Occitanie region
Departments: Ariège, Aude, Aveyron, Gard, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Hérault, Lot, Lozère, Hautes-Pyrénées, Pyrénées-Orientales, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne.
Population: 6.1 million.
Prefecture: Toulouse
Area: 72,724 km²
Specialities: foie gras, cassoulet, aligot (mashed potatoes and cheese), Sète tielle, cod brandade, Tarbes beans, garbure, sweet onions, Céret cherries, wines (Pic Saint-Loup, Corbières, Cahors, Costières de Nîmes, blanquette de Limoux, Minervois, Tavel, Madiran). Perrier spring water.
Sports clubs: Stade Toulousain, Castres Olympique, Montpellier HR, USAP Perpignan (rugby), Montpellier HSC, Nîmes Olympique, Toulouse FC (football), Dragons Catalans (rugby league), Montpellier Handball, Fenix Toulouse, USAM Nîmes-Gard (handball)
Competitions: Tour de France, Open Sud de France (tennis), Route d'Occitanie (cycling).
Economy: aeronautics and space (Airbus, Ariane, Toulouse), defence, IT, nuclear, agri-food, agriculture (wines, cereals), tourism, pharmaceutical industry. Universities (Montpellier, Toulouse).
Festivals: ferias in Nimes and Beziers, Rio Loco (Toulouse), Radio France Montpellier Festival (classical music), Comédie du Livre (Montpellier), Electro Beach (Port Barcarès), Jazz in Marciac, Cinémed (Montpellier), Circa Auch, crime fiction festival in Frontignan.
Tourist attractions: Cité de Carcassonne, Basilica of Lourdes, Toulouse (Capitole, Saint- Sernin, the Pink City), Montpellier (Place de la Comédie, Écusson), beaches, Pont du Gard, Nimes amphtiheatre, Cathar castles, Canal du Midi, cathedrals of Albi, Castres and Rodez. Millau Viaduct, Niaux and Maz d'Azil caves. Pont Valentré bridge in Cahors. Villages of character. Beaches of Aude, Gard and Hérault. Ski resorts in the Pyrenees and Ariège.
Website:www.laregionoccitanie.fr
HAUTES-PYRÉNÉES (65)
Population: 231,349
Prefecture: Tarbes
Sub-prefectures: Argelès-Gazost, Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Area: 4,464 km²
Specialities: Tarbes beans (PGI, Label Rouge), Bigorre black pork (PDO), Madiran wine (AOC), Pacherenc wine, Barèges-Gavarnie lamb (PDO), Astarac Bigorre black chicken, garbure soup, spit cake, Pyrenean cheese, Trébons onions, Pyrenean trout
Sports clubs: National 1, National 2 and Federal 1 rugby clubs (Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby, Lannemezan, Bagnères-de-Bigorre and Lourdes), Tarbes Gespe Bigorre in the women's basketball league.
Events: Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup and Enduro Loudenvielle / Tourmalet Giant Climb / Grand Raid des Pyrénées / Balneaman Triathlon / Pyrénées Cycl’n trip / Patou Trail / Bagnères Star Race.
Competitions: Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup (Lourdes), Montée du Géant du Tourmalet, Grand Raid des Pyrénées, Pyr’Epic, etc.
Festivals: L’Offrande Musicale Festival / Equestria Tarbes / Jazz in Luz Festival in Luz St Sauveur / Piano Pic Festival / Small Mountain Churches Festival / Tarbes in tango / Contemporary art exhibition at the Abbey of Escaladieu Bonnemazon / Escales d’Automne / Big Bag Festival in Bagnères de Bigorre / Pyrenean Museum at the Château de Lourdes / Massey Museum in Tarbes / Nation al Stage le Parvis in Ibos / Wine Festival in Madiran / Traditional Fair in Loudenvielle
Major tourist attractions: Pyrenees National Park, Néouvielle National Nature Reserve, Cirque de Gavarnie listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pic du Midi International Dark Sky Reserve, 5 Great Sites of Occitanie (Pic du Midi, Gavarnie - Cauterets Pont d'Espagne, Lourdes and Pyrénées Aure Louron), 5 Great Mountain Passes (Peyresourde, Val Louron-Azet, Aspin, Tourmalet, Soulor)
Economy: Tourism is the department's leading economic activity, accounting for nearly a third of all economic activity. Agriculture is also very present. The Hautes-Pyrénées department ranks second in terms of pastoralism. Finally, industry also contributes to economic development with companies such as Alstom, Daher and Tarmac.
