Ok this is Sunday quiet , sunny not so cold,and homey waiting for my big meal of the day Raclette Savoyarde homemade!!! Therefore, why not tell you about another fine region of France that have been a bit overlook by readers, very vast region.
I am talking of the new region of Nouvelle Aquitaine. The new region comprises the old regions of Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou-Charentes, which was initially called until Sept 2016, the region of Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes. Finally, the regional council adopted the new name of Nouvelle Aquitaine or New Aquitania thereafter. The region is the biggest in France in territory, with the biggest metro area that of Bordeaux. It comprises 12 departments such as Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Creuse, Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, and Haute-Vienne.
Been an old territory, other than French the language of the Republic, there are many dialect and vernacular languages spoken such as auvergnat (from my father in law side::)); gascon ; béarnais; languedocien ; limousin ; marchois ;basque; poitevin;and saintongeais. Very diverse, huge in heritage and gastronomy, and my favorite region to retire in ::)
The official regional site is here in French: https://www.nouvelle-aquitaine.fr/
As of 2015 latest figures I can quickly find, from most to least, the principal visited places in this region are Futuroscope, Poitiers , old town of Sarlat, Dune du Pilat near Arcachon, cite historic of Saint Emilion, Aquarium of La Rochelle, Zoo de la Palmyre, (biggest private zoo in Europe) near Royan, medieval village of Collonges-la-Rouge, attraction park of Walibi Sud Ouest at Roquefort near Agen, petit train de la Rhune near Bayonne, memory center and village of martyrs of Oradour-sur-Glane near Limoges, the caves of Lascaux 2 and Lascaux 3, national park of the Pyrénées, writing city of Montmorillon, the international center of the Seas in Rochefort, the lighthouse of Chassiron on the île d’Oléron, and des Baleines on the île de Re ; and the animal park of Monts de Guéret in the Creuse.
The south of the region especially around the Gironde , Landes and part of the Pyrénées Atlantique have a tradition of bullfights either on the form of corridas either Spanish or Portuguese style or even local Landaises. The arenas of Bayonne, Mont-de-Marsan, Orthez, Mimizan, Morlanne, or Dax are the main ones but they total around 160 and if includes the smaller villages can go to 180
The cultural, heritage,natural places in this region are inmense and probably won’t be seen at least in my lifetime. The gastronomy is huge and clearly shows the France most come to know. They are divided into four great cuisines such as the gasconne/guyennaise, basque, limousine/périgourdine, and charentaise/poitevine. These together with the Provençal Mediterranean cuisine is what we call here the French Paradox on the benefit of eating and drinking simply the best.
In French but to know all about the region, food visits and purchases here you can see the Passion Aquitaine blog here: https://www.passion-aquitaine.fr/
Enjoy the Aquitaine, A photo to showcase the tranquil beauty of this region. At Sauveterre de Béarn, the river bank from pont de la légende going to the feudal castle of Gaston VII
Enjoy your Sunday , I am going for that raclette savoyarde::) Cheers!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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