Environment : Leisure activities : The upper Gironde area is an hour from the Arcachon basin and the Pylas dune, an hour from Royan, 45 mn from the beaches of Lacanau and Porges via the Blaye Ferry (a very pleasant trip). Culture : The upper Gironde area is 30 minutes from Bordeaux and 30 minutes from Saint Emilion. Blaye : The Blaye citadel, built between 1686 and 1689 by the French Marshal Vauban, is currently the home of several artisans who will offer you the possibility of admiring their creations. You will equally find nearby museums, conservatories, roman churches and archaeological sites, as well as the lively and colourful Blaye food market. Those who enjoy sport and nature lovers will also be pleased about the possibility of indulging in tennis, horse back riding, fishing, sailing and walking. Visit Plassac’s Gallo Roman Villa (3 km from Blaye) Bourg sur Gironde : This is a Citadel proudly overlooking the waters of the Dordogne river, next to the huge Gironde estuary. It boasts a cheerful landscape of valleys and hills with a vineyard covering much of the surface area. It is difficult to resist the charm of Bourg sur Gironde, with its attractive luminosity and countryside resulting in its nickname “The Little Switzerland of Gironde”. If there’s a town in the region with a shaky past it is of course this one, with its attractive setting close to the banks of the Dordogne River. Bourg was established in the 4th century by the Paulin family. First of all it was an important trading centre and then become a fortified town. At the beginning of the 5th century, the Visigoths invaded Aquitaine, and many settled down in Bourg. This was the first in a series of invasions over a period of four centuries when the region was successively ravaged by the Merovingian Francs, the Gascons, the Saracens, the Carolingian Francs, the Normans and Louis the 14th who even stopped by here in 1650. The Gironde Estuary Some 75 km long and up to 12 km large, with a surface area of 635 km2, the Gironde estuary is the largest of its kind in Europe. The port of Callonges – a charming fishing port where it is possible to buy fish, or obtain the authorisation to fish species such as shrimps, mullet, shad and eel… but also, sturgeon, lamprey and carp from a traditional riverside fishing cabin. The vineyard : Discover the Cotes de Bourg and Premieres Cotes de Blaye appellations Cotes de Bourg : Site : www.cotes-de-bourg.com Premieres Cotes de Blaye : Site: www.premieres-cotes-blaye.com