Beautiful Bordeaux

While you were all enjoying our local Fall Wine Fest, I was exploring the second largest wine growing region in the world! Bordeaux, located in the Southwest Province of Aquitaine, is one of France’s largest cities and is a prolific wine producer at an astounding 800 million bottles annually! She is home to prestigious wineries such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Cheval Blanc to name but a few.

Nonetheless, Bordeaux, for all its sophistication, is a warm and hospitable city to its international visitors. Located on the banks of the Garonne River, the scenic water boulevard is home to beautiful sculptures as well as innumerable cyclists and runners. A lovely walk to take in the gorgeous views and stop along the way to partake of all sorts of culinary treats.

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Although Bordeaux is a large city due to its unrestrained “sprawl”, you are best served to enjoy its unique ambiance by staying in its historic centre. Here you will enjoy the traditional stone mansions and terraces reminiscent of big sister Paris ….. Hence the moniker “Little Paris”. The whole centre of town is pedestrian friendly and reveals an absolute plethora of chic fashion shops, fantastic designer shoe stores, leather shops, exquisite bakeries and of course …. wine bars!

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Sightseeing includes the pedestrian walkway of Sainte Catherine’s Street for the super shopper …. The funky vibe of Victory Square, home to the University of Bordeaux’s 60,000 students and a crazy mixture of historical monuments and nightclubs! There are daily wine tours that head towards all the major vineyards of the region. St Emilion, Canon Fronsac, The Medoc, Graves and Sauternes. The excursions operate 8 passenger vans with professional driver/guides. Bordeaux is also home to over 580kms of cycle track. There is a city-wide bike rental program which makes for a cheap and efficient way to see the city and surrounding districts.

Bordeaux enjoys a temperate maritime climate with hot summers and cool winters but no real extremes of temperature. Late September gave us perfect biking weather in the mid to high 20’sC. The Bordeaux airport is well serviced by airlines such as Easy Jet, Ryan Air, Air France to name but a few. She is a 3 hour train ride from Paris.

Accommodations range from the aristocratic elegance of The Grand Hotel Bordeaux to our little sweet find The Hotel de France. Restaurants are everywhere and at every price budget. Superb coffee houses, wine tapas bars, local bakeries featuring mouth-watering multi-colored macaroons. The senses are overpowered by the sheer volume of choice! Daily visits to the local Carrefour allowed us to try so many of the local cheeses and meats. Every small café featured its own personal “wine of choice”. Thankfully, we were on a cycle tour and our daily indulgences were dutifully worn off!

Photo: Contributed

Bordeaux is the perfect stop for the shopper, the wine lover, the foodie or the history buff! It’s an excellent location to use either as a base for local discovery or as the jumping off point for further France discovery.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.