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SOMMAIRE autumn 2012 ISSN :1767/5537 AQUITAINE TOURIST BOARD NEWSLETTER INFORMATION SUMMARY NEWS from AQUITAINE 1 2 Cycling holidays • Services adapted to bike tourism • The Eurovéloroute website 2 Subtainable tourism • European eco-label: 7 new certified providers 3 Gastronomy • Foodie holiday in Périgueux - The 12 th Salon du livre gourmand (Food Book Fair) - A foretaste of the foie gras markets - Château life in town Castel Peyssard 4 Accommodation • Le Clos du Rocher, a new complex in Périgord Noir • Stay at the heart of Bordeaux, in a 200 year-old hotel, La Cour Carrée • Guest house Dousud in the Sauternes area 5 Wine tourism • Viniti tasting workshop • Sleep at the Domaine de Fonteneau • Guest house at the Château Lestange • The Crushpad experience in the village of Bages • Guest house at the Château Pape Clément • Sleep in a wine vat in Moulon • Bordeaux Wine Trip, a practical application • The organic tours of the Berticot cellars 8 Prehistory • Castel Merle in Périgord 8 News in brief • Bordeaux Executive Travel : an agency that “creates curiosity” 8 Transport • Strasbourg-Bordeaux • Lille-Bordeaux The Vélodyssée®: another way of spending your holidays In the spring edition of Aquitaine News, we announced the opening of the Vélodyssée on 30 June 2012, one of the 15 EuroVéloroutes. Let's head out to discover this route that follows the Atlantic coast. The Vélodyssée in Aquitaine: a 388 kilometres long route Everyone will enjoy it, be they sporty or contemplative, couples or families, for nomadic holidays or day-long trips. It is a completely clean site, particularly in Gironde and the Landes, where it is safe and accessible to all. In the Basque Country (45km of the route), the region is more moun- tainous, it goes up and down! Here, the route is sometimes on cycle paths, sometimes on roads. A welcoming natural peninsula After crossing Brittany, Vendée and Charente-Maritime, the veloroute follow a straight line down the Aquitaine coast. Between Royan and the Pointe de Graves, crossing the Gironde estuary, the largest in Europe, is a unique experience, a gateway to Gironde region and the Médoc peninsula. Renowned for its wines, Médoc is also famous for its seaside towns: Soulac-sur-Mer, Hourtin, Carcans, Lacanau. 19 th and 20 th century villas, long beaches of fine sand, great waves for surfing: here you can feel the power of nature and the great landscapes it sculpts. Arcachon Bay: oysters and dunes A bit further south, the Arcachon Bay welcomes visitors to its oyster harbours. Put down your bike to step aboard a boat with an oyster farmer, stop in a hut to taste oysters in the sunshine with a glass of white wine. You will have enough energy to take on the Pilat Dune - 106 metres high - listed as a major national site, a desert scene near the ocean. Afterwards, you can start the gentle ride through the Gascony Landes forest, which stretches out as far as the eye can see either side of the cycle path. CYCLING HOLIDAYS ON THE AQUITAINE COAST [ ] ©Joël Damase

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Page 1: News from Aquitaine - Autumn 2012

SOMMAIREau

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SN: 1

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5537

AQUITAINE TOURIST BOARDNEWSLETTER INFORMATION

SUMMARYNEWS

fromAQUITAINE

1

2 Cycling holidays• Services adapted to bike tourism

• The Eurovéloroute website

2 Subtainable tourism• European eco-label: 7 new certified providers

3 Gastronomy• Foodie holiday in Périgueux

- The 12th Salon du livre gourmand(Food Book Fair)

- A foretaste of the foie gras markets- Château life in town Castel Peyssard

4 Accommodation• Le Clos du Rocher, a new complex

in Périgord Noir• Stay at the heart of Bordeaux,

in a 200 year-old hotel, La Cour Carrée• Guest house Dousud in the Sauternes area

5 Wine tourism• Viniti tasting workshop

• Sleep at the Domaine de Fonteneau• Guest house at the Château Lestange

• The Crushpad experience in the village of Bages• Guest house at the Château Pape Clément

• Sleep in a wine vat in Moulon• Bordeaux Wine Trip, a practical application• The organic tours of the Berticot cellars

8 Prehistory• Castel Merle in Périgord

8 News in brief• Bordeaux Executive Travel :

an agency that “creates curiosity”

8 Transport• Strasbourg-Bordeaux

• Lille-Bordeaux

The Vélodyssée®: another way of spending yourholidaysIn the spring edition of Aquitaine News, we announced the opening of theVélodyssée on 30 June 2012, one of the 15 EuroVéloroutes. Let's head out todiscover this route that follows the Atlantic coast.

