Nouvelle-Aquitaine - 74 Attractions You Must Visit

The Col du Pourtalet or Col de Portalet is a 1794 m high mountain pass in the Pyrenees. The pass is usually open all year round and is only closed for a few days after heavy snowfall. It connects the Valle de Tena in the south with the Val d'Ossau in the north and has probably been used by people and their herds since the Neolithic. In the Middle Ages and in the early modern period, it was celebrated by pilgrims .

The castle of Commarque takes place on the town of Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil. Built on a rocky outcrop in the Beune Valley, it faces Laussel castle on the other side of Beune. This castle has been nicknamed the Fortress forgotten because of its difficult access. One of the majestic building of the 15th century and it will be a worth visit.

The Corderie Royale, built between 1666 and 1669, provided ropes for the French Navy and its ships for over three centuries. First industrial building in Rochefort, it will not withstand the appearance of steel cables and in 1862, the production of rope is ceased. Reassigned to many uses, it will definitely close its doors at the same time as the closing of the Naval Dockyard of Rochefort in 1927.

The famous Cordouan Lighthouse, built between 1584 and 1611, is the oldest working lighthouse in France. It was located in the middle of the sea, at the mouth of the Gironde estuary. It stands 67.5 metres tall and has six storeys in the Renaissance style. It is the only lighthouse at the sea on the coast of France still guarded, the oldest still in activity and the only one in the world open to the visit.

The Dune of Pilat is known by the locals and French is a big chunk of sand located on the eastern side of Arcachon Bay but on the western coastline of France, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. This majestic sand dune is around 500 meters wide and extends for nearly three kilometers and it runs parallel to a shoreline. Due to its exposed location along the sea and steep angle, the Dune of Pilat is a famous paragliding spot with great soaring conditions.

Notre-Dame-la-Grande is a Romanesque collegiate church located in Poitiers. Characteristic of the Poitevin Romanesque style, its sculpted facade is a unanimously recognized masterpiece of religious art from this period. The interior walls are painted. The 12th-century façade has been restored so that the intricate sculptures display an exquisite example of Poitevin Romanesque Art.

Lake Cazaux-Sanguinet is one of the great Landes lakes , succeeding one another along the Aquitaine coast. It straddles the French departments of Gironde and Landes , bordered to the north by the municipalities of Cazaux and La Teste-de-Buch , to the east by that of Sanguinet and to the south by that of Biscarrosse.

Lacanau Lake is located in France in the town of Lacanau in the department of Gironde and the region New Aquitaine in the Landes du Médoc. Covering an area of 1,985 ha, the Lacanau lake is one of the great Landes lakes. By the Canal des Étangs, it communicates to the north with the Hourtin and Carcans lakes and to the south with the Arcachon basin.

A majestic fort which was located between the Île-d'Aix and the Île d'Oléron in the Pertuis d'Antioche straits. the construction of the fort is decided because of the need to lock the passage between Aix Island and Oléron Island. The building started in 1801 and was completed in 1857. It was one of the unique forts in this area and it has a lot of history to say.

The Futuroscope or Parc du Futuroscope is a leisure park French theme to technological, scientific, anticipation, and fun, with attractions that combine sensory approaches and projections of images. It is one of the theme parks in Europe to have been honored with a Thea Award, awarded by the Themed Entertainment Association. The Park is surrounded by a technopole located in the town of Chasseneuil-du-Poitou.

The Proumeyssac gulf is a natural cavity in the town of Audrix, in Dordogne, in the department of Dordogne, in region New Aquitaine. It is open to visitors. Among the natural sites of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, the site ranks fifth in terms of tourist attendance in 2018 with 131,036 visitors.

The Grand-Théâtre, an 18th-century architectural masterpiece by Victor Louis, is now the stage for the Bordeaux National Opera. In the course of its long history dotted with theatre plays, operas and concerts, the Grand-Théâtre has played host to the most famous of artists. It was conceived as a temple of the Arts and Light, with a neo-classical facade.

The cave of Font-de-Gaume is an ornate French cave located in the former commune of Eyzies-de-Tayac, in the Dordogne department. Its walls have more than 200 Magdalenian engravings and paintings. It is among the last major decorated caves in France with polychrome works, which are open to the public. The works are comparable in their richness to those of Arcy-sur-Cure, Altamira or Lascaux , even if their state of conservation is much less.

The Grand Roc cave is located on the territory of the French commune of Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil in Périgord Noir. the particularity of the Grand Roc lies in its extraordinary eccentric formations which give the impression of evolving in a "mineral forest". Throughout the tour, it is only a tangle of crystallizations of great diversity: stalagmites, eccentric concretions, fistulas , gours, triangles, columns, draperies, etc.

L' île aux Oiseaux is a small island located in the French commune of La Teste-de-Buch in the center of the Arcachon basin. The island was once used by the inhabitants of the basin as a grazing place for the herds of cows and then horses. Since the beginning of the xx th century, there are regular excursion boat from Arcachon and Cap Ferret . Some boaters also go there. It is a natural site classified since a decree of Aug 21, 2008.

Île Madame is an island in the River Charente estuary on the Atlantic coast of France joined to the mainland by a causeway. The island has an area of four square miles and is unpopulated. It is only accessible at low tide, preferably on foot and by bicycle. It is a fragile space that must be respected and protected. On the highest point of the island, there is a fort built in the 17tyh century.

The island of Aix is an island in the southwest of France. Bathed by the Bay of Biscay, it is located 3.1 km west-north-west of Pointe de la Fumée, on the Charente coast. Being part of the Charente archipelago, it is also one of the fifteen islands of Ponant. It is located west of the bay of Yves, between the island of Oléron and the town of Fouras, at the northern end of the Charente estuary. To the north of the island is the Antioch sluice.

La Pierre Saint-Martin is a winter sports resort located in the Pierre Saint-Martin massif in the French part of the Pyrenees. The resort is located on the territory of the commune of Arette, in the department of Pyrenees-Atlantiques and the region New Aquitaine. It is a family resort, a village of chalets, located in a pine forest. The estate covers 55 hectares, at an altitude of 2,200 meters. It is part of the grouping of N'PY stations.

La Rochelle’s aquarium is one of Europe’s largest private aquariums, with over 12,000 marine animals. But entering the family-friendly space often involves a long wait. You can meet over 12 000 marine animals, and be amazed by the biodiversity of the Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Tropics.

The Lac d'Artouste is a natural lake of glacial origin in the Ossau valley located at 1,997 meters altitude. It borders on three of its four sides with the Pyrenees National Park. It receives water from the Arrémoulit stream a meandering stream coming from the peak of the Arrious lake. There is a dam set in this area and it is one of the famous natural settings here.