Gironde combines Bordeaux, Arcachon Bay, the Dune du Pilat, the Médoc and vineyard villages. Between ocean, forest and vines, the département is varied.
This itinerary spreads the best-rated sites in the catalogue over three days.
The map shows the numbered stops in visiting order, with one colour per day. The line follows the roads where available; otherwise it joins the stops as the crow flies. Distances and times are approximate (by car, without traffic).
This day brings together 5 sites close to each other: castles, gardens and villages. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
A botanical garden is an institution with a scientific and educational purpose, intended to let all audiences discover the world of plants, biodiversity, nature and the sustainable management of natural resources.
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Built in the eighteenth century by the architect Victor Louis, the castle was a commission from the Marquis de la Tour du Pin to welcome Louis XVI.
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Saint-Émilion is a commune in south-west France, in the Gironde département and the Aquitaine region.
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Built by the Escoussan family, the château de Langoiran was one of the most prestigious elements of Aquitaine.
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Overlooking the Garonne and the bastide of Cadillac, the château de Cadillac is a brilliant example of architecture from the very early seventeenth century.
View full page →This day brings together 3 sites close to each other: natural wonders, zoos and wildlife parks and castles. It passes through Arcachon. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
A large lagoon open to the Atlantic in the heart of the Landes forest massif, Arcachon Bay combines oyster farming, stilt huts (cabanes tchanquées) and the neighbouring Dune du Pilat. A territory of variable geometry, between high tide and low tide.
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The first European park for children devoted to domestic animals. 800 animals to discover that you can approach, stroke, cuddle...
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The Château Dillon estate extends over 185 hectares.
View full page →This day brings together 4 sites close to each other: natural wonders, towns and cities and beaches. It passes through Lège-Cap-Ferret, Arcachon and La Teste-de-Buch. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Driving for the day: about 102.3 km, or 1 h 42 behind the wheel in total (excluding visits).
The tip of the Gironde peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and Arcachon Bay, famous for its red-and-brick lighthouse and its oyster huts.
View full page →↓ 89.0 km · about 1 h 25 by car to the next stop
A seaside resort created in the nineteenth century on the shores of the bay, famous for its Ville d'Hiver with extravagant villas nestled in the pine forest.
View full page →↓ 11.4 km · about 14 min by car to the next stop
A sandbank at the entrance of Arcachon Bay, a nature reserve and bird refuge, facing the Dune du Pilat.
View full page →↓ 1.9 km · about 3 min by car to the next stop
Nestled between ocean and forest, the largest dune in Europe proudly overlooks the entrance to Arcachon Bay from its 109 m. The beauty of its landscape, endlessly sculpted by wind and tides, makes it a true wonder of nature, ephemeral and fragile.
View full page →Spring and autumn are ideal, especially for the vineyards. Summer is hot, with many people on the coast. The grape harvest, in autumn, is a highlight.
A car is practical for linking the sites, and trains serve Bordeaux and Arcachon. Bordeaux is explored on foot and by tram. In summer, the road to the bay is very busy.
A fortress of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, held until the end of the Hundred Years' War by lords loyal to the king of England, remodelled in the sixteenth century in Renaissance style (lords' lodgings) and listed as a historic monument.
The Blaye citadel is a 38-hectare military complex built between 1685 and 1689 by the military architect François Ferry, director general of the Guyenne fortifications, under the supervision of Sébastien Vauban.
The château de Malle, a listed historic monument, is a superb residence surrounded by astonishing Italian-style gardens.
A former feudal capital, Blanquefort was, around 1270, then again in 1455–1466, a key point for the defence of Bordeaux.
The historic centre of this port city in south-west France represents an exceptional urban and architectural ensemble, created in the Age of Enlightenment, whose values lasted until the first half of the twentieth century.
Roquetaillade, in the heart of Aquitaine, is an architectural ensemble made of two castles of the twelfth and early fourteenth centuries, both within the same enclosure.