Websites / FB / Twitter: www.pyrenees-trip.com / www.hautespyrenees.fr / www.facebook.com/DepartementHautesPyrenees / https://www.instagram.com/departementhapy / https://twitter.com/DepartementHaPy / www.facebook.com/hautespyrenees / www.instagram.com/hautespyrenees / https://www.tiktok.com/@hautespyrenees / www.hautespyrenees.fr / www.facebook.com/DepartementHautesPyrenees / https://www.instagram.com/departementhapy / https://twitter.com/DepartementHaPy /https://www.tiktok.com/@hautespyrenees
Km 14.8
Monléon-Magnoac (Pop. 410)
In 1515, a young girl from the commune of Mont-Léon, named Anglèze de Sagasan, claimed to have heard the Virgin Mary ask her to build a chapel near the spring. The chapel was built and the sanctuary, called Notre-Dame-de-Garaison (Healing), became a place of worship, pilgrimage and religious tourism in the centuries that followed. Today, it is a school and college.
Notre-Dame de Garaison Sanctuary
Construction: 16th century for the sanctuary. 1841 for the secondary school.
History: in 1515, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared three times to the young shepherdess Anglèze de Sagazan. After these apparitions, a small chapel was built near the spring. Many pilgrims came to pray on the spot and the small chapel was replaced by the current one, built in 1540. From 1600 until the French Revolution, under the impetus of the Bishop of Oloron and the resident clergy, Notre-Dame-de-Garaison was an important place of pilgrimage. The school attached to it was already renowned for its music teaching. In 1841, Father Jean-Louis Peydessus founded a college there, which came under the management of the Congregation of the Holy Cross in 2015.
Current use: the school has 600 pupils. The school has been the subject of several lawsuits for mistreatment of pupils between 1970 and 1990.
Listed as: chapel listed as a historic monument in 1924. The rest was listed in 1983. Saint John the Baptist Church
Construction: 15th and 16th centuries.
Style: Gothic.
History: the church, dating from the 15th century, is in the late Gothic style. It was rebuilt in the 16th century. The numerous monumental statues were carved from lime wood by Pierre Affre in 1635. They come from the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Garaison and were brought to this church for safekeeping during the French Revolution. Only the monumental altarpiece was returned to the choir of the chapel of Notre-Dame de Garaison.
Special feature: attached to the church is a fortified gate, a small dwelling that was intended for use by the city's guards. It has been listed as a historic monument since 1933.
Listed as: historic monument in 1989.
Km 20.3
Castelnau-Magnoac (Pop. 770)
The birthplace of Antoine Dupont, the prodigy of the French national rugby union team and Stade Toulousain, hosted the start of a stage of the Tour de France to Cahors in 2022, where Christophe Laporte beat Jasper Philipsen to give France its only stage victory of this edition, two days before the finish in Paris.
Pommiès Free Corps Memorial and Museum
The memorial is dedicated to the Corps Franc Pommiès, a prestigious formation founded on 17 November 1942 by André Pommiès (1904-1972) during the Second World War. It operated clandestinely after being sponsored by the Army Resistance Organisation. In 1944, the CFP had nearly 9,000 members spread across south-western France. This resistance unit, notably through the sabotage of the Hispano-Suiza (Alstom) factory, spared the population the cruel consequences of aerial bombardment during the war. This network of resistance fighters made the Magnoac region a stronghold of the French resistance. The national monument erected in 1954 on the heights of the village pays tribute to them.
Collegiate Church of the Assumption
Founded: 15th century
Style: Gothic
Characteristics: the Gothic building has a nave with rebuilt vaults, a flat chevet and four square chapels flanking the nave. The monumental bell tower is a veritable fortress with arquebus holes and arrow slits.
Special features: inside the bell tower, a museum of religious art displays a collection of objects and paintings, some of which are listed historical monuments, including a 15th-century gilded wooden statue of the Virgin Mary nursing the Child and a 16th-century gilded wooden statue of Saint Sebastian.
