Neighbourhood highlights
The village of Levignac de Guyenne (1.8km) is 3 minutes by car and hosts a general store, pharmacy, post office, bakery, bar/café, doctors, dentists, physiotherapist, sports hall, tennis court, boules court, car repair garage, village hall, library and beautiful church. If you walk around the village it is possible to see evidence of the old bastide wall of the village and the old wash-house. Duras (7.3km) the nearest town is 8 minutes by car. This has an attractive chateau with activities all year and a full range of shops, cafes, restaurants, bank, post office, doctors, supermarket, petrol station, electrical store etc. Both Levignac and Duras are old 'Bastide' towns meaning they had town walls and gateways into the town. Parts of the walls still exist in both places and Duras still boasts an original gateway. These towns were set up in the 13th century as trading posts and the walls were to keep the residents safer but they weren't fortified. The towns were built on a grid system with equal space allocated to each house. The centre of the grid system contains a market hall and a church. There are many more good examples of 'bastide' towns along the Dropt Valley such as La Sauvetat du Dropt, Allemans du Dropt, Eymet to name a few. There are some fantastic markets locally. Duras on Monday, small but very cute with street cafes to sit and watch the world go by. Eymet on Thursday (21km 23 minutes drive) is extremely popular and therefore busier with a pretty market place and stalls filling the side streets. It has a huge range of stalls with many street cafes and restaurants. There is plenty of parking in the carparks and streets along the river Dropt. The most well known and largest market in the area is Sainte Foy La Grande on Saturday (30km 30 minute drive). This attracts many tourists from a wide area. A good market but busier. Nearby is Monsegur on Friday (12km 14 minute drive). A smaller market with a cute town square. Its a quieter more locals market like Duras. During the months of July and August almost every town and village in the area has a night market. They only have food stalls to sell you your supper. You will find bbq's, moules, spit roasts, vegetarian, burgers, cheese, ice cream, crepes etc. These are wonderful opportunities to sit in the market squares with the locals eating a choice of meals with your family and friends usually with musical entertainment. There are many more places to see and opportunities to get out and be active such as canoeing, zip wires through the forest, animal parks with water park, horse riding, fabulous walks and cycling routes. The chateau at Duras is worth a visit and their website and social media pages details their events. There's a chocolate factory and gift shop 'Maison Guinguet' below the hill at Duras. The Duras region is an area of vines and consequently there are many vineyards to visit to taste and purchase the local wines. There are leaflets in the gite but many more at the tourist office in Duras or indeed on-line. There are a number of golf courses in the area. Golf Marmande (22km 21 minutes) has an establised 10 hole course and a driving range. The course pleasantly winds its way through tree lined fairways. If you want more of a challenge then Les Vigiers (27km 28 mins drive) has 27 holes of championship course designed by Donald Steel. Split into three 9 hole courses of La Vallee, Les Vignes and Le Lac. Other facilities include a driving range, putting green, chipping green, 2 practice bunkers & a 6 hole academy course. There are two restaurants, a bistro and a Michelin star. Golf Casteljaloux (44km 42 minutes drive) is in the heart of the Landes pines forests. It is an 18 hole par 72 course. A restaurant awaits you for refreshments at the end of your round. Built mainly on sandy soil it is playable all year and drains well. It has a driving range, practice putting green and chipping area. Saint Emilion Golf Club (46km 48 minutes drive) 10km away from the historic town, is a new comer to the area. It is already ranked number 5 golf courses in France. Designed by Tom Doak, worldwide designe shows respect for the natural beauty of the area. It boasts vineyards, magnificent old trees, romantic ruins and fantastic golf architecture. It has a driving range, practice area and bar/restaurant. The town of Bergerac (46km 49 minute drive) has a beautiful medieval centre to it. This is worth a slow walk around to take in the history. There are many cafes and restaurants, Maison des Vins to learn about wine and its history and the old port with its jetty where barge trips are offered on the Dordogne river. Further afield there are the medieval villages of Sarlat and Monflanquin which are well worth a visit. Montcaret is the home of a ruined roman villa with unusual mosaic floors dating from around 300 AD. During the summer months the villages in Aquitaine are visited by a troupe of medieval players who arrange jousting contests, street fairs, falconry displays and other such pursuits. They visit Duras in August each year. There is also a battle reenactment at Castillion de Bataille each summer (the last of 100 year war)
