Edwin's Long and Wine-ing Road through France

The call of the open road is just so wonderful. Nothing can be more freeing and relaxing than having a car and just driving through the beautiful landscape of the South of France.

If you love road trips like I do, here’s an important tip for you: Try driving around the many beautiful towns around the south of France. But rather than starting your trip in Paris, start from Barcelona. The south of France is much closer from Barcelona than Paris. Not only that, traffic is lighter and I have found that car rentals are cheaper from Barcelona.

The south of France is synonymous with good wines, but there’s more to a good trip than a quality grape. This part of France Is also renowned for its cuisine, with a great number of Michelin-standard restaurants in the region.

I have been on three different road trips here, and each experience was entirely different. I first went in 2004 with my best friend, where we spent a lot of time in the Bordeaux and St Emillion wine regions and relaxed in the coastal town of Biarritz watching French and Spanish Surfer boys from the Grand Hotel. Then in 2013, I took my family on a pilgrimage tour that started in Barcelona and we used that visit to tour the grounds of Lourdes, which is said to have healing powers. And I visited again in 2014, when a good friend turned 50 and rented an entire chateau and filled it with his closest friends. We went to several beautiful castles and churches in the Rocamadour, Cahors, Lacapelle-Marival, Montfaucon, and L’Occitane regions.

I loved this area so much, I promised myself I would eventually own a home here when I retire.

Enjoy new highlights of travel photographer Edwin Santiago’s journeys each week.