Listed as: Historic monument since 1977 Antoine DupontRenowned for his agility, vision and leadership, Antoine Dupont is considered one of the best scrum-halves in the world and one of the most influential players in the history of French rugby. At just 29 years of age, he has already built up an extraordinary list of achievements, including an Olympic title, two Six Nations Championships, including a Grand Slam, five Top 14 titles and two European Cups. Born in Castelnau-Magnoac, Antoine Dupont started playing rugby at the age of 4 at Magnoac FC. In 2011, he joined the FC Auch training centre and enrolled in the Espoir programme at the Lycée Jolimont in Toulouse. In 2014, he played in the final of the French Crabos championship with FC Auch and joined Castres Olympique. He made his professional debut on 26 October 2014 against Leinster Rugby. In 2015, he scored his first professional try in the European Cup against Harlequins. In 2017, Dupont joined Stade Toulousain, where he quickly established himself as an indispensable scrum-half, helping the club win several titles. In 2021, he was voted World Rugby Player of the Year. Captain of the French national team since 2021, Antoine led Les Bleus to the Grand Slam in the 2022 Six Nations Championship. In 2023, despite an injury, he led France to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. He joined the French rugby sevens team for the 2023-2024 season, helping France win the World Series in 2024 before being crowned Olympic champions on home soil at the Paris Games.
Km 29.7
Lake Puydarrieux
This Natura 2000 listed nature reserve is located in the municipalities of Puydarrieux and Campuzan, 7 km from Castelnau-Magnoac. This major ornithological site for bird watching is home to nearly 200 species and welcomes between 2,000 and 3,000 grey cranes from Scandinavia every year, who come here to find food and peace and quiet for the winter. Nature guides also offer bird watching trips from the Maison de la Nature-La Ferranderie, located on the hillsides overlooking the lake.
Km 35
Trie-sur-Baïse (Pop. 1,000)
Trie-sur-Baïse is one of those new towns called "bastides" that were founded in the 13th and 14th centuries in south-western France during a period of population growth and the assertion of royal power. The paréage contract, the town's founding document, was signed in 1323 between Jean de Trie, representing the king, Bernard de Manas, Lord of Duffort, Géraud d'Esparros, Lord of Puydarrieux, and Roger de Mauléon, abbot of Escaladieu Abbey.
In 2018, Trie-sur-Baïse hosted a stage of the Tour de France, which was won in Pau by Arnaud Démare ahead of Christophe Laporte. It was the Frenchman's second and last stage victory in the Tour de France, and he retired from competitive cycling at the end of the 2025 season. Trie-sur-Baïse is also the birthplace of an extraordinary character, René Sanders, an athlete who in 1953 walked from Lourdes to Rome between mid-April and the end of May, staying with his sports friends along the way. Later, as a restaurateur in Narbonne, he welcomed the greatest cyclists of the 1950s and 1960s to his table... This inspired two of his sons, Dominique and Gilles, who each participated in three editions of the Tour de France.
In 2012, the village hosted the start of a stage of the Route du Sud, won by Nairo Quintana in Arras-en-Lavedan.
Monastery and Church of the Carmelites
Construction: 15th century.
History: The date of the start of construction is unknown. In the 15th century, when the current church was built, the monastery was home to 25 people: monks, priests, other brothers and canons. The monastery contributed to the growth and wealth of the town of Trie. The architecture is relatively simple. There are six niche chapels. On either side of the choir are two large niches: the en-feux, intended for the burial of the priors. In the choir, you can see the combined arms of the King of France and the lord of the bastide (three lilies, royal crowns with points facing the choir).
Characteristics: of the convent, located outside the walls, only the church, converted into a garage, and some carved stones remain. Adjacent to the church, built around 1450, was the cloister, which consisted of around a hundred carved white marble capitals. The convent was burned down in 1569 by Protestants and restored, but this restoration coincided with the dispersal of elements of the cloister throughout France and as far as New York (20 capitals are in The Cloisters museum above the Bronx). The church has a single nave, typical of southern Gothic architecture, with ribbed vaults on a rectangular plan and a pentagonal chevet. The exterior buttresses had side chapels flanking the nave, some of which have disappeared.
