On foot in Entre-deux-Mers

Entre-Deux-Mers is a land of nature and history, an invitation to laze the day away, to embark on carefree family outings, or to try your hand at more energetic activities if you’re looking for excitement. The only risk here is surfeiting yourself on dazzling scenery and the local wines!

A tour of the bastide towns :

The bastide towns were built between 1255 and 1325, and served both as strongholds created to mark out the domains of French and English sovereigns (when the region was under English domination) and as market centres.

All bastide towns have the same layout – an arcaded square surrounded by galleries known as “cornières” or “couverts”, upon which converge streets cutting across one another at right angles.

Créon : founded in 1316, the town still preserves its arcaded square and medieval houses.

Blasimon: located on the site of an old “castrum”, Blasimon (“Blavini Mons”) overlooks the Gamage Valley where the Labarthe fortified watermill (15^th  century) still stands.

Sauveterre-de-Guyenne:  built in 1281 by King Edward I, the town changed hands ten times during the course of the Hundred Years’ War, finally becoming French in  1451. The bastide town’s arcaded central square is still in existence, along with four listed gateways through its walls.

Pellegrue: founded by the King of England in 1283.

Monségur : the only bastide town in Gironde to have been built on a hill, Monségur provides magnificent views over the Dropt Valley. It is still keeper of the “Esclapot”, a wood-bound book containing the town’s foundation charter, and many of the original half-timbered houses are still standing. A walkway at the foot of the ramparts takes you all the way round the town walls.

Cadillac : the medieval ramparts and gateways (listed as Historical Monuments), along with two towers, are still to be seen in this bastide town built on the banks of the Garonne. Also well worth seeing is the Château des Ducs d’Epernon – which served as a women’s prison from 1818 to 1952, and which includes huge apartments with “French-style” ceilings and eight monumental fireplaces.

The “Marchés des Bastides” held every week beneath the towns’ arcades provide an opportunity to experience the atmosphere of markets in days gone by, in particular the Créon market, which is one of the best known in Gironde.

 
A tour of the region’s medieval towns and villages

Rions : this fortified village is one of the best preserved medieval villages in Gironde. A fine 15^th -century gateway and a 16^th -century merchants’ house.

La Réole : there are so many monuments and remains to be seen in this delightful little town! The Benedictine priory with its entrance gate, a masterpiece of 18^th -century ironwork, the 12^th -century church, the fortress of Quat'Sos (late 13^th  century), along with one of the oldest Town Halls in France (12^th  century) and the ruins of a surrounding wall dating back to the 13^th  and 14^th  centuries.

Castelmoron d’Albret : The smallest village in France (just 3.54 hectares!) preserves all the character of a medieval hamlet along with a few fine vestiges of its surrounding wall, the Moulin gateway, and the old palace of the Dukes of Albret.

Saint-Macaire : set on a promontory overlooking the Garonne, Saint-Macaire has preserved its magnificent medieval fortified gateways. Also well worth a look are the Saint-Sauveur church (remarkable murals), the priory, and Place du Mercadiou and its superb medieval and Renaissance houses (16^th -century post house).

 
Romanesque churches and abbeys

La Sauve-Majeure : listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998 as a stage on the Way of Saint James of Compostela, the abbey was founded in 1079 in the depths of a vast forest (“sylva major”). A powerful seigniory, it controlled a large number of priories in Spain and England. Superb views over the region from the top of the 13^th -century bell tower.

Saint-Ferme: standing in the grounds of a Romanesque-Gothic monetary that once took in pilgrims on their way to Saint James of Compostela, the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Ferme is particularly remarkable for its imposing facade, which gives it something of the air of a fortress.

Blasimon: Standing alone at the far end of the Gamage Valley, the venerable abbey church of Saint-Nicolas (12^th -16^th  centuries) possesses a splendid portal that makes it one of the finest examples of Romanesque art anywhere in Gironde.

In Verdelais, the Notre-Dame Basilica houses an impressive collection of commemorative plaques. There is also a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary that has been venerated for ten centuries.

Also well worth seeing: the Baron crypt, dedicated to Saint James, the Templar church in Cadarsac, and the churches in Nérigean, Haux, Saint-Jean-de-Blaignac, Romagne, Rions, Saint-Quentin-de-Baron, Génissac, Tizac-de-Curton, Saint-Aubin-de-Branne, Naujan-et-Postiac and Targon.

And in Haut-Entre-deux-Mers: the churches in Saint-Macaire, Casstelvieil, Saint-Vincent-de-Pertignas, Pujols, Sainte-Radegonde, Sainte-Florence, Bellefond, Loupiac, Coirac, Frontenac, Lugasson, Jugazan, Rauzan and Ruch.

The Dropt Valley once boasted a great many watermills. Only four of them are still in operation today, but you can still see the outsides of the splendid mills at Loubens and the fortified mill in Bagas, which was built in the early 14^th  century and is a real fortress unto itself, with wooden footbridge, cross slit windows and watchtowers…

Also worth seeing, very near the Loubens mills, are the remains – metal framework arches and guardrail – of an Eiffel bridge.

 
In the steps of François Mauriac

The Domaine de Malagar in Saint-Maixant was François Mauriac’s family estate.

Literary walks are organised there upon reservation and upon request.

There are three itineraries, accompanied by readings, leading participants off in discovery of the landscapes that inspired Mauriac’s novels.

3-hour walks: “on the pilgrims’ road”, and “on the artists’ hillside”, or a day’s outing “nature revealed as the pages turn”.

+33 5 57 98 17 17 – www.malagar.asso.fr

 
The Musée du Vin et de la Tonnellerie, Domaine de la Grave, Beychac-et-Caillau

Spurred on by a wish to pay tribute to the five generations of winegrowers that had preceded them, Alain and Marie-Laure ROCHE were also convinced of the need to share this heritage and know-how with the public at large.

Their wine and cooperage museum offers visitors a 4-stage theme-based itinerary illustrating the ways in which vines were grown and wines matured at the beginning of the last century, along with an approach to the wide range of terroirs and varieties of vines through tasting sessions of grape juice and wines produced on their estate.

The couple are very active members of the “Bienvenue à la Ferme” network (“discovery farm” and “farm produce”) and also put together picnic baskets whose contents visitors can enjoy in the shade of an arbour created for the purpose.

+33 5 56 72 41 28 – www.vignobleroche.com