Editions Sud Ouest

Discovering Gironde means exploring the history of France’s largest département named after the estuary formed by the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Dordogne. It also means discovering an area in which art, architecture and history combine with an amazingly diverse landscape of vineyards, forests, beaches, lakes, estuaries and rivers.

The département straddles the 45th parallel. This is the land of authors and philosophers such as Montaigne, Montesquieu and Mauriac, an area that bears witness to an equally diverse history. The Middle Ages left its mark as a result of the One Hundred Years’ War opposing the French crown and the English monarchy which controlled Aquitaine (mills, fortified churches, fortified manors and hilltop towns). It was also the Middle Ages that led to the building of churches and abbeys. The Age of Enlightenment brought with it architectural splendour in the form of a multitude of country houses set amid the vineyards.

From Bordeaux to Saint-Emilion, and from the Gironde Estuary to the Arcachon Basin, this is an area that allies an easy lifestyle with Mediterranean exuberance, an area of outstanding natural and cultural heritage.