Listed as: historic monument in 1977.
GERS (32)
Population: 192,645
Prefecture: Auch
Sub-prefectures: Condom, Mirande
Area: 6,257 km²
Specialities: goose and duck foie gras, duck breast, duck confit, Armagnac, Lectoure melon, Lomagne white garlic, apple croustade, Floc de Gascogne, Bigorre black pork, Gers garbure, Gascon beef, Lou Bethet veal, Côtes de Gascogne, Saint-Mont and Madiran wines, etc.
Sports clubs: FCAG (rugby).
Events: motor racing cups and championships at the Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro
Main tourist attractions: Flaran Abbey, Sainte Marie Cathedral in Auch, Bassoues keep, Lavardens Castle, Condom cloister, Séviac Gallo-Roman villa, circular village of Fourcès, Laromieu collegiate church.
Cultural events: Welcome in Tziganie / European Bandas y Pena Festival / Trad'Envie Festival / Feria del Toro / Eclats de Voix Festival / Festi'drole / Cuivro'Foliz / Galop Romain Festival / Photographic Summer / Tempo Latino / Musical Nights in Armagnac / Jazz In Marciac / Astronomy Festival / CircA / Independence and Creation Festival
Economy: Tourism, agriculture, agri-food, aeronautics, crafts
Websites and social media:www.gers.fr /https://twitter.com/legers32 /www.tourisme-gers.com /https://twitter.com/gerstourisme
Km 54.6
Berdoues (Pop. 420)
Berdoues Abbey
Founded: 1135
History: Around 1135 AD, 12 monks from Morimond Abbey founded Berdoues Abbey on land granted by Count Bernard of Astarac. It quickly prospered, receiving a large amount of land from the lords and peasants of the region. Around 1281, the bastide of Lézian (later Mirande) was founded by Pierre de Lamaguère, a monk from Berdoues, and Centulle III, Count of Astarac. The abbey was closed and partially destroyed in 1791. During the Second World War, some of the abbey's columns were sold by Parisian antique dealer Paul Gouvert to Field Marshal Hermann Göring, who wanted to transport them to his property in Germany. All that remains are the ruins of a building constructed in the 18th century.
Listd as: historic monument in 1933.
Km 57.8
Mirande (Pop. 3,440)
Mirande, the sub-prefecture of Gers, is a 13th-century bastide town, founded in 1281. It was protected by a solid fortified enclosure with four gates, some of which remained standing until the 19th century. A magnificent count's castle stood outside the walls. Its development was hampered by the absence of a bishopric and it was best known for its fairs.
Mirande was a stronghold of women's basketball and its club, BAC Mirande, now defunct, won three French championships in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
The town also organises one of the largest country music festivals in France, which restarted in July 2025 after a few years' hiatus.
The most impressive remnant of its prestigious past is the former Notre-Dame Cathedral, now Sainte-Marie Church. The Mirande Museum of Fine Arts and Decorative Arts houses an interesting collection of Flemish, Italian and French paintings dating from the 14th to the 20th century, as well as a selection of antique pottery.
Church of Sainte-Marie
Construction: 14th century.
Style: Southern Gothic.
History: the church could be used as a citadel in the event of an attack on the town. Its 35-metre-high quadrangular bell tower with three floors and five turrets had a defensive purpose, as did a terrace above the church, which was connected to the attic above the nave by an external staircase. The construction of the building was constrained by the grid layout of Mirande, which was then a bastide town, where the houses were grouped in 50x50 m squares.
Characteristics: the church consists of a nave without a transept, with a single nave of five bays measuring 38 m by 17 m and 25-m high, whose aisles, between the buttresses, are flanked by chapels. The church also houses a double neo-Gothic sacristy. Later, flying buttresses were added, spanning Rue de l'Évêché to support the bell tower and forming an arch that serves as a porch giving access to the church through an imposing doorway next to the bell tower. The Church of Sainte-Marie marks the expansion of Languedoc religious architecture towards Gascony.
Listed as: historic monument in 1921.
Km 69.5
Montesquiou (Pop. 420)
Montesquiou is the birthplace of the Montesquiou family. Almost no traces of the Château de Montesquiou remain, except for parts of the surrounding ramparts. Montesquiou is associated with d'Artagnan, who was born not far away at the Château de Castelmore in Lupiac. His real name was Charles de Batz de Castelmore, and his mother, Françoise de Montesquiou d'Artagnan, was descended from the last lords who owned this town.
