Gironde
Scale 258 steps inside the cape's 53m-tall, red-and-white lighthouse for a stunning view of Cap Ferret, the Bassin d'Arcachon and the stunning Dune du…
Must-see attractions in Atlantic Coast
La Rochelle
The only tower to be decked out like a house, this 37m-high pentagonal stone tower has leaned slightly to one side ever since building was complete in…
Gironde
With a little advance planning, one of the easiest chateaux to visit is Château Lanessan. Its daily hourlong guided tours take in the neoclassical chateau…
Bordeaux
An imposing concrete hangar on the riverfront is the venue for this cutting-edge science museum, host to various temporary exhibitions focusing on…
Mémorial de l’Abolition de l’Esclavage
Nantes
Down by the water, 2000 brick-sized glass plaques embedded in the quay-side pavement scream out the names of slave-trading ships that regularly set sail…
St-Émilion
Within the ruined cloisters of a 14th-century Franciscan monastery, winery Les Cordeliers has made sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux wine in its ancient…
Bordeaux
Europe's highest lift bridge crosses the River Garonne with grace and aplomb near the entrance to the Bassins à Flot. At night, its four distinctive…
Bordeaux
This gargoyled, 50m-high Flamboyant Gothic belfry was built for the adjoining cathedral between 1440 and 1466. Its spire was added in the 19th century,…
St-Émilion
For captivating views of the hilltop hamlet, borrow one of four keys from the tourist office to climb the 196 spiralling steps of this 68m-high bell tower…
Poitiers
Constructed in the 4th and 5th centuries on Roman foundations, this ginger-stone baptistery formed part of the episcopal ensemble with the cathedral, 100m…
Cathédrale St-Pierre et St-Paul
Nantes
Inside Nantes' Flamboyant Gothic cathedral, the tomb of François II (r 1458–88), Duke of Brittany, and of his second wife, Marguerite de Foix, is a…
Poitiers
Consecrated in 1049, used as a warehouse during the Revolution and partly rebuilt in the 19th century, this grandiose Romanesque church appears on Unesco…
La Rochelle
To protect the harbour at night in times of war, an enormous chain was raised between the two 14th-century stone towers at the harbour entrance to La…
Musée de l’Histoire Maritime de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Meet the shipowners, traders, explorers, navigators, poets and philosophers who contributed to the city's rich maritime history at this small, intimate…
Musée des Arts Décoratifs et du Design
Bordeaux
Faience pottery, porcelain, gold, iron, glasswork and furniture are displayed at the small Decorative Arts and Design Museum, at home in an elegant golden…
Arcachon
On the tree-covered hillside south of the Ville d'Été, the century-old Ville d'Hiver (Winter Quarter) has more than 300 villas, many decorated with…
La Rochelle
La Rochelle's role as a departure point for North America is interpreted at this museum, housed in an elegant courtyard-clad mansion built in 1750.
Nantes
Edgy temporary art exhibitions, events and happenings fill this old industrial slipway, shaped like a wedge of cheese at the foot of Île de Nantes'…
Bordeaux
In a city increasingly known for its street art, it was inevitable that a gallery dedicated solely to street art would open. Enter Cox Gallery, with a…
St-Émilion
Climb 118 steps inside this sturdy square tower – what's left of a 13th-century donjon – for a 360-degree panorama of the town, Dordogne River and its…
Bordeaux
It was Celtic tribes who first established Bordeaux, but it wasn't until about 200 years later, under the rule of the Romans, that the town started to…
Bordeaux
On 17 April 1828 the funeral of Romantic Spanish painter Francisco Goya (1746–1828) took place in this magnificent French Baroque church, a stone's throw…
Site Archéologique de St-Seurin
Bordeaux
Not to be confused with the small crypt inside Basilique St-Seurin, this archaeological site was uncovered in 1910 when archaeologists excavated part of…
Bordeaux
Nowhere is the immense wealth that 18th-century Bordeaux amassed from its port more explicit than on this posh avenue lined with elegant hôtels…
Bordeaux
The old street plaques – place Dauphiné and place Nationale – remain firmly on the wall of one building as a reminder of this tree-shaded square's…
Bordeaux
Saint-Pierre's enchanting labyrinth of narrow lanes inevitably leads to the predominantly 15th-century church around which the medieval neighbourhood…
Poitiers
Today it houses the law courts, but nearly a thousand years ago this stunning building was the seat of the Counts of Poitou and Dukes of Aquitaine. Its…
Bordeaux
This Roman-style city gate was designed in the 1750s by 18th-century celebrity architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel (1698–1782), best known for redesigning…
Poitiers
The 1970s Brutalist architecture of this art museum, built from reinforced concrete, is a shock after the elegance of its ancient episcopal neighbours…
Atlantic Coast
Inside a contemporary building set into the ramparts alongside the 19th-century Hôtel Perrin de Boussac, this museum explains the production of Cognac…
Bordeaux
Landscaping is artistic as well as informative at the Jardin Public. Established in 1755 and laid out in the English style a century later, the grounds…
Poitiers
The town's grand Gothic cathedral safeguards beautiful 13th-century oak-carved choir stalls, an 18th-century organ with more than 3000 pipes and…
Bordeaux
A visit to this Museum of Ethnography is as much an excuse to nose around the old medical faculty of Bordeaux's prestigious university, established in…
Bordeaux
This imposing fountain on vast square and public-transport hub Esplanade des Quinconces is a riot of horses. It was created between 1894 and 1902 in…
Bordeaux
An alley of centurion plane trees charts out the course of this elevated garden behind the Capucins food market, built into the remains of the 5km-long…
Jardin Botanique de la Bastide
Bordeaux
On the right bank, attractive botanical gardens showcase six different zones, including a water garden with impressive lilies, a vertical garden planted…
Musée des Automates et Modèles Réduits
La Rochelle
This small museum displays 300 automated dolls from the last two centuries, including a near-life-size re-creation of bygone Montmartre in Paris, right…
Musée Bordeaux – Sciences et Nature
Bordeaux
With more than one million different specimens on show, Bordeaux's former Natural History Museum is among France's most impressive. Closed at the time of…
Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Cognac
Atlantic Coast
In the southern corner of the grotto- and pond-clad Jardin Public, Cognac’s Art and History Museum showcases the town’s history. Its interior –…
Église Ste-Marie de la Bastide
Bordeaux
La Bastide's neo-medieval church, consecrated in 1884, was designed by Paul Abadie (1812–84) – the same architect who designed the Basilica de Sacre-Coeur…
