Minutes from the busy seaside towns and just an hour from Bordeaux and the Basque Country, we're about to be immersed in the day to day life of the locals as they lived back in the19th century, deep in the Grande Lande heathlands.
11.00am: Turn back the clock aboard this hundred year old train
Choo-choo! We climb aboard the old resin collectors train that leaves from the station in Sabres, across the pine forest to the airial in Marquèze.
Mum, what's an airial? An airial is a small hamlet made up of several typical Landes houses. It's where several peasant families lived with their barn, oven, well, sheep pen, chicken coop and everything else they needed.
11.10am Flashback to the time of shepherds on stilts
The spell seems to be working as the locomotive carries us back in time to another era. Before us, over 25 hectares of protected nature, dotted with half-timbered houses. We made some surprising encounters with the locals of this ancient lande: the "dauna" (housewives in vernacular Gascon), the cowherd, the cropsharer, the shepherd on stilts...
12.30am: Picnic break à la landaise
For lunch, we headed to the “Estanquet”, a typical country café where everyone shares plates of local produce in the shade of the Oak trees.
Right next door, the kids got to try out some of the traditional games: gascon shuffleboard, skittles, fun fair games… while we tried the famous local Pastis Landais brioche, straight out of the bakers' oven. A real treat with tea or coffee ;)
2.00pm: Adventure time!
Between the workshops, treasure hunts and guided tour, the day at the Ecomuseum flew by. The kids loved discovering spinning methods, old-fashioned cooking, soap making and even how school used to be.
Allow at least half a day for a complete visit of the Ecomuseum. Price includes entrance to the Pavillon de Marquèze and its exhibitions, return train journey to Marquèze, free or guided tour of the complex, all games and events on offer.
Dad on the roam, Olivier has his head in the clouds and his feet firmly on the ground! Always on the look out for new ideas and outings for his young teenagers, he loves out of the ordinary experiences that will appeal to both young and old. Ready for a family treasure hunt across Nouvelle-Aquitaine ?