Km 76.8
Bassoues (Pop. 330)
The market hall, Sainte-Marie Church, old half-timbered houses, Saint-Fris Basilica and the keep are remnants of a past dating back six hundred years.
Castle and keep of Bassoues
Construction: 14th century.
History and characteristics: a five-storey keep, 43-metres high, was built around 1370 by Arnaud Aubert, nephew of Pope Innocent VI. Its massive appearance is accentuated by the presence of thick buttresses at the four corners, crowned by a belt of machicolations. The remains of the 16th/17th-century archbishops' castle, with its round towers halfway up and stained-glass windows, temper the somewhat heavy appearance of the large keep that overlooks it. Arnaud Aubert's orders specified that the old castle should be incorporated into the new buildings. All that remains are the outer walls, the south gate and the well. In the 17th century, the castle was in ruins when the Archbishop of Auch decided to rebuild it. He had a large main building constructed between the two towers on the east side.
Trivia: the keep was the first monument in the Gers to be listed, as it appeared on Prosper Mérimée's first list.
Listed as: the keep has been listed as a historic monument since 1840. The castle has been listed as a historic monument since 1944. Basilica of Saint-Fris
Construction: 11th and 16th centuries.
Style: Romanesque.
History and characteristics: this basilica, the tomb of Saint Fris, was built in the 11th century on the foundations of an old church. With the influx of pilgrims and the growing population attracted to the bastide, Cardinal Clermont Lodève, between 1510 and 1540, gave it a new, more spacious layout and embellished it with two Renaissance portals. In 1569, it was burned down by Montgomery's Protestant hordes, with only the crypt spared. The relics of Saint Fris were placed in safe keeping in neighbouring parishes. In 1623, Monsignor Léonard de Trappes, in homage to the living cult of Saint Fris, had the basilica rebuilt according to the old plan. The crypt houses the saint's sarcophagus and a reliquary. Above the crypt, the upper choir offers a remarkable view of the entire basilica. The unique acoustics of this building regularly host classical and religious concerts.
Listed as: historic monument in 2016.
Km 90.8
Marciac (Pop. 1,230)
The Jazz in Marciac international festival, which has been held in late July and early August since 1978, welcomes more than 200,000 visitors each year. The biggest names in jazz have performed there for 40 years: Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. But the festival's patron for almost thirty years has been trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who even has his own statue in one of the town's squares. Since the inauguration of the Astrada concert hall in May 2011, Jazz In Marciac has also offered a cultural season outside of the three weeks of the festival. Concerts are held under a big top on the huge Place de la Bastide in Marciac, the largest square in south-western France (130 m by 75 m).
At the end of the Wars of Gascony, Guichard de Marciac, Seneschal of Toulouse, representing the King, gave his name to this bastide. A month later, on 14 September 1298, Marciac received its customs from Philip the Fair, setting out the rules of life for its inhabitants. A powerful fortification, with walls over two metres thick, protected by wide moats and pierced by eight gates, surrounded the bastide, which was besieged in the 14th and 15th centuries.
HAUTES-PYRÉNÉES (65)
Population: 231,349
Prefecture: Tarbes
Sub-prefectures: Argelès-Gazost, Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Area: 4,464 km²
Specialities: Tarbes beans (PGI, Label Rouge), Bigorre black pork (PDO), Madiran wine (AOC), Pacherenc wine, Barèges-Gavarnie lamb (PDO), Astarac Bigorre black chicken, garbure soup, spit cake, Pyrenean cheese, Trébons onions, Pyrenean trout
Sports clubs: National 1, National 2 and Federal 1 rugby clubs (Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby, Lannemezan, Bagnères-de-Bigorre and Lourdes), Tarbes Gespe Bigorre in the women's basketball league.
Events: Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup and Enduro Loudenvielle / Tourmalet Giant Climb / Grand Raid des Pyrénées / Balneaman Triathlon / Pyrénées Cycl’n trip / Patou Trail / Bagnères Star Race.