The Vélodyssée in Aquitaine: a 388 kilometres long route Everyone will enjoy it, be they sporty or contemplative, couples or families, for nomadic holidaysor day-long trips. It is a completely clean site, particularly in Gironde and the Landes, where it issafe and accessible to all. In the Basque Country (45km of the route), the region is more moun-tainous, it goes up and down! Here, the route is sometimes on cycle paths, sometimes on roads.

A welcoming natural peninsulaAfter crossing Brittany, Vendée and Charente-Maritime, the veloroute follow a straight line downthe Aquitaine coast. Between Royan and the Pointe de Graves, crossing the Gironde estuary, thelargest in Europe, is a unique experience, a gateway to Gironde region and the Médoc peninsula.Renowned for its wines, Médoc is also famous for its seaside towns: Soulac-sur-Mer, Hourtin,Carcans, Lacanau. 19th and 20th century villas, long beaches of fine sand, great waves for surfing:here you can feel the power of nature and the great landscapes it sculpts.

Arcachon Bay: oysters and dunesA bit further south, the Arcachon Bay welcomes visitors to its oyster harbours. Put down yourbike to step aboard a boat with an oyster farmer, stop in a hut to taste oysters in the sunshinewith a glass of white wine. You will have enough energy to take on the Pilat Dune - 106 metreshigh - listed as a major national site, a desert scene near the ocean. Afterwards, you can start thegentle ride through the Gascony Landes forest, which stretches out as far as the eye can see eitherside of the cycle path.

CYCLING HOLIDAYSON THE AQUITAINE COAST[ ]

©Joël Damase

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pro.tourisme-aquitaine.frNEWS from AQUITAINE

2

Huge lakes to relax in the midst of nature From the Cazaux lake, you will ride along some of the largest lakes inFrance, such as Biscarosse lake. After Aureilhan lake, one of the smal-lest, you can cycle into the wilderness around the Courant d'Huchetnature reserve, our "Green Venice", before reaching Hossegor, a chicresort on the Landes coast and Capbreton port.

Rocky coast in Basque countryThe Adour river, which you can cross in Bayonne, marks the end of theLandes forest and heralds the landscapes of the Basque Country. Assoon as you head south towards Biarritz, along the beaches of Anglet,Bidart, Guéthary, ride past small coastal villages with red and whitehouses, before arriving in Saint-Jean-de-Luz bay, and then on to SocoaFort. Several kilometres of schist cliffs await you, before a last downhillride towards Hendaye beach and the Spanish border. The Basque coastis also the kingdom of surfers, and original food, spiced with Espelettechilli, from a small village that celebrates its red chilli during the lastweekend in October.

Services adapted to bike tourismThe Vélodyssée is supported by thenational brand Accueil Vélo.Whether theyare innkeepers, renters-repair compa-nies, tourism offices, tourist sites, profes-sionals who are granted the Accueil Vélolabel commit to providing services thatmeet the quality standards adapted tocyclists.

Along the route, you will come across avariety of accommodation: campsites,hotels, guest houses, holiday campswhich offer a luggage transport servicefrom one stage to another. Certifiedaccommodation located less than 5kmaway from the route.

Easy to identify, the logo is present alongthe whole route, guiding you on yourway.

