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Dordogne

Prehistoric sites

Egypt has its valley of kings, the valley of the river Vézère is simply the country of mankind. In this valley in the foothills of the Périgord plateau, the archaeological digs go back to ancient history, so to speak. In the caves and grottoes you can gaze on drawings dating back to 35,000 years before our times. However it’s the paintings of the Magdalenian era that we find the most fascinating. Bison, mammoth, reindeer, horses, wolves, elks, and rhinoceros, the list is long.
At Montignac, the Lascaux grotto, discovered by four young boys, in1940, is now closed to the public but its faithful replica Lascaux II is considered today as the "Sixtine Chapel of the pre-historic era". By no means to be missed. And at Tursac, children will appreciate the Pre-historic Park where the life of Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal man is re-constituted.

Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Lacq Gas

Since 1958, the Elf Aquitaine petroleum company has been exploiting a gasfield at Lacq. True, it is well known that that it will run out in a few years but with its 3billion cubic metres extracted every year, the region of Pau has become the centre of the oil industry in France. This industrial basin is directly linked to the port of Bayonne by pipe-line. So what ? There’s no question of visiting the site but simply, when you go through the Pau-Orthez plain after night fall, you can see the blazing flares and the lights of Lacq. An amazing sight.

Gironde

The Cordouan Lighthouse

Doubtless one of the most beautiful constructions in France. From the beginning of the C14th, cartographers indicated the small island of Cordouan, yet it is not until 1545 that the first beacon signals the entry to the Gironde estuary. At the end of the C16th the Royal Bursar, de Guyenne, asks the architect Louis de Foix, to build a royal lighthouse to replace the towers erected there earlier. The construction is huge. Rising to a height of almost 65metres above the highest tides, its light can be seen 21 miles away and for centuries it has benefited from all the technical innovations in the domain of lighting. Still, it is not simply a question of performance. For above all, it is distinguished by the refinement of its architecture. The ground floor has ornate Doric columns, the king’s apartments are paved in black and white marble, there is a chapel and the lantern room. The lighthouse has been a classified national monument since 1862, but it is no longer used today.

Lot-et Garonne

The château of Bonaguil

One thing is certain, the Baron Bérenger de Roquefeuil had no mean opinion of himself. At the end of the C15th he undertook the construction of a castle on the Bonaquil promontory A building with a perimeter of 350 metres and no less than thirteen towers in the medieval style, which was already at the time somewhat old fashioned. A castle that was impregnable for "his bad subjects, the English or even for the most powerful soldiers of the king of France". Unfortunately, the castle was never besieged and the heirs of the megalomaniac baron lived there until the C17th. Peacefully. And that is precisely why it has been preserved in perfect condition.

Landes

The bird sanctuary of Orx

No-one has ever succeeded in drying out the marshlands of Orx. And it is not because of trying. It was attempted as early as the reign of Henri IV and Napoleon, who was the great engineer in the Landes did not succeed either. Since the kings of France were powerless ! It was given up to its natural state and in 1990 it was declared a nature reserve.600hectares are today reserved for the migratory birds that stop there on their flight from Africa en route for Northern Europe. Silently, you enter the 6 hectares open to the public where you can observe storks, egrets, the grey crane…It is free. It is there simply for the pleasure of nature.