I bet you didn't know that the Cognac city kept these few secrets among many others.
Today I offer you 3 anecdotes about Cognac city as it is not only the city that gave its name to one of the most famous brandies in the world!
Easy to admit that there simply are not enough wine tours that cater to the whole family, meaning that a trip to Bordeaux wine region is unfortunately overlooked as a family-friendly holiday. So of course, I thought I could try to rectify this…
Let’s be honest: when you’re a parent on holiday in Bordeaux wine country, it would be nice to sneak in a vineyard visit without having to find childcare...
You know what? I love kids and welcoming families. I'm not even afraid of diapers!
For once I will tell you a little bit about my last familial Sunday stroll..... to Bourg sur Gironde !
On a pretty sunday of March, we left to Bourg-sur-Gironde (which has not been on the Gironde for over 400 years!) to visit the horse-drawn carriages museum with the children. This little-known museum is surprising and has the special label : "musée de France" ! It houses a collection of old carriages from the late 19th century, an unbelievable collection assembled by an individual named Mr Raboutin. The collection has since been acquired by the town.
Bordeaux has produced a number of well-known people : ballet dancers, queens, football (soccer) players, and even philosophers ! This list of famous people from Bordeaux includes Benjamin Millepied, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Montesquieu or Captain Cousteau.... I have chosen to talm about 3 of them.
When you live here, you have to understand that this magnificent estuary, which, by the way, is the largest estuary in Western Europe, is above all a 3 km wide water barrier..... And when you want to go to the other side, it's not that easy!
You can take the ferry boat. There are 2 of them, one in one north of Bordeaux that connects Blaye, on the right bank, to Lamarque, on the left bank, within about 20 minutes.
There is another, larger one at the mouth of the estuary that connects Royan, on the right bank, to Le Verdon, on the left bank of the Gironde.
But watch out... if you miss it.... It will cost you to drive along the national road then to the highway A10 and then to reach the Bordeaux ring road, which is called here "Rocade". And I can tell you if we're talking about a Saturday summer time crossover of August, we're on a timing that will make you wish you had been the first in line to climb aboard....
The Fine Arts museum in Libourne was created by Duke Decazes. The Libourne Museum is rather small but it offers visitors a beautiful collection of works from the 14th to the 20th century. Among them, a rare and wonderful Renaissance painting by Manfredi...
I would like to share with you my subjective selection of works of art that should not be missed at the Musée d'Aquitaine.
Bordeaux has one of the largest provincial history museums in France. Throughout the collections, you will discover Prehistory, Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the 18th century (the golden age of the city of Bordeaux) and all the periods that made up the Aquitaine region's rich history.
For the more than acceptable amount of €5, you can join the 150,000 visitors who visit the Aquitaine Museum every year. It presents the history of Bordeaux and Aquitaine region on 2 floors, from prehistory to the present day, through a permanent collection of very varied objects.
If you trust me, I'll show you some interesting things, through a very subjective selection of meaningful items...... I chose here to focus on my 4 favorite items from the modern times section of the permanent collection at the Musée d'Aquitaine that I unroll in the chronological order of the rooms from Louis XV to our present time.