SUBTAINABLETOURISM[ ]

European eco-label: 7 new certified providers in AquitaineFive campsites in Dordogne are certified, Le Paradis in Saint-Léonsur Vézère, Maisonneuve in Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, Le pont deMazerat on the banks of the Tamniès lake, Les Deux Vallées nearSarlat, Peyrelevade in Brantôme as well as one hotel and a self-cate-ring house, Le Domaine de La Rhonie, in Meyrals and a holiday camp,Le Village Louis Forestier, located in Seignosse, on the edge of theocean, in the Landes. Dordogne is now the French Départementwith the most European Eco-label certified services Aquitaineremains 1st region in France.

©CRTA

To find out more, go to the website: www.lavelodyssee.com

The Vélodyssée is now available in French and English. It enablesyou to prepare your trip using interactive maps, emblematicsites on the route, special offers from Accueil Vélo certifiedservice providers, photo albums. You can create your own work-book and share it, download the GPS data, comment and/orpost photos and those from the community, sharing your expe-rience on social networks.

©Joël Damase

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AUTUMN 2012

GASTRONOMY[ ]

The 12th Salon du livre gourmand (Food Book Fair), a fun and delicious eventFor 22 years, the Salon International du Livre Gourmand (International Food Book Fair) takesover Périgord and has become a favourite event for cooking and food lovers. Lifestyle, food,books, literature, culture and art all come together in the Fair held there every two years. From 16 to 18 November 2012, the best food publications, a varied selection of books of allgenres, 500 titles and 130 authors, will rub shoulders with many talented chefs. Basque,Basque cuisine is the honoured guest this year, and Périgord chefs will give cooking demons-trations on the theatre stage. Also on the programme: shows, concerts, films, exhibitions, meetings and debates. Open to all, the fair is an opportunity for visitors to discover or rediscover the Gallo-Romanremains of the ancient city of Vesunna, as well as its rich medieval heritage, old alleys andpicturesque squares, as well as magnificent Renaissance town houses.

www.livre-gourmand.fr - www.tourisme-perigueux.fr

A foretaste of the foie gras markets The date of the fair marks the start of the traditional foie gras market season. In winter, thesemarkets are held everywhere in Aquitaine; you will find capons (chicken fed on maize), duck,geese and their foie gras. You can find a list of all the foie gras markets of Aquitaine onwww.tourisme-aquitaine.fr

In Périgueux, foie grad markets are held every Wednesday morning and Saturday morning fromNovember to the beginning of March, with four award-winning markets and a truffle market inDecember (truffle season from December to February).

Château life in town at Castel Peyssard

To enjoy the markets and the book fair, you can stay in theChâteau. This elegant 19th century castle is in a prime locationin Dordogne, in the town centre of Périgueux, surrounded byover a hectare of landscaped park. The slate roofs and Dordogne stone walls glisten in the sun allday long. This picturesque home has four comfortable rooms inan intimate environment. From 30 to 38 sqm, they are deco-rated following themes: film, Cleopatra in Oriental colours, Outof Africa African colours, Indochina for Asia and Bengal tiger forIndia. The chic Bistrot serves original and friendly cuisine and thedining room can welcome around thirty guests. Add to this atrendy "English pub", a very cosy relaxation area, an eternity lappool as well as an area dedicated to well being, the Spa duCastel, which has chosen the Rituels de Soin® Cinq Mondes andFrench beauty products by Carita.Prices from €185 to €220 per night depending on the room andseason � Information and bookingsTel.: +33 (0)553 359 190 - www.castelpeyssard.com ©

Castel Peyssard

Foodie holiday in Périgueux

© CRTA OT Périgueux

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pro.tourisme-aquitaine.frNEWS from AQUITAINE

Located in les Eyzies de Tayac, near the banks of the Vézère river and300 metres away from the town centre, this Village Center is an idealstarting point for all the Unesco World Heritage listed prehistoricsites: caves, troglodyte villages, Museums, etc Designed with the environment in mind, this holiday complex has 116apartments that can house 2/4 to 4/6 people each, spread out in smallbuildings around a swimming pool. Shared areas are in a landscapedpark, in the peace and quiet. Plan to rest and discover the region. Prices: From €78 a night. � Information and bookingsTel. : +33 (0)5 53 35 50 00www.perigord-reservation.com