Competitions: Downhill Mountain Biking World Cup (Lourdes), Montée du Géant du Tourmalet, Grand Raid des Pyrénées, Pyr’Epic, etc.
Festivals: L’Offrande Musicale Festival / Equestria Tarbes / Jazz in Luz Festival in Luz St Sauveur / Piano Pic Festival / Small Mountain Churches Festival / Tarbes in tango / Contemporary art exhibition at the Abbey of Escaladieu Bonnemazon / Escales d’Automne / Big Bag Festival in Bagnères de Bigorre / Pyrenean Museum at the Château de Lourdes / Massey Museum in Tarbes / Le Parvis National Stage in Ibos / Wine Festival in Madiran / Traditional Fair in Loudenvielle
Major tourist sites: Pyrenees National Park, Néouvielle National Nature Reserve, Cirque de Gavarnie listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pic du Midi International Dark Sky Reserve, 5 Great Sites of Occitanie (Pic du Midi, Gavarnie - Cauterets Pont d'Espagne, Lourdes and Pyrénées Aure Louron), 5 Great Mountain Passes (Peyresourde, Val Louron-Azet, Aspin, Tourmalet, Soulor)
Economy: Tourism is the department's leading economic activity, accounting for nearly a third of all economic activity. Agriculture is also very present. The Hautes-Pyrénées department ranks second in terms of pastoralism. Finally, industry also contributes to economic development with companies such as Alstom, Daher and Tarmac.
Websites / FB / Twitter: www.pyrenees-trip.com / www.hautespyrenees.fr / www.facebook.com/DepartementHautesPyrenees / https://www.instagram.com/departementhapy / https://twitter.com/DepartementHaPy / www.facebook.com/hautespyrenees / www.instagram.com/hautespyrenees / https://www.tiktok.com/@hautespyrenees / www.hautespyrenees.fr / www.facebook.com/DepartementHautesPyrenees / https://www.instagram.com/departementhapy / https://twitter.com/DepartementHaPy /https://www.tiktok.com/@hautespyrenees
Km 103.1
Maubourguet (Pop. 2,500)
Maubourguet, whose mayor for many years was former minister Jean Glavany, a lover of the Tour de France, hosted the start of a stage of the Tour in 2014, which was won in a solo breakaway in Bergerac by Ramunas Navardauskas, who held off the chasing peloton led by John Degenkolb. Every year since 1990, the Rencontres de Maubourguet have been held there, bringing together artists and athletes for a weekend of creative activities in aid of charities.
Church of Sainte-Marie de l'Assomption
Construction: 11th to 19th centuries.
History and characteristics: monastery founded by Heraclius in the 11th century. The church is the only remaining part of the monastery and consists of a nave with three bays, flanked by aisles, extended by a transept, the apse and two deep apsidioles. The apse and apsidioles from the Romanesque period are almost intact. In the 14th century, the English occupied and fortified the building. At that time, an octagonal lantern tower was added to the transept crossing. After the Wars of Religion, the monastery was largely destroyed and the church damaged (nave ruined). The church was restored in the 17th century and in the mid-19th century.
Listed as: historic monument in 1979. Archaeological Museum In 1979, the mosaic depicting the god Oceanus was discovered in Maubourguet. Now the centrepiece of the museum's collection, it is surrounded by archaeological artefacts from prehistory to the Middle Ages, offering visitors an immersion into the history of the Val d'Adour region over 2,000 centuries.
Km 112.7
Vic-en-Bigorre (Pop. 4,830)
This is the town of Jean Dupuy, alias Pipiou, who ran a bar of the same name in Vic-de-Bigorre. Known for his moustache, this three-quarter wing who ended his career in the back row, played 40 times for France and won the Five Nations Tournament four times. A member of Stadoceste Tarbais from 1953 to 1969, he was also nicknamed Le Phénomène(The Phenomenon) and L'Indestructible (The Indestructible). He passed away in 2010.
NEW AQUITAINE REGION
Departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Creuse, Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Haute-Vienne.
Population: 6.15 million.
Prefecture: Bordeaux
Area: 2,011 km2
Specialities: Bordeaux wines, Cognac, Armagnac, Espelette pepper, Périgord walnuts, Marmande tomatoes, Arcachon Bay oysters, Salers beef, Aquitaine blonde cattle, Bayonne ham, Pauillac lamb, Bordeaux canelés. Goose, duck, Sarladaise potatoes, Basque chicken, garbure soup, lamprey. Black truffles.
