Discover Local Nouvelle-Aquitaine: What to Do Around Mercure Nouvelle-Aquitaine

At Mercure, we believe you shouldn't need a guidebook to feel like you belong somewhere. That's the idea behind Discover Local: since 1973, every Mercure hotel has been built around its neighbourhood, not just dropped into it — from the décor on the walls to the flavours on the menu. Step into any Mercure and our teams are on hand with the kind of tips you won't find in a guidebook: the market stall locals queue for, the bar where nobody speaks English, the walk that skips the crowds. They live here. They know. Discover Local isn't a generic city guide — it's a short, honest list of the restaurants, markets and neighbourhoods our own hotel teams actually recommend to guests, updated as the city changes around us. Below, you'll find our picks for Nouvelle-Aquitaine, an interactive map to help you find your way, and answers to the questions travellers ask us most. So — where will Discover Local take you?

Nouvelle-Aquitaine in 5 picks

La Rochelle

A fortified port town guarded by three medieval towers, including the Tour de la Chaîne and the Tour Saint-Nicolas, both still climbable for views over the harbour.

Biarritz

An elegant Basque Country resort where the Atlantic swell has made it a reference point for surfing in France.

Poitiers

Romanesque and Gothic architecture fills the old town, alongside Futuroscope, a science and technology theme park that draws visitors well beyond the region.

Périgueux

A city of art and history at the heart of Périgord, the region most associated with truffles and duck in French cooking.

Limoges

Known across France for its porcelain, with a Gothic old town built around the workshops that made the name famous.

Where to eat
This region covers a lot of culinary ground: Atlantic oysters and seafood on the coast around La Rochelle and Biarritz, Limousin beef further inland, and Périgord truffles and duck confit around Périgueux. Worth planning meals around whichever part of the region you're in.
Culture and heritage
La Rochelle's towers, Poitiers's Romanesque churches and Limoges's porcelain workshops each tell a different chapter of the region's history — maritime trade, medieval faith, and industrial craft, side by side.
Getting around
Nouvelle-Aquitaine is France's largest region by area, so distances between towns add up quickly. TGV connections link the bigger cities well, but a car opens up the smaller towns and coastline in between. Wherever you're staying across our Mercure hotels in the region, it's worth picking one or two areas per trip rather than trying to cover it all.
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FAQ

It helps. This is France's largest region by area, and while TGV links the main cities, a car makes it much easier to reach the coastline and smaller towns in between.

It varies by area: Atlantic oysters and seafood on the coast, Limousin beef inland, and truffles and duck confit around Périgueux and the Périgord.

Biarritz has built its reputation on strong Atlantic swell and a long surfing culture, with schools catering to a full range of levels, including first-timers.

Where to sleep

See our Mercure hotels across Nouvelle-Aquitaine, ideally placed to explore these picks.

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Where to sleep

See our Mercure hotels across Nouvelle-Aquitaine, ideally placed to explore these picks

View hotels