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Motorhoming In Gironde
MOTORHOMING IN THE GIRONDE
One of the five departments in the region of Aquitaine, the Gironde is the largest department in France. Motorhome travel in France is the ideal way to make the most of this superb area. The Gironde offers rich heritage and diverse landscapes. With its white beaches, its pine forests, its rolling hills planted with vines and its rivers and inland lakes, it holds plenty of surprises for the curious tourist.
The Gironde boasts some of the most famous wines in the world, notably the Bordeaux, and is home to 57 vineyards producing other favourites such as the Médoc and Sauterne.
If you’re hiring a motorhome in France or hiring a motorhome in England, visiting the lovingly conserved towns and villages of the Gironde is well worth the trip. In the north of the department is Blaye, strategically situated on the Gironde estuary. A fortress town built in the 17th century to protect Bordeaux from English invaders. Visit the citadel, in itself a little village, before going for a stroll around the old town with its medieval squares, narrow streets and houses dating from the 17th century. Before moving on you could also visit Blaye’s well known vineyard where you can have a free initiation to, and wine tasting session.
Saint Emilion, to the north east of Bordeaux boasts some superb and unique religious architecture. The church of Saint Emilion is carved out of the rocks and is impressive, up to 20 meters high inside, with an estimated 15,000m cubed of rock extracted over three centuries and used to build, amongst other things, the towns impressive collegiate church.
Bordeaux, the biggest city in the department, is situated on the banks of the river Garonne. It was the heartland of the 18th century wine dealers and the banks of the Garonne are lined with magnificent houses built by these rich merchants. The old warehouses on the quays have been renovated and house various museums and cultural centres including ‘vinorama’, a wax museum tracing the history of wine from roman times to the present day.
Don’t leave the Gironde without visiting Arcachon. This 1900s fishing port, second in France to Boulogne-sur-Mer on the channel coast, has transformed its image and become one of the most coveted destinations for the French. Visit the market, open every morning, where you can by fish and seafood of an unrivalled quality and freshness and sample the oysters from the bay of Arcachon. Find an Aires de Service in the Gironde and stop over before going 7km south of Arcachon to visit the Pilat Dune. The biggest dune in Europe is well worth climbing, just for the view when you reach the top. If the climb doesn’t take your breath away, the view will!
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