Sports clubs: Girondins de Bordeaux (football), Stade Montois, Union Sportive Dacquoise, Aviron Bayonnais, Union Bordeaux Bègles Atlantique, Stade Rochelais, CA Brive Corrèze Limousin, Section Paloise, Biarritz Olympique, SU Agen (rugby), Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez, CSP Limoges (basketball).
Competitions: Tour de France, surfing in Lacanau (Lacanau Pro) and Biarritz. Tour du Limousin.
Festivals: Bayonne Festival, Dax Festival, Madeleine Festival in Mont-de-Marsan, Francofolies de la Rochelle, Angoulême Comic Book Festival, Brive Book Fair, Nuits de l' nacre in Tulle, Grand Pavois de La Rochelle, Garorock in Marmande, Cognac Crime Film Festival.
Economy: Bordeaux wines, Cognac and Armagnac, aeronautics and space industry, biotechnology, chemistry, scientific research. Image and digital sector. Agri-food. Port of Bordeaux. Tourism. Universities.
Tourist attractions: Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion, La Rochelle, Biarritz, Arcachon Bay, Dune du Pilat, Lascaux caves, Futuroscope in Poitiers, beaches in Lacanau, Biarritz, Biscarosse, Hourtin, Carcans, Soulac-sur-Mer, Gironde estuary, Bordeaux vineyards, Dordogne châteaux, Château de Pau, Pyrenees, Île d'Oléron, Île de Ré.
Websites and social media:www.nouvelle-aquitaine.fr
PYRENEES-ATLANTIQUES (64)
Population: 706,564
Prefecture: Pau
Sub-prefectures: Bayonne, Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Area: 7,645 km²
Specialities: piperade, wines (Madiran, Pacherenc, Jurançon, Irouléguy, etc.), poule au pot (hen in a pot), garbure, axoa, Espelette pepper, Basque chicken, Basque cake, Bayonne ham, etc.
Sports clubs: Elan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez (basketball), Section Paloise, Biarritz Olympique, Aviron Bayonnais (rugby)
Competitions: Canoe-kayak World Cup in Pau, Pau Grand Prix, Pau International Eventing Competition.
Festivals: Bayonne Festival, Hestiv'Òc Festival, Anglet Surf Film Festival, Le Temps d'aimer la danse in Biarritz, Biarritz Piano Festival, Transhumances Musicales, not to mention the many village festivals and Basque traditions throughout the year.
Tourism: three towns labelled "Towns of Art and History": Bayonne, Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Pau, as well as three regions of art and history: the Béarn des Gaves region, the Béarn Pyrenees region and the Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Ciboure region. Five villages are listed among the Most Beautiful Villages in France: Navarrenx in Béarn and Sare, Ainhoa, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and La Bastide-Clairenc in the Basque Country.
Economy: The department's industries are mainly focused on agri-food: Euralis, Fromagerie des Chaumes, Lur Berri (Labeyrie brand), Lindt and Sprungli AG, Sodiaal group (Candia, 3A cooperative). Other notable companies include Aciéries de l'Atlantique SA - Alliance Agro-Alimentaire - Cancé - Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi - Dassault Aviation - ELF Aquitaine - Groupe Olano - Mas - Messier-Dowty - SHEM - Total - Safran Helicopter Engines
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Km 120
Casteide-Doat (Pop. 160)
4 km away:
Montaner Castle
Construction: 13th century.
Style: medieval.
History: Montaner Castle was built in the 14th century by Sicard de Lordat at the request of Gaston Fébus to protect the borders of Béarn from Bigorre and Armagnac. It comprises a vast polygonal enclosure with two gates and a tall square keep. The gate in the keep, which still provides access to the fortress today, is surmounted by the coat of arms of Foix-Béarn, topped with the words "Febus me fe", meaning "Fébus built me". Since 1854, the castle has been promoted and managed by the Pyrenees-Atlantiques General Council.
Current use: in summer, numerous shows and events on the theme of the Middle Ages are organised.
Listed as: historic monument in 1910.
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