The key to museums and exhibitions

Cold outside? Great! Stay warm and discover Aquitaine’s museums and galleries! In all five départements and all four corners of the region, places to visit, admire and enjoy.
(Click on the names in grey to visit the corresponding web site).

In Dordogne
A département that is famous for its prehistoric sites, notably, the Lascaux caves and the Vallée de l’Homme. Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is home to the Musée national de Préhistoire and the new Pôle International de Préhistoire.

In Périgueux, head to the Musée gallo-romain Vesunna, a city within the city, enclosed in a structure designed by the architect, Jean Nouvel.
(Photo credit: Vesunna/Elisabeth Pénisson)

In Gironde
If ever you have to choose between Bordeaux’s museums, your first stop should be the Museum of Aquitaine, which houses an extensive collection of objects retracing the history of the region, and regularly holds temporary exhibitions.

We would also recommend the Musée des Beaux-Arts, and don’t forget that all the permanent exhibitions housed in Bordeaux’s museums can be visited free of charge.

Not to mention the CAPC, for a glimpse of contemporary art at its most striking, in both the temporary exhibitions and the permanently acquired pieces.
(Photo credit: Bordeaux city hall/F. Deval)

There’s more contemporary art available with the Bus de l’art project, which will transport you to discover exhibitions on display at different art galleries and artist collectives across the city, every first Sunday of the month.

New in 2011 is the Culture Institute of Bernard Magrez , the owner of famous châteaux in the Bordeaux region. The inaugural exhibition is entitled “The cloth of time. From Picasso to Othoniel” and various dates are proposed for you to meet artists. Until 14 January.

Bordeaux is globally famous for its wine so we couldn’t end without mentioning Planète Bordeaux, an interactive museum with five different areas providing information about all aspects of wine, from terroirs to aromas.

In the Landes
Renowned for its vast white sand beaches and pine forest, the story of the Landes is told through the daily life of a 19th century Grande-Lande village, at the Écomusée de Marquèze in Sabres. The Pavillon des Landes de Gascogne also houses both a permanent and several temporary exhibitions.
(Photo credit: CRTA/Laurent Reiz)

The regional capital, Mont-de-Marsan, has built up an image linked with sculpture around Charles Despiau and Robert Wlérick who were both born in the region, with a range of events and the Musée Despiau-Wlérick devoted exclusively to 20th century figurative sculpture.

In Lot-et-Garonne
The Agen Musée des Beaux-Arts will surprise you with its rich collection of paintings and the museography of its pieces, displayed as if they were hanging on the walls of an art lover’s apartment.
(Photo credit: Agen, Musée des Beaux-Arts)

Then there’s the Bastide Museum, which pays homage to the new towns of the Middle Ages and is located right in the heart of one of such towns, namely Monflanquin.

In Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Situated at the gateway to the Basque Country, Bayonne is home to the Musée Basque, which invites you to come and discover the spirit of the Basque people and this region in a class of its own.

Still in Bayonne, as it's so refeshing to find a place which is a bit unconventional, where even the art of thinking has its own museum. Take a trip to the Couvent des méduses.

A tribute to far-off lands is the order of the day at Biarritz’s Asiatica Museum where you will be transported from China to India and Tibet to Nepal, through sculptures, masks and miniatures.

There’s also a further Musée des Beaux-Arts in Pau in the former province of Béarn, which is worth taking a detour to visit. And of course, the Musée national du château de Pau which pays tribute to the memory of the good king Henry.
(Photo credit: OTC Pau/Dominique Guilhamassé)