Exploring Aquitaine

Blessed with a seemingly endless Atlantic coastline, abundant navigable waterways, excellent ports and the finest wine and brandy in the world, the region is ideal for a relaxing holiday. Today most summer visitors head straight for the beaches with their thundering waves, but here is also a lush countryside inland with a lot to offer. The only modern city of major importance in the region, Bordeaux is worth a visit for its elegant 18th-century architecture as well as for its rich cultural life. The vast man-made forest of Les Landes also adds to this greatly undervalued corner of France.

Getting Around ~ The region's main highway is the A10 autoroute connecting Paris and Poitiers with Bordeaux and points east, such as Toulouse, and south (Bayonne and Spain). This road carries most of the heavy traffic in the area, relieving the excellent smaller roads, which are largely a joy to drive along. The new Paris-Poitiers-Angouleme-Bordeaux TGV line has halved rail travel times (Paris-Bordeaux 3 3/4 hr). Bordeaux operates an international airport, as well as coach service serving most European capitals.