Zuidwest Frankrijk, bij Bordeaux, St Emilion, Bergerac, "La Maison aux Volets Bleus", een dorpshuis vol charme

« La Maison aux Volets Bleus » or translated : « The house with the blue shutters » 

La Maison aux Volets Bleus is a charming village house with history. Ideal for 2 to 12 persons, with 4 large bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

Inside the house has about 200m2. 

Outside there are different intresting corners, all overlooking the middleaged church. Ther is a rather small wintergarden with lots of flowers which is connected via the open barn with the wider secured garden of 1000m2.

The interior is a mix of old and new. 
 
 

Saint Martin de Gurson
A mini-village on the edge of the Dordogne department. It’s our home. We’re on the crossing with the departments of Gironde, Lot et Garonne and Charente. This means there’s a lot to visit in this region.

St Martin counts about 500 inhabitants; of which about a 100 of them live in the centre of the village; the rest of them live near the woods, prairies and vineyards. 

Although it’s a tiny place, we do have a bakery, a pub-restaurants and than there is “chez Josiane” where you can buy whatever you think of, from postcards to presents, from hen food to building gear, to cigarettes….it’s a bit sightseeing on its own!St 

Everything is concentrated around our Church, built in the Middle ages: a little jewel!

At about 10 km you find all supermarkets. A nearby bakery delivers every day “at home”, very handy!
 

Places to visit
Every day there are local markets in different places. In summer it’s worth going to an evening market whith music, local food, dancing! 

15min : Montpon, little “practical” town where you find several supermarkets and on Wednesday a nice local fresh market. 

15min : Sainte Foy La Grande, a « bastide » . Small nice town but comes mostly alive during the Saturday market ! classified as one of Frances nicest markets!!

30min : Saint-Emilion : A must!!! Nicely renovated wine village, known from all over the world and protected! Lots of little old narrow streets. Lots of wine boutiques (expensive!!!). Go and drink a glass of local champagne in the ruin's of the old abbey of Les Cordeliers. You buy tickets for a visit to the monolytic church at the tourist office.

30min : Bergerac. Old and new part of the city. Small city again. Markets on Wednesday and Friday. Monbazillac is close and famous for its sweet white wines. Beautiful château! Eat at La Tour des Vents in Monbazillac!!!

30min : Libourne. Worth a visit at Sunday morning!, or combine when going to St Emilion or Bordeaux. Take the little roads to go there, not the motorway!!

30min : Riberac. Friday market. Quiet town, take a quick stop when going to Aubeterre.

30min : Castillon La Bataille: not very special; only at market days (Monday). In july and august they organise a big show at the site of a castle with hondreds of actors and horses....the play of the war of 100 years! A exceptional experience! 

45min : Aubeterre: wonderful art village; has a monolitic church! Amazing! 

45min : Bordeaux. A mix between Antwerp, Barcelona and Paris. A world city, easily visited by foot! You can walk here for hours and hours. Little streets, the river, shopping, terraces, antiques, ....so many things to do and to see! You cannot miss Bordeaux!!

45min : Périgueux. A bit smaller than Bordeaux. Do the walk around the old part of the city (by following the arrows). Worth a visit!!

45min : Brantôme. The Venetië of the South. The Dronne River runs through the centre, which makes it very beautiful. You can take a ride with a small boat.

30-75min : From Bergerac to Sarlat : Dordogne Valley, with Sarlat, Domme, Beynac, St Christophe, Limeuil, Lalinde, Lanquais… lots of little lovely places to visit ; with pre historical caves, castles etc.….

30-75min : the Bastide tour, small middle aged villages as Eymet, Monpazier, Beaumont

1,5h : Atlantic Ocean: Arcachon, Dune de Pyla, beautiful beaches, extrordanary dune, worth a day trip!

Sports
Swimming in our pool or in one of the lakes nearby
Tennis on the village court (walking distance)
Jeux de boule or Petanque, typical french play for young and old
Canoeing
We rent out bikes for 5 euro/day
Golf at Château Des Vigiers (19 holes) or 9 holes golf at 10 km
4X4 quads, jetski, paintball at 10 km
Horseriding
Surfing and wave surfing at the Atlantic Ocean