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- Exploring Gironde on foot or by bike
Exploring Gironde on foot or by bike
In Gironde, nature is present in all her many guises, and the traveller is met with a dazzling multitude of landscapes as diversified as they are unique – ocean, vineyards, forests, lakes and rivers making up an endless variety of combinations. The magnificent panoramas of the Arcachon Basin, the Estuary and the vineyards, stretching as far as the eye can see, go side by side with a more private natural world, whose secrets are revealed as you make your way through the vast pine forests of South Gironde and the Arcachon Basin.
4200 km of hiking trails, including 2300 km of market-out routes ideal for mountain biking, crisscross the department, taking you through vineyards and pine forests, and along the shores of the Atlantic and the Estuary. Roads wind their way over hillsides, alongside watercourse and into the heart of the vineyards; cycle paths follow old railway lines or take you by the cordon of coastal dunes, off into the very heart of the region’s heritage and local traditions.
Wherever you are in Gironde, you’re always near a forest, a vineyard, a château and the sea. Setting off on foot or by bicycle – what better way to get to know Gironde and share its inhabitants’ art of living?
All of this – together with the men and women that bring Gironde alive in all its intimacy and magnificence, the warm welcome and open-heartedness typical of the south-west of France – has created a region not to be missed by anyone who loves walking or cycling and is seeking new encounters and a real change of scenery. The only risk – you may never want to leave!
Good to know
Every year, from 1 June to 30 September, free guided visits to Gironde’s Sensitive Natural Areas are organised for the public at large. Reservation recommended.
For the list of sites and visit programme, contact the Gironde Departmental Tourism Committee.
+33 5 56 52 61 40
Zoom in on the RANDO and CYCLO travel journals
The Gironde Departmental Tourism Committee has selected a range of hiking and cycling itineraries suitable for one and all.
Discovery of nature (46 sensitive natural areas), heritage and gastronomy, sharing the inhabitants’ art of good living, and making the region your own.
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Gironde by bicycle
Gironde is a pioneering department with regard to providing cyclotourism facilities. France’s first Bike Station was created in Créon, Entre-deux-Mers, in 2000. Since then the little bastide town has continued developing sustainable tourism centred around bicycling. Gironde has progressively become France’s number one cyclotourism destination.
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On foot in Gironde
4200 km of hiking trails, including 2300 km of marked-out routes, wind their way through Gironde, across vineyards and pine forests, and alongside the coast and the Estuary.
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By boat
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On horseback through Gironde
From its vineyards to the ocean, Gironde provides riders and their mounts with a setting ideal for excursions and treks.
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Gironde by canoe
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Gironde’s mills
Long before the vine, cereals (wheat, corn, barley and rye) covered most of Gironde’s terroirs. Bread, after all, was a major constituent of the daily diet.
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On the Ways of Saint James of Compostela
Two great historical roads forming part of the Ways of Saint James of Compostela, the Paris road and the Vézelay road, cross Gironde, along with a coast road and a number of secondary routes.
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In the Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park
The Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park was created in 1970. It covers over 315,000 hectares and includes 41 municipalities with a total of around 60,500 inhabitants.From chapels dedicated to Saint James to traditional “arials” (tracts of cleared land), the park can be explored on foot, by mountain bike, on horseback, or by canoe along the Leyre, a river that winds through the heart of the pine forest before flowing into the Arcachon Basin.
