Aquitaine sites listed as World Heritage by UNESCO

The prehistoric site of the Vézère Valley was listed as World Heritage in 1979. The cradle of prehistory, the Vézère Valley alone has 147 deposits going back to the Palaeolithic era and 25 painted caves. Certain paintings on the walls of these caves are world-renowned masterpieces of prehistoric art: the parietal paintings of Lascaux cave in Montignac, the Vénus de Laussel in Marquay, the sculpted frieze of animals on the wall of the shelter of Cap-Blanc.

The historical interest of the objects and works discovered in the Vézère Valley needs no demonstration. The National Prehistory Museum in Les Eyzies de Tayac-Sireuil, with its collections from archaeological digs in the Vézère Valley, is one of Europe’s leading museums devoted to our distant ancestors.

Listing file:
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm

On the French roads taking them to Compostella in Spain, the thousands of pilgrims over the centuries left monuments that are unique in the world. This notable historical heritage made up of cathedrals, churches, basilicas and abbeys was listed as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1998, joining the Spanish roads to Compostella which were awarded this honour in 1993. 

Aquitaine has an exceptional listed heritage composed of 19 monuments and a section of the Chemin du Puy, making it France’s second region in number of assets, after the neighbouring Midi-Pyrénées.

Listing file:
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm

The jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion was the first winegrowing territory to be listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, in 1999. Composed of eight communes corresponding to the jurisdiction defined in the 12th century by King John of England, it is a "remarkable example of a historic landscape which has survived intact" and "illustrates in an exceptional way intensive vine-growing in a clearly delimited region" (listing criteria chosen by UNESCO).

Viticulture was indeed introduced very early into the region of Aquitaine: it was the Romans who first planted vines here. Wine production intensified in the Middle Ages, and work on the vines has never stopped since. The Saint-Emilion area also has a large number of high-quality historic monuments. In Saint-Emilion, a medieval town perched on the top of a hill, the monolithic church, entirely dug out of the limestone cliff, is Europe’s largest underground church. The village of Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens is home to an enormous standing stone 5 metres high – the Menhir de Pierrefitte.

Listing file:
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm

The eight villages in the jurisdiction
- Saint-Emilion
- Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes
- Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse
- Saint-Hippolyte
- Saint-Laurent-des-Combes
- Saint-Pey-D'Armens
- Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens
- Vignonet

The great news was announced on 28 June: Bordeaux's application to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage list was accepted by the special UNESCO committee!
What is original about the Bordeaux classification is the sheer size of its perimeter. Bordeaux is the first city to achieve classification over such a vast and complex area. This stretches from the inner ring-road to the Garonne river inclusive and covers 1,810 hectares, or almost half the surface area of the city. 

 

In addition, the entire territory of Bordeaux outside the inner ring-road, as well as 8 towns neighbouring the city (Bruges, Cenon, Floirac, le Bouscat, Lormont, Mérignac, Pessac, Talence, Le Bouscat and Bruges) are included in the area known as the heritage buffer zone, also recognised.

Dordogne :
- Périgueux, Saint-Front Cathedral
- Le Buisson-de-Cadouin, ancient Abbey
- Saint-Avit-Sénieur, church

Gironde :
- Bazas, ancient cathedral
- Bordeaux, Saint-Seurin Basilica, Saint-Michel Basilica, Saint-André Cathedral
- La Sauve-Majeure, abbey and Saint-Pierre Church
- Soulac-sur-Mer, Notre-Dame-de-la-Fin-des-Terres Church

Landes :
- Aire-sur-l'Adour, Sainte-Quitterie Church
- Mimizan, bell-tower
- Sorde-l'Abbaye, Saint-Jean Abbey
- Saint-Sever, abbey

Lot-et-Garonne :
- Agen, Saint-Caprais Cathedral

Pyrénées-Atlantiques :
- Bayonne, Sainte-Marie Cathedral
- L'Hôpital-Saint-Blaise, church
- Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Porte Saint-Jacques
- Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Sainte-Marie Church

Pyrénées-Atlantiques :
- Section of the Chemin du Puy from Aroue to Ostabat (22 Km)