On foot in South Gironde

This is also the land of the Barsac, Graves and Pessac-Léognan appellations, an area of vast forests that form a choice setting for its medieval châteaux.

To the south, the deep pine forest carpeted with ferns and heather is the land of François Mauriac, with its murmuring streams and countess springs, its little towns and  villages – testimony wherever you look to age-old tradition and humanity untarnished.

There is so much to admire as you follow the many hiking trails that make their way through the Langonnais – the historical heritage constituted by the impressive Château de Roquetaillade and such local heritage as the region’s churches, mills, wash houses, Château de Villandraut and Château de Cazeneuve. Saint-Macaire, with its medieval houses, is guaranteed to enchant anyone who visits it.

South Gironde has so much to offer travellers on foot in the way of natural heritage, with its varied landscapes of vineyards and forests, the Garonne, the Garonne Canal at Castets, and the  Ciron.

If you want to get acquainted with Gironde, there’s no better way to start than from its south!

Discovering nature

Cadaujac : The Garonne Bocage is one of the most extensive areas of bocage in Gironde still preserved.

The Saucats-La Brède Geological Nature Reserve takes you on a journey back in time – 20 million years back, in fact, when the region was covered by the Atlantic Ocean – to discover sedimentary rocks and fossils of sharks, coral and tropical shells.

Association pour la réserve naturelle géologique de Saucats-La Brède
+33 5 56 72 27 98

Louchats :  The Gât-Mort Lagoons help us better understand what the Grande Lande was like during the Ice Age.
+33 5 56 88 71 94

Hostens : The Domaine Départemental Gérard Lagors is located on an old surface mine and invites you to take to its market-out pathways in exploration of its marshland, ponds and lakes
+33 5 56 88 71 94

Bazas : Lake  Prade  is of major ornithological interest. A footpath leads to an observatory where birdwatchers can enjoy their hobby to the full.

Auros : The Monceau botanical pathway winds through the heart of limestone hillsides where a wide variety of wild orchids flourishes.
Conservatoire régional des espaces naturels d’Aquitaine +33 5 53 81 39 57