The pilgrimage Rocamadour

15 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

© François Darras

© François Darras

Rocamadour is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. It lies in the former province of Quercy. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne, and especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries has attracted pilgrims from every country, among them kings, bishops, and nobles. The town below the complex of monastic buildings and pilgrimage churches, traditionally dependent on the pilgrimage site and now on the tourist trade, lies near the river on the lowest slopes; it gives its name to Rocamadour, a small goat’s milk cheese that was awarded AOC status in 1996.   read more…

Theme Week Gascony – Tarbes

26 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Town Hall © Florent Pécassou/cc-by-sa-3.0

Town Hall © Florent Pécassou/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tarbes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. It was known as Turba or Tarba in Roman times. It is part of the historical region of Gascony. It is the second largest metropolitan area of Midi-Pyrénées, with 110,000 inhabitants.   read more…

Theme Week Gascony – Bagnères-de-Luchon

24 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Casino © Père Igor/cc-by-sa-3.0

Casino © Père Igor/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bagnères-de-Luchon, also referred to as Luchon, is a French commune and spa town in the Haute-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Luchonnais or Luchonnaises. The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.   read more…

Theme Week Gascony

23 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Château de Castelmore in Lupiac, birthplace of Comte d’Artagnan © Jibi44/cc-by-2.5

Château de Castelmore in Lupiac, birthplace of Comte d’Artagnan © Jibi44/cc-by-2.5

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the “Province of Guyenne and Gascony” prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a part of Guyenne. Most definitions put Gascony east and south of Bordeaux.   read more…

Lourdes in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees

4 July 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Lourdes Basilica © Darreenvt

Lourdes Basilica © Darreenvt

Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France. Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes said to have occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous. At that time, the most prominent feature of the town was the fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its centre.   read more…

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