Angoulême’s Old Town is best explored by walking all the way around it. The North is crisscrossed by narrow streets, whereas the South is broken up by spacious roads lined with aristocratic façades. While strolling through the area, head towards S..

Situated at the entrance to the Jardin des Plantes, the museum is set up in two buildings which face each another. The Lafaille Museum is home to the Lafaille exhibition which includes an amazing coquillier , as well as Clément de Lafaille’s furni..

Built by Colbert in 1666, the building is anchored on a timber form comprised of a grid of oak beams. A rare example of 17C industrial architecture, this classical building was the assembly point for rope used on the great warships. The advent of ste..

This very busy street is one of the most typical of La Rochelle, with its many galleries and 16C and 17C houses. Half-timbered medieval houses covered with slate alternate with Renaissance buildings sporting fantastic sculpted gargoyles.

The La Rochelle Aquarium, a large vessel made of wood and glass, presents over 10,000 marine creatures from the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Pacific in an original way, and its 65 pools recreate the environments of the species a..

Situated at the end of a narrow bay, the old port is made up of the port entry, the beaching basin or Old Port, the small basin where yachts are moored, and the trawler basin. It is certainly the most well-known view of La Rochelle with its two tower..

The dwellings around the Town Hall, Rue des Merciers and Rue du Palais were built with two ways out; on the ground floor they have a large room often converted into a shop, then an interior courtyard with staircase and gallery; on the first floor a d..

The aquatic and plant world of the Poitevin Marsh resembles a huge maze of waterways and paths. A boat ride will take you gliding over the green water of the Wet Marsh, nicknamed the Green Venice, starting from Coulon , Le Vanneau, Damvix, Maillezai..

The courses of the Ciron and Homburens meet discreetly under trees right by the château, just as beautiful Margot and her gallants used to do in the past. The seat of the lords of Albret, it became property in 1572 of Henri III of Navarre, the future..

Built from 1773 to 1780 by architect Victor Louis in pure neo-Classical style, this is one of the most beautiful theatres in France. The refined interior staircase inspired Garnier for his Opéra de Paris. The auditorium is made up of pillars, ramps..

Housed in the old faculty of literature and science building, this museum traces mankind’s history in Aquitaine from prehistory to the modern day through extensive collections spread over two floors. The section devoted to the Golden Age of Bordeaux..

At the junction of two hills, the high bell-tower of the monolithic church overlooks a rocky outcrop with cavities hollowed out where the monolithic church, the Emilion hermitage, catacombs, Trinity Chapel and a number of cellars are located. At the ..

A horseshoe-shaped space laid out between 1730 and 1755 by the Gabriels (father and son architects) and bordered by two buildings distinctive for their columns supporting triangular pediments: to the north the Palais de la Bourse and to the south the..

An attractive backdrop for this museum, located in four 16C-17C residences (Estrades, Vaurs, Vergès and Monluc): medieval art (a 16C Brussels tapestry entitled The Month of March ); archaeological items include the jewel of the collection, a 1C BC G..

This astounding fortress, which rises on the borders of the Perigord Noir and of Quercy, is one of the most perfect examples of late 15C and 16C military architecture. Its particular feature is that under the appearance of a traditional castles, it p..

Towering above the mountain stream, this castle built by Gaston Fébus in the 14C was transformed into a Renaissance palace by Marguerite d’Angoulême and took on its current appearance during the 19C, in the time of Louis-Philippe and Napoléon III. Th..

Inside this plain and rather severe church, the raised choir is closed off by a beautiful wrought-iron screen, and a glistening gold reredos dating from the 17C. To the right of the main entrance, note the blocked doorway, the custom after a royal ..

Built for Napoléon III, the Boulevard des Pyrénées has views that many writers have described with great lyricism. The panoramic view beyond the hillsides of Gelos and Jurançon stretches to the peaks of Bigorre and Anie. Once lined with sumptuous p..

The French Basque country , flanking the Pyrenees and the Bay of Biscay, stretches between the Adour and Bidassoa rivers, combining ocean, mountain and forest in equal parts. It is composed of three provinces, Labourd (from Biarritz to Hendaye and..

These gorges, sunk vertically in the limestone, are beautiful as well as impressive, with the beginning of the Grand Étroit the most grandiose of all; this splendid canyon is more than 200m deep but only 3-10m wide. The torrent roars through the long..