The Southwest of Paris France Bonjour, my name is Bixente! Follow me on a WITH ABOUT 350,000 square miles, France is the largest coun- tour of southwestern France! try in Western Europe, and roughly the size of Texas. In 2003, its population reached 62 million, of which about 12 million live in or around the capital, Paris. France also includes several overseas territories: Guadeloupe La Roche Posay and Martinique in the Caribbean; Futuroscope French Guiana just north of Brazil; Reunion Island in the Ilele de Ré Indian Ocean; French Polynesia, Poitevinin Poitiers Aubusson New Caledonia, and Wallis and La Rochelle Marshes Futuna in the Pacific Ocean; and Poitou-Charentes the Antarctic territories. Ilele d’’Olléron Since the European Union's Limoges Cognac inception, some 50 years ago, Atlantic Limousin France has been at the forefront of Angoulême Lascaux the construction of a strong and Ocean Périgord integrated Europe. The European Rocamadour Massif Périgueux Union remains one of France's top Médoc Central Lacanau foreign policy priorities. As one of Pomerol Sarlat the five permanent members of Saint-Emilion the United Nations' Security Gouffre de Dune de Pylala Arcachon Bordeaux Padirac Council, and the fourth highest Sauternes Cahors Conques contributor to the U.N. budget, France is deeply involved in all sig- Aquitaine Midi-Pyrénées nificant international affairs. Agen Parc Régioional Moissac Cordes-sur-ciel But France is also a country des Landes Hossegor Armagnac Roquefort where people are strongly Albi Dax Gascony attached to their regional roots. Biarritz This brochure will help you Bayonne Toulouse understand the deep ties the Saint-Jean-de-Luz Marciac French continue to have with Pays Parc Régionionall du their native regions. Basque Pau Lourdes Haut-Languedoc This brochure belongs to a series of six: the Northeast, the Pyrénées Northwest, the Southeast, the Gavarnie Southwest, Ile-de-France, and Parc Natiional the overseas territories. Brochures Spain des Pyrénées are available on request, by writ- ing to [email protected]. History:From Cave Paintings to Castles THE TURBULENT PAST of southwestern France has left the THE HUNDRED YEARSWAR region with an evocative historical legacy. Originally settled by prehistoric Beginning around the 11th cen- and Gallic tribes, southwestern France is a veritable historical goldmine. tury, French and English kings Rich with prehistoric artifacts, the region is spotted with evidence of an vied for the control of southwest- extensive Paleolithic civilization. In the Dordogne and Lot regions in par- ern France. In 1137, the region's ticular, there are many status seemed settled when prehistoric caves that Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of are worth visiting. The Aquitaine, married King Louis VII, most renowned of thereby joining Aquitaine to these is the Grotte de France. The couple’s divorce in Lascaux. Discovered in 1152 left Eleanor free to marry 1940, the cave paint- Henry II (Duke of Normandy and ings cover three basic later King of England), again tak- themes: animals, sym- ing the region out of French con- bols and human rep- Portrait of Queen Eleanor trol. As a result, for more than a resentations. Because hundred years, France was embroiled in numerous battles with researchers feared Prehistoric painting inside one of the Southwest’s many ancient caves England over ownership of the territory. These battles came to that crowds of tourists be known as the Hundred Years War. Much of southwestern would accelerate the irremediable deterioration of the cave's ancient France was decimated by these wars. paintings, an artificial cave was built that is an exact replica of the original. It is this cave, Lascaux 2, that may be visited today But Aquitaine, ruled largely by the counts of Poitou, grew (www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/). more and more autonomous, until it finally became part of the Following settlement by the Gauls and a period of Roman occu- kingdom of England (see box above). The region only reverted to pation, southwestern France passed to the Franks when they defeat- French rule at the end of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), a ed the Visigoths in 507. Charles Martel, famed leader of the Franks, series of wars that eventually resulted in the English being driven restored a united Frankish kingdom and established a power base on out of France. which the Carolingian empire was founded. When the Frankish ter- Meanwhile, unlike Poitiers or ritory of Aquitaine (which included modern-day Poitou-Charentes Bordeaux, the city of Toulouse and most of the Midi-Pyrénées) was raided by Muslim conquerors managed to resist foreign con- from Spain in the early 8th century, it was Martel who defeated the quest and remained a regional invading Muslims and halted their expansion