The Lot-et-Garonne is an area where Gascony and Quercy, Périgord and Béarn meet. Nicknamed "Little Tuscany", this land of valleys and hillsides has been renowned since the Middle Ages for its market gardening. Today, it is the first organic department in France. From the route of Santiago de Compostela via the Canal du Midi or the navigable Lot, from the circuit of the bastides - these fortified medieval villages characterized by their square central square (Monflanquin, Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Puymirol, Castillonnès, Villeréal, Penne-d'Agenais) - to the castles of Bonaguil in Fumel, Henri IV in Nérac, Gavaudun or Duras, the Lot-et-Garonne offers an air of dolce vita. The Lot valley is full of pleasant surprises, whether by bike along the 80 kilometers of the bicycle route that runs along the river, on board a barge or by car. Agen can be visited on foot by strolling in the old districts where brick and stone are mixed, without forgetting the unavoidable Fine Arts museum and the Canal bridge. Among the most beautiful villages of France in the department, Pujols is an old medieval city, perched at 180 meters above sea level, overlooking the Lot valley. The destination is not short of gourmet products: foie gras, asparagus, strawberries, Agen prunes, Marmande tomatoes or, more recently, hazelnuts and kiwis, which are the pride of the inhabitants. The wine production of the department, with its distinct appellations (Buzet, Côtes-de-Duras, Côtes-du-Marmandais, Brulhois), is mentioned in all tourist guides.

When to go Lot-Et-Garonne ?

When to go to Lot-et-Garonne? Lot-et-Garonne is not a very touristic department, also to answer the question "When to leave?", the answer is "All year round", because there is no really a better period, winter being of course less favourable. As everywhere, summer is the preferred time to enjoy outdoor activities, but fall is often mild and the colours of nature are superb. It is ideal for hiking just like spring. Very few establishments close out of season and prices do not vary significantly between periods. Festivals are held during the high season, some of which are linked to gourmet products from Lot-et-Garonne, such as the Penne-d'Agenais tourtière festival on the second Sunday in July. Festivino, which takes place on the last weekend of July, is a great popular festival organised by the Marmandais' winegrowers. On the last weekend of August, the Grand Pruneau show in Agen takes place. Tons of plums pass in the form of prunes in a huge oven in Wilson Square and everyone gets some for free. At the same time, there are also large free concerts. As for music, Garorock hosts Marmande at the end of June and beginning of July, just like Les Nuits lyriques in August. To laugh, you have to go to the end of June-early July to the Festival du Rire in Villeneuve-sur-Lot or the first Sunday in August to the Festival des Menteurs in Moncrabeau. Sportspeople, take your sneakers for the Agenaises strides on the second Sunday in September. Lot-et-Garonne has a specificity: they are the country storytellers. Through their passion, they tell the story of their village and their country, which they introduce in a different way by going off the beaten track.

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Terre de diversité architecturale et paysager, le territoire possède ses marqueurs iconiques entre les rivières, les vergers ou les bastides. Le Lot et Garonne offre une multitude d'idées de séjour, la seule difficulté restant l'embarras du choix thématique que vous voudrez donner à votre séjour. Entre les adeptes des "plaisirs gourmands", du "besoin d'air" ou de la "soif d'histoire", le point de convergence se résume en un mot: réalisable. Ayant la chance d'être aménagé pour des mobilités multiples, le Lot et Garonne pourra dévoiler ses points de vues magnifiques, ses merveilles historiques ou ses senteurs gourmandes que vous soyez à pied ou à vélo. Nous vous proposons donc un circuit des bastides disséminées sur l'ensemble du territoire ainsi que la découverte du département par ses canaux permettant ainsi de découvrir l'étendue des joyaux naturels, culturels et culinaires et de profiter de tout ce qui fait le Lot et Garonne.

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Discover Lot-Et-Garonne

Lot-et-Garonne is a department of confluence and influence. It's here that two rivers meet, as well as the landforms, cultures and architectures that have shaped the region's history, making it a territory rich in diversity. During your stay, discover landscapes shaped by the orchards and vineyards that make them up, and let yourself be seduced by agrotourism that honors the terroir. History comes alive in the castles and bastides, as does culture, which is multi-generational to better respond to the desire to live together. If the conviviality so dear to the Lot-et-Garonnais goes hand in hand with gastronomy, it is undeniably associated with their love of sport and rugby, to be enjoyed during fiery derbies. There's so much to discover during your few days here, and you'll leave with your arms full of gifts and your head full of memories. Direction l'échappée belle!