[ ]ACCOMMODATION

This air conditioned hotel has free Wi-fi, and welcomes you to thecentre of Bordeaux, 100 metres from the Place des Grands Hommes,the Allées de Tourny and Place Gambetta, the lively shopping neighbou-rhoods, where boutiques, restaurants and terraces invite you to get afeel for the town. Housed in a 200 year old building, the establishmenthas been entirely renovated. The hotel is in a quiet street, has 16elegant rooms and a patio on a terrace. The rooms are modern buthave retained their wooden beams and visible stone walls. They all havean LCD television, some have a lounge area. A breakfast buffet isserved every morning. 100 metres away, on Place Gambetta, you willfind busses to Bordeaux airport and Saint-Jean Station. Prices: From €85 a night.� Information and bookings5 rue de Lurbe 33000 BordeauxTel. : +33 (0) 557 350 000contact@lacourcarrée.fr - www.lacourcarree.fr

Visit to the country of first man in The Clos du Rocher in Dordogne

Dousud is an ideal starting point for this beautiful area of the LandesGirondines and its tourist attractions: the Sauterne and Gravesvineyards, as well as the historic castles nearby. Cazeneuve was hometo Henri IV of France and Queen Margot, Roquetaillade, a medievalcastle restored during the Renaissance by renowned architect Viollet-le-Duc, Villandraut, one of the purest examples of architecture of the1300s in the region as well as the City of Bazas and its cathedral, whichis listed as UNESCO world Heritage in the framework of the Way ofSaint James listing.You can hike, cycle and ride horses from the domain, and your horsecan be stabled. Five charming, comfortable and independent guest rooms, in a land-scaped park with a swimming pool and winter garden. At the tabled'hôte, you will be to appreciate the regional cuisine of the South West. Prices: from €60 for 1 person in low season. � Information and bookingsTel.: +33 (0)556 254 323 - +33 (0)688 430 703www.dousud.com

4

Stay at the heart of Bordeaux, in a 200 years-old hotel, La Cour Carrée

Walk in the vines and visit the Sauternes area châteaux from the Dousud guesthouse in Gironde

©Clos du Rocher

©La Cour carrée

©Dousud

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AUTUMN 2012

[ ]WINE TOURISM

5

Three wine growers, two owners ofguest houses and picturesque cottages,a river tour company have join forcesin the association Bordeaux Wine InnTour. Six service providers specialisedin wine tourism welcome you to theheart of Médoc, offering a wide rangeof activities and trips focusing on vines,wine and the estuary.

Their aim: take visitors to discover pictu-resque vineyards, enable them to visit thehouses, go to tastings, taste grand cru wines,organise meetings with wine growers whoare passionate about their job and oenolo-gists, while housing them in comfortablecottages and guest houses. www.wineinntour.fr

The members of Wine Inn Tour:

• The Oeno-lodge is a Bed & Breakfast inSaint Germain d'Esteuil, in an 18th centurybuilding. Meals are also served, and there is awine bar; heated swimming pool, seminarroom and bikes on loan. Certified by theLondon Wine & Spirit Education Trust, it alsoruns oenology training and award level 1, 2and 3 WSET® diplomas. www.wsetglobal.comwww.oeno-lodge.com

• In the Domaine des Prés de Joussac, apicturesque 1850s home, on the banks of theRichard canal, offers great quality cottagesand a guest house.www.les-pres-de-joussac.eu

• Castéra castle, is one of the oldestChâteau in Médoc, located in Saint-Germaind'Esteuil, which dates back to the 14thcentury. On the programme, a visit of thecastle, the cellar and a tasting of the winesproduced by the château, before exploringthe English gardens, which have been awardeda Best of Wine & Tourism.www.chateau-castera.com

• Les Ormes Sorbet Château, in thevillage of Couquèque, can organise persona-lised visits of the property all year round, suchas the tasting of various vintages.www.ormes-sorbet.com

• In the Tour Castillon Château, you canenjoy a visit and taste the wines producedby the château, a guided walk in the vines,with a Médoc picnic, jazz concert, tapas andaperitif.www.vignoblespeyruse.com

