Southwestern France Itineraries

(Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, Limousin)

CROZANT: Massive ruined fortress, Romanesque church.
FRESSELINES (4 miles): Artists' colony where Monet lodged.
LA CELLE-DUNOISE (7 miles): Gothic bridge, Galerie La Sedelle (paintings of Creuzc Valley School).
BENEVENT-L'ABBAYE (22 miles): 11th-century monastery village.
BOURGANEUF (13 miles): Zizim fortress tower.
ST-LEONARD-DE-NOBLAT (18 miles): Summer music festival, massepains almond cookies.
TREIGNAC (36 miles): Hilltop village, Gothic bridge.
UZERCHE (18 miles): Intact medieval town.
TURENNE (36 miles): Beautiful village, pilgrim-hat houses, panoramic Tour de César, 13th-century guardroom.
COLLONGES-LA-ROUGE (10 miles): Medieval village of red stone.
BEAULIEU-SUR-DORDOGNE (14 miles): Riverside village; summer concerts at Abbey church, 12th-century chapel, fishing, boating.

LOUBRESSAC (10 miles from Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne): Perfect 15th-century fortified hamlet.
CARENNAC (7 miles): Riverside village, Romanesque church, tympanum.
MARTEL (13 miles): Seven medieval towers, Renaissance houses.
LA ROQUE-GAGEAC (26 miles): Vertical village on river's flanks.
BEYNAC (8 miles): Cliffhanging château, regional museum.
BELVES (11 miles): Turreted houses, covered market.
MONPAZIER (11 miles): Perfect bastide, square and covered market, local archaeology museum.
MONFLANQUIN (18 miles): Panoramic bastide, market.
CASTELNAUD (4 miles): 12th-century castle guarding Dordogne and Céou valleys.
VILLENEUVE-SUR-LOT (11 miles): Old bastide grown into farming center.
NERAC (38 miles): Gorgeous Baise River village, Renaissance château, Gothic bridge.
FOURCES (13 miles): Unique circular village, April flower festival.
MONTREAL (4 miles): Former bastide with summer costumed balls, comic-book festival, running-of-the-cows, candlelight tours.

BORDEAUX: Capital of Aquitaine, wine, museums, Opéra, Place de la Bourse, St-André Cathedral, Place du Parlement, Grosse Cloche, pedestrian center Old Town.
SAINT-EMILION (20 miles): Medieval village, history and archaeology museum, monolithic church, wine shops and cafés.
LIBOURNE (5 miles): Bastide, wine-growing center on the Dordogne.
CREON (13 miles): Bastide in rolling Petite Suisse hills.
LA SAUVE (2 miles): 11th-century ruined abbey.
CADILLAC (10 miles): Bustling walled bastide on Garonne, château.
BAZAS (15 miles): Ancient hilltop village, arcaded square, Gothic cathedral.
CAZENEUVE (38 miles): Imposing château in same family for 700 years.
LABASTIDE D'ARMAGNAC (15 miles): Bastides Museum, August costumed festival.
SABRES (36 miles): Marquèze open-air rural-life museum.
DAX (50 miles): Thermal cure resort on Adour River.
LABASTIDE CLAIRENCE (30 miles): Picturesque white-washed Basque bastide.
ESPELETTE (15 miles): Basque Pyrénées village, hot pepper capital, October pepper festival.
AINHOA (6 miles): Characteristic Basque village, pelota handball matches.

TOULOUSE: The pink city, capital of Midi-Pyrénées. Basilique St-Sernin, Les Jacobins church and cloister, old streets and mansions, courtyards. Air Bus factory.
RIEUX (27 miles): Fortress bastide.
MONTESQUIEU-VOLVESTRE (2 miles): 14th-century fortified church with distinctive tower.
ST-LIZIER (25 miles): Traditional crafts museum, antique pharmacy, July music festival.
AUDRESSEIN (8 miles): Frescoed Gothic church.
ST-PE-D'ARDET (28 miles): 11th-century church, stunning views.
BARBAZAN (9 miles): Thermal cure resort, casino.
ST-BERTRAND-DE-COMMINGES (3 miles): Dramatic walled village, Gothic cathedral, Roman ruins.
BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON (23 miles): 19th-century town, thermal resort.
ARREAU (20 miles): Château de Ségur, Roamnesque chapel St-Exupère, fabulous painted churches in Vallée du Louron--Jézeau, Mont, Estarvielle, Vielle-Louron.

ALBI (47 miles from Toulouse): Pink city, fortress cathedral, Toulouse-Lautrec Museum with 600 works.
CORDES (16 miles): Hilltop bastide, Gothic houses, archeology and art museums, Bastille Day Medieval Market Festival.
CASTELNAU-DE-MONTMIRAL (14 miles): Early walled bastide, panorama.
PUYCELSI (7 miles): Perched stronghold on Vère River.
BRUNIQUEL (7 miles): Cliffhanging château-village overlooking Vère River and Aveyron gorges.
PENNE (4 miles): Ruined castle teetering over Aveyron River.
ST-ANTONIN-NOBLE-VAL (11 miles): Medieval perched village, local history museum in Romanesque tower.
NAJAC (22 miles): Medieval village on mountain crest, archetypal ruined château.
VILLEFRANCHE-DE-ROUERGUE (16 miles): Former bastide grown into regional capital; museums, churches, charterhouse.
VILLENEUVE (7 miles): Breathtaking walled town.
PEYRUSSE-LE-ROC (12 miles): Gorgeous ghost town with crumbling château.
CONQUES (27 miles): Splendid abbey church, important treasury with jeweled Ste-Foy reliquary, European Middle Ages Study Center, summer music festival.