South West France help with Itinerary
 

We are going to be in the SW area of France and looking to explore that corner up to La Rochelle from the Spanish Border. Love small towns, backroads and luxury , clean character accommodation/hotels. Any gems you know would be very appreciated

La Rochelle! We loved it stayed at a BB&B and ate by the water at "Les Flots"the best grilled lobster I have ever tasted. The owner/chefs dad owns a fancier pricey resto also close to the water. In basque country we stayed in a great village and a hotel with wonderful food.The Hotel Ithurria in Ainhoa. It's the prettiest village in that area.In Saint-Jean-De-Luz we ate at the ARRANTZALEAK, a simple aythentic fish shack in Cilboure.I hope you are going to see the Guggenhein in Bilboa.

Be sure to spend some time in Saint-Jean-de Luz. It's a very picturesque port town with a nice pedestrian quarter and some interesting shops (including one that sells nothing but bottled vinegars - my son the salad dressing king went nuts there). We ended up there on a whim after deciding Biarritz looked too crowded and glitzy for us, so I can't recommend a hotel (we found a perfectly adequate one, but nothing to write home about and I didn't write down the name), but we did on the recommendation of locals have two very good Basque meals, one at Irrintzina, 5, rue Saint-Jean, and the other at Restaurant Chez Mattin, place de la Croix-Roue-Ciboure.

We love la Rochelle and have stopped there several times. It's got a lovely old quarter, a beautiful hotel de ville, and some outstanding restaurants, of which the best is probably Restaurant le Bistror de l'Entreacte, 22, rue Saint-Jean-du-Perot. We also liked A Coté de Chez Fred, rue Saint-Nicolas (great seafood bistro); Les Quatre Sergents, 48, rue Saint-Jean-du-Perot (beautiful old 19th-century building); and Le Boute-en-Train, 2, rue des Cloutiers (homestyle cooking - delicious). And for some of the best pizza we ever ate, Restaurant Teatro Bettinni, 3, rue Thiers).

Take the bridge over to Ile de Re, which reminds me of a Greek isle, with its whitewashed houses and bougainvillea everywhere. The town of St-Martin is particularly attractive.

And if you have the time, go up the coast as far as Bayonne - a lovely town.

Stop by la Bastide d'Armagnac for a coffee. It has a picturesque town square. It also is in the center of Armagnac production. Orthez has a nice hotel, but not luxurious, right behind city hall; the restaurant was also very good. Search Orthez and you should find it. I posted it previously but the name slips my mind.

Hi

take a sidetrip to Dax.
Interesting roman remains (hot baths)
and a good lunch stop.

Peter
http://tlp.netfirms.com

Carcassonne is also worth a visit! And make sure to eat Cassoulet - anywhere in Carcassonne - or the Languedoc for that matter!

We stayed in the small town of Quillan - between Spanish border and Carcassonne - cannot remember the Hotel's name (opposite the train station) - it is about 70 km from Carcassonne!Nice, clean Hotel with a very good restaurant!