Discover Créon

Créon combines a clearly recognisable bastide layout with cycling options and a weekly market. This makes Créon a destination you can choose to suit your own plans; you can then assess specific hotel offers based on their individual details.

Bastide layout, square and architectural history

Créon is considered the last bastide in Guyenne and was founded by Amaury III de Craon. The bastide’s regular layout comprises square plots, each with an area roughly equivalent to that of the central square. Place de la Prévôté is a square measuring 70 metres on each side and is considered characteristic of bastides. Arcades line three sides of it. The layout, dimensions of the square and arcades give the historic townscape specific architectural features.

The historic chemin de ronde is still visible beyond the bastide centre. Wooden palisades once followed its circular course. Anyone interested in Créon’s architectural history can find, alongside the regular layout, a surviving trace of its former fortifications. Notre-Dame Church was built between 1316 and 1320, adding a clearly dated chapter to the town’s architectural history.

Market and local character

The weekly market brings together an average of around 100 traders, although the actual number can vary. Where possible, they include local producers. For your travel planning, the market is therefore a recurring part of what the town offers, but its size should not be taken as a fixed number of traders for every market day. If a market visit is part of your plans, check in advance which day of the week you will be in Créon.

Walking and cycling around Créon

The “Créon, boucle de la bastide” circular walk is an easy 3-kilometre route. Route details may be updated, so check the latest information before planning. Stage 8 of the Chemin d’Amadour is a different proposition: it is 26 kilometres long and starts in Créon’s bastide square. The distances make the difference between a short circular walk and a considerably longer stage clear, without suggesting that the two routes are equivalent.

The “Boucle aux trésors” starts at Créon’s former railway station, which now serves as a tourist information office. From there, the route follows the Roger-Lapébie cycling trail towards Bordeaux. The starting point thus combines access to the route with a local information centre. The Créon Vélo Station rents bicycles for rides on the Roger-Lapébie cycling trail and also offers cycling instruction. Cycling events and festivities take place throughout the year.

You can also combine bus travel with cycling plans: TransGironde routes 303 and 304 connect Bordeaux and Créon, and bicycles can be carried in the luggage compartment. As transport information can change when the network is updated, it is a good idea to check the current timetable before travelling. This lets you consider walking, cycling and getting there as distinct parts of your trip planning.

When choosing a destination, Créon therefore offers several distinct points of interest: bastide architecture and history, the weekly market, and routes with different lengths and starting points.

Discover more destinations: Lesparre-Medoc, Blaye, Saint-Genès-De-Lombaud, Lignan-de-Bazas, Bazas, Romagne, Linas, Eysines.

For the wider travel overview: Gironde.