Southwest France, one of the world’s oldest inhabited places, stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean sea. Our journey moves through a land where tumultuous history has fused ancient cultures into some of the richest and most resonant aspects of French civilization. We encounter the Aquitaine region including Bordeaux, focussing on winemaking and local history, while in Hendaye, we discover the unique culture of the Basque people, and we move to Pau, through the Béarn region with unique landscapes of the Pyrenees mountains and where pastoral traditions remain important, to end in the living museum of Sarlat presenting prehistoric caves, medieval castles, and the renowned gastronomy of the Périgord. In the Midi-Pyrenées region, we experience the rich history of Toulouse, capital of Langedoc and its rich Occitan culture, and we step into the Languedoc-Roussillon region while entering the realm of Cathars, citadels, and châteaux, in Carcassonne…

french version