Introducing Southwest France

The southwest is farming France, a green and peaceful land nurturing crops from sunflowers to foie gras. Other key country products include Landes forst timber, Bordeaux wines and Cognac. Major modern industries, including aeropspace, are forcused on the two chief cities, Bordeaux and Toulouse. Visitors are mainly drawn to the wide Atlantic beaches, the ski slopes of the Pyrenees and the rural calm of the Dordogne.

Regional Food ~ The renaissance King Henri IV's declaration, "Great cooking and great wines make a paradise on earth," sums up the wonderful and varied cuisine of southwest France. Oysters and mussels proliferate along the Arcachon and Marennes coastline, and in the countryside around Bordeaux, the vine dominates to such an extent that wines are used in the cooking of practically every regional dish - a la bordelaise generally translates as "with a wine sauce".

In perigord, Quercy and Gascony, geese, ducks and goats are raised for foie gras, confit and cheese. Truffles found in the forests are highly prized and costly, and are used sparingly in soups, sauces, pate and stuffings. Goose fat is used for cooking dishes such as cassoulet and daube de boeuf.