The Aquitaine Countryside
“To be experienced and shared”
Delightful colours and encounters at a country market, the smiling welcome of the women and men who receive you at their farm, the delicious smells of homemade produce to be tasted or taken away, the charms of an excursion alongside a river by bike or on foot...
The Aquitaine Countryside offers truly intense moments to be shared with those who live there!
http://campagne.tourisme-aquitaine.fr
The holiday rentals and guest rooms in the country must meet the specifications of a quality charter, along with strict criteria. As well as comfortable accommodation, the welcome is warm and personalised. A welcome to the inhabitant’s home by the inhabitant is one of the guarantees of authentic tourism.
Opting to stay on a farm is also a decision to meet a producer, animal breeder or winemaker. If guests so request, the farmer will show them the environment and products of the farm.
>> And on the web:
www.accueil-paysan.com
www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com
www.clevacances.com
www.gites-aquitaine.org
Two gourmet packages are proposed by the farmers of Aquitaine: farm-inns and farmhouse snacks.
Farms with inns offer traditional meals made with local recipes. Most of the produce comes from the farm. The welcome is personalised and warm. Remember to book and don’t forget that certain farms with inns also offer accommodation.
Farmers will welcome you at any time of the day on one of the farms with "farmhouse tea/snacks" accreditation. You will taste mainly produce from the farm after a visit or a leisure activity. These are snacks and tea breaks, not a meal. Afternoon tea is served between 3 pm and 6 pm and snacks all day long.
(Opposite photo: Chambre d'agriculture de la Gironde)
You can also find authentic products during your excursions by going to one of the establishments with “Assiette de Pays” or “Café de Pays” accreditation for a convivial gourmet meal…
>> And on the web:
www.gastronomie.aquitaine.fr
www.accueil-paysan.com
www.assiettecafedepays.com
www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com
www.logis-de-france.fr
See, touch, experiment, taste…the farm is also a place for discovery and learning. This educational approach is inherent in the “discovery farms” and the “educational farms”. 
Discovery farms offer adults and children the chance to see how a farm works and its economic, human and natural environment.
Educational farms are more specifically for children and teenagers, as part of their schooling or supervised leisure activities. Themed workshops are proposed by the farmer with the aim of going even further in this immersion into farm life. These educational farms are backed up by a partnership with the education advisors of the National Education Department.
>> And on the web:
www.accueil-paysan.com
www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com
Set between the Atlantic coastline and the Pyrenean peaks, Aquitaine excels in the art of cultivating, breeding and preparing the best produce, with recipes and traditions handed down from generation to generation.
At their "farmhouse produce" sales outlets, farmers propose items made directly on their farm. You therefore know the origin of the products you buy and benefit from direct contact with the producer. You can feast on vegetables, pâtés, meat, cheeses, and bread.
Certain areas have farmhouse markets on the farms in the Bienvenue à la Ferme network. Others have set up producers markets accredited by a charter, allowing gourmets to find genuine traditional produce from our farms. In a festive atmosphere, you will have a really pleasant time.
>> And on the web:
www.gastronomie.aquitaine.fr
www.accueil-paysan.com
www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com
www.euskalpack.com
www.marches-producteurs.com
www.noixduperigord.com
www.visitbordeauxgironde.co.uk
www.vins-bergerac.fr
www.vins-jurancon.fr
The Aquitaine countryside also offers a variety of family activities that give you an opportunity to meet the local people. Your children can enjoy holidays on the farm in a friendly family atmosphere. They can share farm life with other children and discover the joys of life in the open air.
For horse-riding enthusiasts – beginners and experts alike – there are also equestrian farms offering a variety of activities: initiation into riding, harnessing, learning about horses, excursions, competitions, trick-riding...
For the hunters among you wishing to practise your favourite sport in a pleasant environment, you will find high quality game. Farmers offering hunting on their farm will give you all the information you need on the hunting, tourism and farming estates.
Lastly, several tourist itineraries are proposed combining gourmet delights and heritage attractions.
The Perigord Walnut Route
Savour the flavours handed down over generations along with new tastes born of original culinary preparations. For all gourmets, art and history lovers, and those interested in the rural world.
(Opposite photo: Syndicat de la noix du Périgord)
The Bergerac Wine Route
Take the Bergerac Wine Route and invent your own voyage for an afternoon or several days. The local winegrowers open their wineries and share their passion for wine with you. 130 locations are to be found along this route in the heart of a landscape of hillsides, plateaux and lowlands.
The Jurançon Wine Route
Between the Gave de Pau and the Gave d’Oloron, the Jurançon Wine Route offers the Pyrenees as its backdrop. It is set in a region where there is plenty of rich gastronomic and historical heritage to be found on your way.
>> And on the web:
www.gastronomie.aquitaine.fr
www.accueil-paysan.com
www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com
www.noixduperigord.com
www.vins-bergerac.fr
www.vins-jurancon.fr