• Cœur d'Estuaire welcomes you on theirmotor boats (12 passengers), a schooner (22passengers) and a large plate, a flat bottomedboat (12 passengers) to explore the Girondeestuary, the largest in Europe, and its islandsor the vineyards on the banks of the estuary,alone, with family or friends.www.coeurdestuaire.com

Head out and discover Médoc and the Gironde estuary with the Médoc Wine InnTour

Viniti organises tailored tasting workshops(beginners, team-building), during whichcontents and duration can be adapted to thepublic, groups, private people, colleagues andaims: understanding wine, matching a mealand wine, discovering the art of tasting,improving communications and team work.Workshops may be held on clients' premisesor in the Bordeaux Lac Mercury hotel.Guided by a professional, you will be able tolearn to appreciate the difference between

the "terroirs", their specificities and theknow-how of good wine makers. Following an introduction to tasting, you willdraw on your memories of smells to identifythe characteristic scent of wines, then applythe knowledge by tasting a selection of 5wines, writing down your impressions in atasting booklet.

Tel. : +33 (0)535 542 361 www.viniti-degustation.com

Fun and friendly: Viniti tasting workshops

©Médoc Wine Inn Tour

©Aurélie Dejean

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On the Bordeaux hillside, the Domaine de Fonteneau, a formervineyard home from the 18th century, opens on an 85 hectare woodedpark. A stay in the Bordeaux countryside only 10 minutes away fromPlace de la Bourse (town centre), 5 minutes away from the station, 3minutes away from the ringroad and 20 minutes away from the airport. Its spacious, furnished and decorated rooms are in a 18th centurystyle, with large bathrooms and separate toilets, as well as a mini-kitchen. A large lounge with a television is open to guests. In this countryside setting, you can enjoy a large private swimmingpool, the nearby riding school, tennis courts and a health course in thewoods. The owners have called on an important name of Bordeaux cuisine,Jean-Pierre Xiradakis, to offer a package holiday with meals for 2people in Tupina at lunch or the Kusina in the evening, for €200 inclu-ding the taxi there and back. Your hosts will provide you with a private taxi to discover the hot-spots of Bordeaux gastronomy, the great Bordeaux wines of the heri-tage of the Unesco listed city. You can book a babysitter, or an English,German, Spanish, Portuguese or Russian-speaking guide. The Domaine de Fontenau can also be rented out completely for aweek or a day. A catering service is available by booking.

If you are tempted by piece of furniture, an object, or a painting, theowners will take care of transporting them all over the world. Prices: from €70 (Junior room) to €130

� Information and bookingsTel. : +33 (0)613 632 746www.domaine-de-fonteneau.com

Located in the Entre-Deux-Mer region, between the Garonne andDordogne, the Château is only 14 km from Bordeaux, a town listed asUnesco World Heritage and 47 km away from Saint-Emilion and itsfamous vines, also listed by Unesco. The castle was built in 1685 on the location of what had become acoaching inn, on the Way of Saint James. It is a gem amongst the castlesof the right bank of the Garonne river. The accommodation there, a guest room and suites, an independentcottage and a cottage attached to the castle has led it to be referencedin many guides. Prices: from €130 to €180 depending on the room and €500 to€700/week depending on the cottage and the season.

� Information and bookingsTel. : +33 (0)673 008 619www.chateau-lestange.com

pro.tourisme-aquitaine.frNEWS from AQUITAINE

6

Sleep surrounded by antiques at the Domaine de Fonteneau

Guest house at the Château Lestange

[ ]WINE TOURISM

Born in California, with a centre in Bordeaux since 2009, Crushpadis a company for wine lovers, individuals, clubs and small businessesenabling them to produce quality wines from the most renownedvineyards, Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Emilion, Canon-Fronsac, them-selves.The worldwide leader in home wine making has joined forces withone of the most renowned producers of Bordeaux: the Cazes family,owner of other vineyards in France andabroad, from Château Lynch-Bages, a clas-sified Pauillac Grand Cru. Crushpad has fitted its own wine-makingcellar in the village of Bages; it will be readyfor the 2012 grape harvest. The equipmentis adapted to the production of individualbatches of wine in small volumes. You willalso enjoy the oenologist's advice, aconsultant for four of the five FirstBordeaux Premier Crus in 1855.In addition to all the equipment needed to

produce the best wine possible, this partnership will enable you tofeel at home at the heart of the Médoc area. The Hotel Relais &Châteaux Cordeillan-Bages and its restaurant which has been awardedtwo stars by the Michelin® guide, the guest house at the Château LesOrmes de Pez, the Café Lavinal, the Cercle Lynch-Bages (tasting course),and many other services linked to French art de vivre and winetourism will welcome you.

