To get a flavour of this brinebathed region, start your trip in Biscarrosse (or ‘Bisca’ as locals call it) some 60 kilometres south of Bordeaux. Grab a rich, sticky vanilla and rum cake, pastis landaise, from Boulangerie Lou Pan d’Aqui Salon de Thé, just across from the tourist office, then hire a bike from Au Vélo Pour Tous (au-velopour-tous.fr) and cycle the pancake-flat streets of this lively little town to burn off those calories.
Apart from its lake-studded landscapes and 14th-century Église Saint-Martin, Bisca is famed for its échassiers landais, the shepherds who once used stilts to follow their flocks through the region’s marshes.
Learn more about these elevated shepherds at the Musée des Traditions et de l’Histoire – you can even take a boat trip to explore the marshes – then head next door to the Musée de l’Hydraviation (entry €8, hydravions-biscarrosse.com) where fascinating exhibits – ranging from aviator’s artefacts to full-size seaplanes – tell the tale of Biscarrosse’s role in launching France’s first commercial flights.
Bisca has plenty of beautiful beaches, but if you’re hankering for some of the region’s best, drive 30 minutes via the D400 to Mimizan, justly known as the Pearl of the Silver Coast, where you can try your hand at surfing and other exciting watersports with the experts from Mimizan Surf Academy (mimizansurfacademy.com).
Alternatively, climb the 192 steps to the top of the Phare de Contis or just laze on the talc-fine sands of this glorious 10-kilometre-long beach.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2020 من France.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2020 من France.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Paindemic In Paris
For American actor and writer Alexander Burnett, a shortage of bread at his local boulangerie was one of the biggest challenges of lockdown in his adopted home city
VEULES-LES-ROSES
Between the white cliffs of the Côte d’Albâtre and the bucolic landscapes of the Pays de Caux, discover a village that combines coast and country,
Taking the BISCUIT
France is known for its exquisite pâtisserie and extravagant gâteaux but the not-so-humble biscuit deserves recognition too
PICTURE PERFECT PISTE
After a decade away from the slopes Janet Brice finds her ski legs in val d'arly, a hidden gem in the shadow of Mount Blanc
Let there BE LIGHT
Lyon’s annual Fête des Lumières brightens up the darkest of December nights in spectacular fashion, finds David Atkinson on a winter visit to the Rhône capital
Shop ‘til YOU DROP
In the first of our new Insight guides, Helen Parkinson delights in the French shopping experience
Floating YOUR BOAT
Spending a day on the River Seine in Paris, Heidi Fuller-love samples some of the city’s top entertainment that can be enjoyed afloat
Creamy Dijon Chicken With Bacon And Spinach
Enjoy this hearty dish from Bisous & Brioche, a cookbook shot on location in Burgundy
A Moveable Feast
Philip Sweeney embarks on a voyage gourmand along the Vallée de la Gastronomie travelling from Dijon to Marseille
BOND RETOUR 7
To celebrate the return of everyone’s favourite globe-trotting British intelligence officer in No Time to Die, Helen Parkinson rounds up five of James Bond’s top cross-Channel escapades