Archaeology handicrafts and science and technology sites to visit Aquitaine

An exceptional archaeological site. The oldest iron mine of the Pyrenees in the Basque Country, in Saint-Martin-d'Arrossa, is worth discovering. A remarkable cultural site, where its origins are inscribed for two millennia with the powerful vein of siderite of Larda and exploited with the first mines throughout the Renaissance and the modern era. Until the last period of activity, 250,000 tons of ore were extracted. The year 1914 marks the end of the exploitation. Today, 2 hiking trails allow you to discover this unique site.

Located in Souraïde, Gaurko Makila specializes in the manufacture of traditional Basque makilas. Gaurko Makila offers a variety of traditional makilas, such as Makila Honneur Laiton, Makila Traditionnel en Adrelet, Makila Neflier, Makila d'Honneur Maillechort and Makila d'Honneur Argent. Gaurko Makila accepts payment by credit card or PayPal.

Starting from the Cité Verte, where the town's sports facilities are grouped, the "sentier des Meuniers" is a 6-kilometre loop. It has a Romanian script from the 12th century where 14 magnificent capitals are listed as historical monuments. Who can be visited by appointment all year round and during the summer from Monday to Saturday from 14h to 18h in July and August except on Sundays. This circuit can be extended by a 5 km loop around Lake Agès.

Rate: free of charge.

Duration: 1 hour.

Difficulty: easy.

In Messanges, when art, garden, gastronomy and culture blend, it gives a charming place, La Grange aux Pierre. For twelve years, this place surrounded by a airial of cork oaks is the workshop of sculptor Didier Bies whose vocation was born with Carrara marble in the Italian "studios" of Pietrasanta. Then, it was with the Zimbabwe Shona artists that he continued his training sculpture the serpentine, a mineral whose appearance was similar to snake scales, hence his name. He then continued his passion with the wood of the Marensin pine.

After his meeting with Fabienne Biehler in Bordeaux for years, Didier gave an extra Dimension to this place since last year a simple and authentic restaurant has come to light. Regional and sometimes organic products are of honour: De tender, lamb shoulder of the Pyrenees crystallized Pyrenees in rosemary, vegetable lasagna with fresh goat… The barn with stones is a place of conviviality, with the kitchen of Fabienne, but also sharing thanks to the know-how of the artist: internships, cultural programming around reading, music, projections…

The poet inherited this house from a rich widow, Madame Gilles, on the advice of a Benedictine friend, Father Caillava. The park of the property, rich in hundred-year-old trees, is a haven where one can wander freely. The poet's house is an inter-associative cultural center for the promotion of the Basque language and culture in partnership with a dozen associations. Francis Jammes rests in the cemetery of the cité des chênes, at the entrance, he had chosen the place himself.