Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Nouvelle-Aquitaine is France's largest region by area (84,000 km², 1/8th of mainland territory) — merger in 2016 of the former Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou-Charentes regions. It stretches across 720 km of Atlantic coast, from the Poitevin marsh to the Basque Country, via Bordeaux, the Landes and the Pyrenees range. This geographical diversity translates into exceptional tourist wealth: ocean and beaches, legendary vineyards, reference gastronomy, vibrant Basque identity.

Bordeaux (France's 5th city, 257,000 inner inhabitants, 1.2 million metropolitan area) is the urban and cultural heart of the region. The city has undergone a spectacular renaissance since 1995 under Alain Juppé, who rehabilitated all 18th-century façades and created the tram. Today, the Port of the Moon (historic centre) has been UNESCO-listed since 2007, the water mirror facing Place de la Bourse is the world's largest (3,450 m²), and the Cité du Vin (2016) is a world-class wine museum. 30 minutes from Bordeaux, the Arcachon Bay with its Pilat Dune (110 m high, Europe's highest) attracts 2 million visitors per year.

The Bordeaux vineyard is the world's most prestigious, with 65 AOCs spread over 110,000 hectares. The 1855 classified growths (Médoc, Sauternes) — Château Margaux, Latour, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild, Yquem — are the absolute embodiment of luxury wine. Saint-Émilion (UNESCO) and Pomerol produce the great wines of the right bank. Further south, the Basque Country (Basque coast and hinterland) unfolds a strong cultural identity: Basque language (euskara), Basque pelota, specific gastronomy (Bayonne ham, Espelette pepper, Basque cake, ttoro). Biarritz (imperial resort created by Empress Eugénie), Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, and the green hinterland (Espelette, Sare, Ascain, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port) form a destination in their own right.

Finally, in the far south, the Pyrenees-Atlantiques offer mountain playgrounds: Pic du Midi d'Ossau, Pyrenees National Park, Ossau Valley (vultures), Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (start of the Camino francés).