TRAVEL
INFORMATION 292
GENERAL INDEX 300
The port of Hendaye, Pays Basque
AQUITAINE TRAVELERS’
REGION BY NEEDS
REGION
WHERE TO STAY 240
WHERE TO EAT 254
SHOPS
AND MARKETS 270
Traditional dovecote
ENTERTAINMENT in the Lot-et-Garonne
274
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES 315
276
PHRASE BOOK 319
Château de Puyguilhem,
in the Dordogne
AQUITAINE Decorative detail of the interior of
the Grand-Théâtre de Bordeaux
AT A GLANCE 54
GIRONDE 56
PÉRIGORD
AND QUERCY 94
LOT-ET-GARONNE 140
LANDES 166
PAYS BASQUE 184
BÉARN 212 Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste
in Saint-Jean-de-Luz

INTRODUCING
AQUITAINE
DISCOVERING AQUITAINE 89
PUTTING AQUITAINE ON THE MAP 1011
A PORTRAIT OF AQUITAINE 1231
AQUITAINE THROUGH THE YEAR 3235
THE HISTORY OF AQUITAINE 3651
8 I N T R O D U C I N G A Q U I TA I N E
DISCOVERING AQUITAINE
A
quitaine lies along the of France’s most famous vineyards
Atlantic coast. Its silver are located here, interspersed with
beaches stretch 270km grand châteaux and Romanesque
(170 miles) from the Gironde churches. In the south lie the
estuary to Biarritz and the wild Pyrenees of the Pays
Spanish border. Behind them, Basque and Béarn, where
the pine forests and waterways traditions remain strong. These
of the Landes spread out two pages give a flavour of the
towards the bucolic river valleys regions, plus a quick guide to
Grapes
of the Lot and Dordogne. Some ripening their highlights.
Grand architecture includes
the imposing Château de
Hautefort (see pp104–105)
and the fortified town of
Rocamadour (see pp120–23).
Périgueaux (see pp98–101) is
the principal town in the
region. It has a well conserved
medieval heart, as does the
engaging market town of
Sarlat (see pp114–117),
which draws visitors with its
truffle and foie gras fairs.
Château de la Rivière and its sunbaked vineyards, near Bordeaux LOT-ET-GARONNE
oyster beds, vibrant birdlife, • Delicious Agen prunes and
GIRONDE expansive dunes and golden Duras wines
beaches that stretch the • Ancient bastide towns
• Stately Bordeaux length of the coast. • Château de Bonaguil
• Rolling vineyards and
fairytale châteaux The rolling countryside here
• Birdlife and beaches of the PÉRIGORD AND QUERCY has been described as the
Arcachon Basin “orchard of Europe”, and is
• Fertile Dordogne Valley famous for its Agen prunes
This is the heart of Aquitaine. • Romantic gardens of the (see p153) and the Duras
Its capital, Bordeaux (pp66– Manoir d’Eyrignac wines of the amiable Pays du
73), is an historic wine port • World-famous caves Dropt (see pp144–5). The
beside the River Gironde. • Dramatic Rocamadour Lot, Garonne and Baîse
Essentially a Neo-Classical rivers are augmented by
town of wide avenues and This inland region is a rich canals to ensure there’s
stone monuments, its Grand area of woodlands, caves
Théâtre is a prime example, and deep gorges cut by the
built on the site of a Gallo- Lot and Dordogne rivers,
Roman temple. Great wines making it a popular country
have been exported from holiday spot. A canoe is a
its warehouses all over the great way to explore the
world, including Médoc, delightful Dordogne Valley
Margaux and Saint-Émilion (see pp116–17). For a
(see pp74–5 and pp80–81). A romantic stroll, head for
tour of the grand wine the gardens of the Manoir
estates in the area is a must. d’Eyrignac (see pp110–11).
The ancient bastide towns Get back to more primitive
and the grand châteaux of nature by exploring the
Roquetaillade (see pp86–7) myriad underground caves.
and Cazeneuve (see pp92–3) Some of the world’s most
also merit a tour. famous cave paintings are
For nature lovers there’s here in Lascaux (see p108),
the impressive Arcachon and there are a large number The Dordogne river flowing past
Basin (see pp62–3), with its of prehistoric sites in the area. the Château de Castelnaud