Pictures and images Lot-Et-Garonne

Randonnée équestre. White Rabbit Production
Lauzun. CDT47
Duras. CDT47
Forêt des Landes vers Caubeyres. ADRT47

The 12 keywords Lot-Et-Garonne

1. # Country houses

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These new towns, characteristic of the Middle Ages, are 42 in number and are scattered throughout the Lot-et-Garonne region. With their unique architecture and their square organization, they are today the stronghold of the gentle way of life in the South-West, but also of a certain idea of conviviality which is expressed by markets in the heart of the city.

2. # Bio

Never in the trend, always in the right direction, this is how one could describe the relationship between Lot-et-Garonne and organic farming, which was established in the 1960s and has continued to be emulated. As the first department of New Aquitaine in terms of cultivated surface, Lot-et-Garonne is a precursor.

3. # Canal des 2 Mers

This is perhaps what best symbolises Lot-et-Garonne as a land of passage and of commercial and political issues. The Canal des Deux-Mers crosses the department from Meilhan-sur-Garonne to Saint-Jean-de-Thurac and bridges the gap between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Today, it is a paradise for barges and cyclists.

4. # Castles

They are numerous and express, depending on whether you are in Bonaguil or Nérac, a specific period when they had their golden age. Logically, they symbolize the family histories and the defense issues that were at stake during these different periods. More or less destroyed, they are largely restored and must be visited.

5. # Kiwi

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A winter fruit, the kiwi unfolds its green colours in the vines of its tree, the actinidia, from December to April. The Lot-et-Garonne is the leading French producer, thanks in particular to the ideal conditions of its land near the Lot and the Garonne. Established since the 1970s, the kiwi also sees life in yellow.

6. # Hazelnut

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With Cancon as its French capital, the hazelnut finds all the conditions to blossom in the magnificent landscapes of the Haute Agenais. Hazelnut is a particularly healthy nut, especially when it is made into oil. It can be enjoyed on its own or as a spread. A visit to the Maison de la Noisette in Lacépède or Unicoque in Cancon is a must.

7. # Canal Bridge

This historic 539-metre long arch bridge was initially built in the axis of the Canal du Midi to cross over the Garonne. Its history reveals the commercial stakes that it raised and which explain its construction. Today, it is a paradise for Sunday strolls and runners and is listed as a Historic Monument.

8. # Agen Prune

The emblem of the department par excellence, the one that makes the prefecture shine beyond the borders and that expresses itself by its taste and its nutritional qualities. Multi-secular know-how, it is the pride of a local gastronomy with its so particular methods of drying of the plum of ente which confers its organoleptic qualities.

9. # Rugby

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The sport is king in Agen, where the SUA is the talk of the prefecture beyond the limits of the territory. It is a sport that brings people together every Sunday in many of the villages of the Lot-et-Garonne and where each club is the talk of the town during the rest of the week. If the South-West is the region of rugby, the Lot-et-Garonne is its heart.

10. # Tomato

Another gastronomic pride of the Lot-et-Garonne and which is expressed in multiple varieties and multiple colors. Green zebra, beef heart, cherry tomato... are all grown in the fields of the region of Marmande, its capital. Symbols of the summer tables, they differ between them by their taste, their juiciness and their shape.

11. # Valley

The valleys shape the department by following the rivers that flow through it. The valley of the Garonne from Marmande to Agen is located in the heart of the territory. The Lot valley as a right tributary of the Garonne concerns the region from Villeneuve-sur-Lot to Fumel. More modestly, the Baïse, a left-hand tributary of the Garonne River, is located in the Néracais.

12. # Orchard

The Lot-et-Garonne has the largest variety of fruit grown in France. As such, the locals call their territory the orchard of France. Popular fruits such as strawberries, melons, but also kiwis are grown here, as well as nuts such as the famous hazelnut and its French capital, Cancon.

You are from here, if...

You are the only ones to say "Garonne" when you speak of one of the four great French rivers that all your fellow citizens commonly call the Garonne, and by ricochet you provoke a certain rather comical misunderstanding.

You know a "paloumayre" who invited you to his "palombière" to watch the goshawks fly during the hunting season and to share good meals in this hut built high in the trees, vertigo not being one of your phobias.

You have been to Garorock at least once since its creation and therefore know this French musical institution that takes place every summer in Marmande. You know every corner of it and your local friends invite you to park at their place to be closer to the entrance.

You know that in spring you will admire the blooming of the orchards which Michel Serres said was as beautiful as the cherry trees in Japan.

Card Lot-Et-Garonne

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