Aquitaine Hotels

Real reviews from real travelers

Top Aquitaine hotels

Bordeaux Hotels: 475 Reviews - 1185 Photos
Biarritz Hotels: 129 Reviews - 294 Photos
Arcachon Hotels: 74 Reviews - 187 Photos
Sarlat-la-Canéda Hotels: 81 Reviews - 237 Photos
Saint-Émilion Hotels: 104 Reviews - 340 Photos
Bergerac Hotels: 36 Reviews - 77 Photos
Bayonne Hotels: 58 Reviews - 153 Photos
Pau Hotels: 162 Reviews - 711 Photos
Saint-Jean-de-Luz Hotels: 18 Reviews - 58 Photos
Brantôme Hotels: 17 Reviews - 72 Photos
Duras Hotels: 8 Reviews - 28 Photos
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac Hotels: 28 Reviews - 121 Photos
Le Bugue Hotels: 1 Review - 11 Photos
Beynac-et-Cazenac Hotels: 26 Reviews - 148 Photos
Moliets-et-Maa Hotels: 6 Hotels

Aquitaine Favorites

Vue du vieux Nérac depuis le château

by Klod5

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Vue du vieux Nérac depuis le château
by Klod5
Statue d'Henri IV
by Klod5
Chateau des seigneurs d'Abret
by Klod5
Favorites
by Roadquill
Detail including the word "Via Crucis"
by iandsmith

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

What Is A Bastide?

by hquittner

A historical definition is in order. In the 12C the SW part of France was an unpopulated and lawless area because of fighting between England and France (Aquitaine vs. Toulouse), brigandage and the Albigensian Crusade. At the same time, population was exploding. The concept of free-towns (bastides) was approved by the central authorities. Some say Raymond VII of Toulouse founded Montauban this way in 1144, others say it was Cordes in 1222). The towns were built at one campaign to a modified Roman plan with a central square and a pair of parallel broad roads leading to surrounding wall-gates and lateral streets subdividing it into districts. The citizens were “free”, no longer vassals and land was allotted and farmed without tax. It was a contract between the landholders as a group and the noble. The tax was on trade and not production. The locations however were strategic and the...

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The beaches of Landes

by kokoryko

Extending from the Gironde estuary to the Basque coast, the Landes coast is a 220 km long sandy beach, almost linear. Bassin d’Arcachon and small river mouths are the only discontinuities of the coast. I like the beaches except in summer; stormy winds of winter, late autumn with red sunsets, spring with flowers on the dunes. The beaches are quite crowded in summer, especially near resorts, (and there are more and more . . . ), but nice places can still be found. Out of season, it is possible to walk for kilometres, looking for shells, drift wood, looking without end at the surf, listening to the fierce noise of the waves breaking on the shore, without meeting anybody. The pictures here show beaches in the southern part of Landes, and one can see there is space for playing whatever on the sand.And surfers enjoy the beaches of the Landes.The ugly blockhouses left by the Atlantic wall...

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Mont de Marsan and villages

by kokoryko

Mont de Marsan is the prefecture (administrative centre) of the Landes department. This small town has a very interesting fine arts museum (Musee Despiau-Wlerick) organising every summer temporary exhibitions on special themes. This museum is located in an old donjon tower from the 13th century. Apart this tower and the arenes (Bull and cow fighting arena) no buildings of interest are there. This city is well known for its aviation history (it is an old military air base) and the French strategic atomic bombs carriers (MirageIV planes in the 70’s-80) were based here. The most important event of the year here is the “fetes de la Madeleine”, a one week festival, with feria (Bull fighting), during which the city is fully crowded, alcohol is flowing in the throats like water in the rivers, music and dance in the streets, etc. etc. I enjoyed this, 30 years ago and people from far around and...

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The Landes forest is the widest of Western Europe

by kokoryko

The Pine forest of the Landes covers about 6700 km² and is the widest of Europe; well, a small one compared to the taiga or the Amazonian forest! But you can walk or bike here for hours without stepping on other people, especially during the late Autumn very misty foggy weather.The pines (Pinus pinaster) of this forest are not very common outside the Landes and they have been adapted to the area in the 19th century in order to dry up the swampland which covered most of the Landes area (landes means : heath, or wasteland in French) ; in some way this forest is a man made forest.A tip about this forest is a difficult task: have to tell about the light in the trees, tell about the whispering of the wind caressing the treetops, the moving treetops when the wind blows. . . tell about the resin scents of this pine forest, all the colours of the flowering heather and brooms, in Summer or...

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Beautiful vineyards

by kokoryko

The vineyards are like gardens, lots of work has to be done to make a good wine, and this begins in the vineyard.The PessacLeognan wines are top and given their price, you may understand the mansions are quite . . . cosy! The land here is probably more expensive than construction land in a residential area of a average French city.The chateaux, which are on the pictures are among very well known ones, but the world famous ones are Pape Clément or Haut Brion , I will visit one day. When I was student in Bordeaux, the window of the room where I lived for two years had a view on Haut Brion vineyards; I was not interested at the time and I do not remember I made a picture of them. Among the Chateaux you see on the pictures, Fieuzal is very famous for its white grave (Sauvignon grapes). Most of these chateaux can be visited during week days and wine tasting is possible; it is easy to find...

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Bordeaux wines of course, but not only!

by kokoryko

La Gironde which designates the broad estuary after the Garonne and Dordogne rivers junction is the widest department in France. Lots of places to be visited, archaeology, prehistory, geology (Aquitanian, Burdigalian. . .), the long beaches on the Ocean, the Bassin d’Arcachon, the Dune du Pyla, Bordeaux, of course, other historical cities, I may have to post some information about many places I visited long time ago, and when getting there next time, I will not forget my camera.Of course, one of the major characteristic of this department is the Bordeaux wine! Some week ago I travelled through the Graves area, the Graves are (at least to me) among the best wines of the world (it is not just a way of telling, it is what I really think, and am sure of!).Graves de Pessac Leognan, an area beginning in the southern suburbs of Bordeaux and covering 1600hectars worked by 68 “chateaux” is the...