Biarritz - Bordeaux?
 

Hi- I'm looking for some help planning a long weekend trip for my husband and I from London to Biarritz. A friend recommended this town and I don't know much about it at all. Is it in the Bordeaux wine region? Is it easy to find wineries to tour? Any suggestions on where to stay?
Any help would be really appreciated! Thanks!

Biarritz is a considerable distance from Bordeaux and not in wine country. The two cities are extremely different.

Biarritz is a glam seaside resort - and the surfing capital of France. It's a very pretty city, but it gets very congested in high season.
Inland is Basque country. If you're looking for a big city experience, it fits the bill. Personally, I far prefer St-Jean-de-Luz, which is about another 20 minutes south on the coast.

If wine is your focus, though, Bordeaux would be a far better choice. Not only does it have many historical, cultural, and architectural attractions, it has fabulous restaurants and, of course, wine, plus the opportunity to tour some of the Bordeaux vineyards and, on the coast, Cap Ferret, Arcachon, and the Dune du Pylat, Europe's largest sand dune.

Hi, and welcome to the forum... (how do I know that you are new? click on your own name - - a useful tip that Fodors fails to tell you when they send you that intial e-mail, confirming your registration)...

Anyhow, Biarritz is not in the wine-producing region of Bordeaux/Gironde, in the Aquitaine.

It's pretty much as close to Spain as you can get, and it <i>is</i> Basque (Bordeaux is not).

Just stopped there (for a dinner and a very nice walk along the seaside) on our way home from the Spanish Basque country, and I was quite impressed that it is very pretty.

But not in wine country.

There are numerous (message) &quot;threads&quot; here on wine exploration around Bordeaux. In either location, take a look at www.logisdefrance.com for lots of good lodging choices.

Best wishes,

Rex

Rex, does this mean you are back from your 'group' sleeping trip? Is there a report I've missed?

I am back - - though I don't know what you mean by &quot;group sleeping trip&quot; - - a reference to the six-couchette overnight train, I guess, huh?

The trip report <i>is</i> &quot;in preparation&quot; - - in the interim, I can tell you that I had no regrets about the train trip (for one thing, the middle two couchettes were never occupied, despite the &quot;conductor&quot; telling us that all six were booked) - - but I think I slept (significantly?) better than my wife did. More details to follow.

In the interim...

see my recent post on http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34627526

... and thanks for asking...