France - Aquitaine
Book your vacation rentals or Bed and Breakfast in Aquitaine direct with the owners or agents
Bordered by the Atlantic ocean, the Aquitaine is a sunny region in the south-west of France. The Aquitaine is the ideal holiday destination for everyone who loves France.
Choose a destination in Aquitaine :
B&B Vacation rentals Dordogne-Périgord
(Périgueux, Bergerac, Sarlat)
(Bordeaux, Arcachon)
(Dax, Mont-de-Marsan)
B&B Vacation rentals Lot et Garonne
(Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Agen)
B&B Vacation rentals Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Pau, Biarritz, Bayonne)
On the Atlantic coast, you will find sandy beaches, seaside resorts, traditionnal or naturist, places to do water sports (Biarritz, Hossegor), marinas to visit, thalassotherapy centers... Also, the Pyrénées offer you beautiful montain landscapes where you can practice winter sports or withewater sports in summer, hiking, paragliding, hang gliding. Aquitaine is a very cultural region, famous for its vineyard tours, wine-tasting, historical places such as the Grotte Lascaut or Saint-Jacques de Compostelle, a lot of museums, a typical architecture and an original gastronomy !
Your Guide to Charming B&Bs and Vacation Rentals in Aquitaine
Aquitaine specialist from 12 years, VacationKey has selected for you charming vacation rentals, apartment in the main cities, cottages with or without swimming-pool, Bed and Breakfasts, luxury chalets, castles and villas for rent. Each property is classified by region and by city, so you can get quickly the list of ads. Then, just send your inquiries directly to the owner or agent.
Bordeaux wine regions
The Bordeaux region is naturally divided by the Gironde Estuary into a Left Bank area which includes the Médoc and Graves and a Right Bank area which includes the Libournais, Bourg and Blaye. The Médoc is itself divided into Haut-Médoc (the upstream or southern portion) and Bas-Médoc (the downstream or northern portion, often referred to simply as Médoc).
There are various sub-regions within the Haut-Médoc, including St-Estèphe, Pauillac, St.-Julien and Margaux. Graves includes the sub-regions of Pessac-Léognan and Sauternes (among others), and Sauternes in turn includes the sub-region of Barsac. The Libournais includes the sub-regions of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol (among others). There is an additional wine region of Entre-Deux-Mers, so called because it lies between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, which combine to form the Gironde.
All of these regions (except the Libournais) have their own appellation and are governed by Appellation d'origine contrôlée laws which dictate the permissible grape varieties, alcohol level, methods of pruning and picking, density of planting and appropriate yields as well as various winemaking techniques. Bordeaux wine labels will usually include the region on the front if all the grapes have been harvested in a specific region and the wine otherwise complies with the AOC requirements. There are about 50 AOCs applicable to the Bordeaux region.
Both red and white Bordeaux wines are almost invariably blended. The permissible grape varieties in red Bordeaux are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. While wine making styles vary, a general rule of thumb is that the Left Bank is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon based with the Right Bank being more Merlot based. The Graves area produces both red wine (from the grapes previously mentioned) and white wine from the Sauvignon blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle grapes. The area of Sauternes (including Barsac) is known for its botrytized dessert wines.