Aquitaine is one of the most popular regions of France encompassing the Departments of the Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques which makes for a wide variety of scenery including mountains, coastline and countryside in abundance.
The Dordogne valley is very popular snaking alongside the river and including numerous medieval villages, castles and caves. On the coast Biarritz is equally popular although in a more concentrated way as there's relatively little to see outside the town.
Amongst the collection of Les Plus Beaux Villages in this region are Aïnhoa, La Bastide-Clairence, Belvès, Beynac-et-Cazenac, Domme, La Roque-Gageac, Limeuil, Monflanquin, Monpazier, Pujols-le-Haut, Saint-Amand-de-Coly, Saint-Jean-de-Côle, Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère and Sare. In this regions, these are merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of cute villages to explore and don't even include gems such as Sarlat.
Despite the popularity, the region isn't over-run with airports. Bergerac (EGC), Biarritz (BIQ), Bordeaux (BOD) and Pau (PUF) are the main arrival points although don't neglect San Sebastian (EAS) just south of Biarritz or Rodez (RDZ) just east of the region or Toulous (TLS) a little south.
The train network is quite extensive as elsewhere in France but you'd need a car if you're planning on touring the villages and chateaux.
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Whole Earth Guide in Aquitaine
Sarlat - medieval town in the Dordogne
Sarlat is perhaps the most popular town in the Dordogne region with a cute medieval centre that is well preserved.
If you're exploring the Dordogne (Perigord) region this is by far the best town in which to base yourself. There's a wealth of tourist accommodation both in the town itself and in the surrounding countryside but do book early as this is a very popular area.
There's so much in an...
Click weg-fr-aq136-en for more details or to book
Last updated 1 Nov 2007