Since 2009, over 300 clients from over 20countries produce their own barrels ofhigh quality wine with Crushpad.Become a real Bordeaux wine maker.

� ContactStephen BolgerWinery : +33 (0)556 595 080Cell : +33 (0) 626 015 769stephen@makebordeauxwine.comwww.makebordeauxwine.comwww.jmcazes.com

Live the Crushpad experience in the village of Bages©Frédérick Diot

©La Villa Ferret Design

©Stephen Boelger

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AUTUMN 2012

Prestige guesthouse in Château Pape Clément

Imagine opening the door of a former wine vat and discovering acomfortable, modern and stylish room, the "Cuve à mon loup" or arefined concrete gem as well as a room named "Design", a tribute tomodernity. What do the owners of this Bed & Breakfast in the Entre-deux-Mer area propose: two completely different bedrooms, inspiredby the names of the vats they are build in. The Château La Mothe duBarry guesthouse is an ideal place to stay when discovering thevineyard with a rich architectural heritage (Romanesque churches,mills, fortified farms), and beautiful landscapes, near Saint-Emilion andits famous vines, under 30 km from Bordeaux. Prices: La cuve à mon loup: €90 - Design: €110

� Information and bookingsTel. : +33 (0)557 749 398 - www.vignoblesjoelduffau.fr

Owners of great vineyards all over the world, producers of GrandCrus, founders of the Bernard Magrez Cultural Institutes, patron,Bernard Magrez has also created an incoming agency Bernard MagrezLuxury Wine Tourism. This wine lover has recently opened 5 presti-gious guest rooms in the Château Pape Clément, a classified GrandCru of the Pessac-Léognan appellation in the Graves area. Of world-wide renown, located on the edge of Bordeaux, the ancient châteauxhouses luxury rooms with finely decorated, either sophisticated orrefined. White, light coloured, green, red or black marble in thebathroom, period furniture, Louis 16th, Charles 10th, Art Déco ormodern, Boulle cabinets, works of art by Buffet, everything is there foryour greater comfort.Prices: from €190 to €270

� Information and bookingsTel. : +33 (0)557 264 306 - www.luxurywinetourism.fr

New: sleep in a wine vat in Moulon

Bordeaux Wine Trip, a funand practical application

Working with theAquitaine RegionalTourism Board, and theGironde DépartementTourism Board, theBordeaux Wines inter-

professional Council (Conseil Interprofes -sionnel du Vin de Bordeaux - CIVB) hascreated a new tool for wine tourism and visi-tors to the Bordeaux vineyard. Designed as aSmartphone (IOS & Android), tablet, andInternet application, Bordeaux Wine Tripenables you to find wine tourism activities andproviders depending on location, preferencesand destination.

Châteaux, wine merchants, cellars, tourismoffices and wine houses, restaurants and winebars, accommodation, events, visits, expe-riences, you will find all the providers relatedto wine.

The application is available in French, Englishand Chinese.

The organic tours of the Berticot cellarsIn 2011, the Berticot cellaropened its vineyard andwine discovery trail at theheart of the Duras winery. Available in French andEnglish, this trail enablesyou to understand whatenvironment enables abalance between animal andplant species in organicfarming. Insect hotel,compost, weather centre,bat and blue tit shelters,

seeds, ladybirds, the soil, grape varieties, work in the vines... a dozen stops and panels trans-lated into English are set up along the trail, so that visitors can visit without a guide or ina more authentic and fun way with a wine maker, in the framework of "Organic BerticotWednesdays". The visit will start with a guided walk and continue with a tasting of organicwines from Berticot's BB range and a countryside lunch around an Assiette de Pays® (localspecialties) with wine makers. Prices: • discover the organic trail (open all year round): €2 per adult, free for childrenunder 11 years • "Organic Wednesdays" (in the Summer only): guided walk only: adults: €6- children: €3 /free for children under 6 • Guided visit with lunch (in the summer only):adult: €16 - children under 11: €8.