into Europe. This leg- power for several centuries. The endary battle took place at Poitiers in 732 and served to unite city and surrounding region were Aquitaine under the Carolingian empire. governed by counts in the name of the Frankish emperor, but their distance from France's seat of power made the area largely autonomous in practice. From the 9th to the 13th centuries, Toulouse was the site of one of the most beautiful courts of Europe, a civi- lization of refinement and great influence, featuring in particular the literature and troubadours of the Langue d'Oc. This regional The Basilique de St. Sernin in Toulouse dialect was spoken in the southern half of France between 1000 and 1600, and is the source of modern-day provençal. Toulouse's numerous architectural wonders speak to the city’s relative stability. The Basilique de St. Sernin, for example, incorpo- rates original Roman architecture into its structure and displays ancient murals on its walls dating as far back as the 11th century. In the 13th century, the king of France used the emergence of a new heresy in the region, Catharism, as an excuse to inter- vene and restore his authority, and by the end of the century, the Charles Martel at Poitiers, southwest of France became once more an integral part of the Anonymous kingdom of France. Endless Coastlines and Timeless Mountains THE SOUTHWEST has a very temperate climate. There can be CLIFF-HANGING ROCAMADOUR some rain in the spring, while summers are generally warm and A small village precariously dry. Autumn offers beautiful, sunny blue skies and agreeably warm perched on the side of a temperatures. Winters are mild and short-lived, with snow a rare cliff high above the Alzou occurrence. Valley, Rocamadour is From the Poitevin unparalleled in its breath- marshes, known as takingbeauty. Also famous "the green Venice" for for a goat cheese of the its labyrinth of weed- same name, Rocamadour colored canals, to the became a world-renowned Pyrénées mountains, destination for pilgrims fol- southwestern France is lowing the 1166 discovery characterized by a very of an ancient grave said to diverse topography. The be that of the early countryside between Christian hermit Saint Périgueux and the The Poitevin marshes Amadour. Rocamadour is Pyrénées is graced by castles, churches and more than 300 most awe-inspiring in the bastides, which are 13th-century towns built following a precise sunlight of the early grid layout (in what was one of the first instances of urban plan- morning, when the tow- ning!). The verdant hills and sleepy villages of Gascony and ers, battlements and clus- Périgord embody an ideal country life. ter of medieval houses The Southwest also has a seem to spring forth from the base of the precipice. seemingly endless Atlantic coastline (pictured), with fine Finally, the Pyrénées them- sandy beaches. The straight selves, forming a natural border coastline suddenly forms a between Spain and France, are a lagoon in the Bassin d'Arcachon, huge part of the Southwest's land- famous for its natural beauty. In scape and culture. They symbolize the north, islands such as Ré the balance between nature and and Oléron are heavily visited human civilization and the possibil- for their pristine beaches. ity of living in harmony with our Inland lies the pine forest of environment. Bears, for example, the Landes. Planted during the which disappeared from France in 18th and 19th centuries to drain the 19th century, have the area's marshes, it covers more been reintroduced in than 250,000 million acres, making some parts of the moun- it the largest of its kind in Europe. tain range in the last few decades. Other endan- THE DUNE OF PYLA gered species that are One of the most unusual spots in France is located just a few now experiencing a miles south of Bordeaux. The dune of Pyla, two miles long and comeback include isards 375 feet high, is the highest sand-hill in Europe. Wooden steps (a type of chamois), mar- make the site accessible to most visitors, and intrepid climbers mots (which were recently are rewarded with breathtaking views at the top. The azure-blue reintroduced into the ocean on one side of the massive white dunes and the green Pyrénées National Park) pine forest of the Landes on the other both spread out as far as and the black woodpeck- the eye can see. er (Europe’s largest). As a testament to its natural beauty and cultural importance, UNESCO reg- istered the Franco-Spanish range of Gavarnie-Mont Perdu as a World Heritage Site in 1997 (learn more at View from the top of the dune of Pyla Gavarnie in the summer www.parc-pyrenees.com). Advanced Aeronautics and Thriving Tourism ONE OF SOUTHWESTERN France's main industries is without The Southwest is also renowned for being the farming cen- a doubt tourism. Indeed, the region attracts many travelers, what- ter of France.