Cadogan Guides Gascony & The Pyrenees( Series - Cadogan Guides )

Shared by the Gascons, Basques and Catalans, this idiosyncratic southwest corner of France has more than the beauty of the towering Pyrenees to buttonhole your attention. Discover some of Europe's best surfing beaches, transcendent stained glass in Auch cathedral, armagnac distilleries, delicious Basque villages in emerald meadows, monster-filled Romanesque cloisters, old-fashioned seaside gentility in Biarritz and Bayonne, and the tiny mountaintop principality of Andorra. In an increasingly homogenized world, quirks and passions thrive here with all the panache of d'Artagnan, and this new edition of Cadogan's witty guide ensures you miss none of the fun.""

Cadogan's stunning guide to Gascony and the Pyrenees takes you deep into a fascinating region that is home to both Gascons and Basques. This is a place for lazy touring and with Cadogan as your guide, you'll be able to meander through the beautiful scenery and find the perfect village restaurant where "madame" will cook you up a hearty plate of game or duck that Parisians would die for. Explore Europe's biggest forest, a vast flat carpet of pines planted in the time of Napoleon III, in the Landes or relax in the "department" of the Gers, which fits all the archetypal images of southwest France with its rich lands, sweet rivers, geese and "foie gras" and vineyards destined to fine armagnac. If you want some activity to work off all that fine "cuisine de terroir," Cadogan will lead you to the best mountain walks, climbs and ski centers or if you'd rather just indulge, to the best vineyards and wine-tasting. There are even local recipes included so you can recreate the Gascon flavor long after you've left. Now fully redesigned, this new edition contains the most up-to-the-minute practical information and listings, along with color photographs and maps.