� Information and bookingsTel. : +33 (0)553 837 547 - www.berticot.com

©Lionel Lizet

©Château Pape Clément

©Chloé Audureau

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The Castel Merle Valley is near the Lascauxcaves (9 kilometres from Montignac). TheRoches stream flows through the valley andinto the Vézère River, and on either bank, atthe foot of the cliffs, several prehistoricsites have been discovered since 1911:eleven Palaeolithic sites in an area measu-ring 300 square metres, shelters underrocks. They can't all be visited because thedigs are ongoing... One of them, the Castanet shelter hasalready revealed many stone tools, arrowpoints in reindeer antler, mammoth ivorypearls, paintings, engravings, under theremains of rocks, the oldest works of artfound to date, cave paintings, engravings andlow reliefs in the rock shelters. In Dordogne, over 30,000 years ago, theserecesses at the foot of the cliffs were ofteninhabited by Aurignacian Man. In most shel-ters, the walls and ceilings on which thefigures were drawn have collapsed. To recons-

titute them, archaeologists have to upturnrocks on the ground.

37,000 year-old works of art! In 2007, a team of French archaeologistsunder Randall White, from New YorkUniversity, decided to continue digs in theCastanet Shelter, one of the sites with the

oldest traces of symbolic activity by HomoSapiens in Eurasia. They discovered a low-relief which proves that the site is over37,000 years old. The information made theheadlines of the scientific press in the spring,and makes this cave art the oldest in theworld, hundreds of years older than theChauvet cave. From beginning of April to the end ofSeptember, the site organises excellentguided visits and workshops that enable youto discover and live the day to day life ofprehistoric humans: spear throwing, lightingfires in prehistory... Prices: adults: €6.5 - children aged 7 to 12years: €3.5 - group (from 15 people) from 5to €18 depending on the programme -Open from 09/04 to 30/09 from 10.00 am to6.00 pm – closed on Saturdays – Open allyear round for groups, subject to booking.

www.castel-merle.com

pro.tourisme-aquitaine.frNEWS from AQUITAINE

PREHISTORY[ ]

NEWS IN BRIEF[ ]

TRANSPORT[ ]Comité Régionalde Tourisme d’Aquitaine

4/5 Place Jean JaurèsCS 31759

33074 Bordeaux CedexTel. +33(0)5 56 01 70 00Fax +33(0)5 56 01 70 07

[email protected]

aquitaine-bordeaux.fr

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Strasbourg/Bordeaux with Air FranceAir France flies to Strasbourg from Bordeaux 12 times a week. Operated by Regional, an Air France subsidiary, with an Embraer 170 seating 76 people,flights from €71 before tax single.www.airfrance.fr

Lille/Bordeaux and Strasbourg/Bordeaux with VoloteaFrom October, airline Volotea will operate two additional flights between Lille andBordeaux, 3 times a week and Strasbourg and Bordeaux, 5 times a week.www.volotea.com

Atlantique Berlines, a chauffeured car company founded in 2004, is the leader in the WineTour business, with a team of 50 multilingual chauffeurs and 22 vehicles, has createdBordeaux Executive Travel, a luxury travel agency. With 8 years of experience, the agency hasdeveloped good relations with players in the wine world, particularly classified Grand Cru.Their team of Travel Designers develops tailored experiences for you and your clients, andcan support them during their stay. They will be able to satisfy them and if necessarysurprise them using their contacts to open hidden doors, and give the special access tothe best kept secrets of our region. Offices open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Bordeaux Executive TravelTel.: +33 (0) 557 859 921 - [email protected] - www.bordeaux-executive-travel.com

The oldest paintings in the world in Europe in Castel Merle in Périgord

Bordeaux Executive Travel: an agency that "creates curiosity"

©Offices de Tourisme - Vallée Vézère

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