Bordeaux
 

I'm just starting my research for a trip to France in April. We are going to spend some time in Paris and then go south. I have heard/read the Nice is beautiful, as is Cannes. My father in law who will be with us, thinks Bordeaux would be perfect as the four of us enjoy good wine. Any thoughts? Would you recommend an entire week there?

Hi g,

I'm planning on 3 nights in the Bordeaux area on our upcoming trip - staying in St.Emilion.

A friend of mine, with family there, loves Bordeaux.

You might find these links helpful.

http://marksquires.com/jul95.htm

http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~visi-vin...whoumon_e.html

Type Bordeaux in the search box and you will get various posts, including my trip report that you might find useful.

I have a file on Bordeaux if you're interested - you can email me at [email protected].
While I'm a fan of Bordeaux, I don't think I'd spend a full week there, at least not without taking day trips to places like Arcachon, Cap Ferret, the Dune du Pyla, St-Emilion, and some of the wine country.
Bordeaux is REALLY really different from Nice and Cannes, so you all might want to do some more research before you decide which direction to head.

I personally don't find the city of Bordeaux that attractive, although there are some nice places nearby. St Emillion is one of the best, and we can recommend the Chateau Grand Barrail.

I would suggest doing some research on St Jean de Luz, a charming Basque town on the coast near the Spanish border. We had a most enjoyable stay there this summer.

I visited last week and it seems to me to be a charming city with a lot going on.

You would definitely want to be able to take trips out of town tho'.

Do you have wine preferences? Any point in trying to sty in or near the area where you most like the wine?

We just returned from a fortnight in Bordeaux and really liked the city.

We attended a french language school every week day morning and then did the sightseeing bit (and a little homework) in the afternoons.

We drove our own car down from the UK which was crucial to being able to visit surrounding towns such as St Emilion, Sauternes and a number of other locations.

We did get as far as the Dordogne on the weekend because I really was keen to visit one of the caves where one can see original prehistoric cave paintings but, whilst I don't regret it, I'd say it's a bit far for comfort. It was 3.5 hours going and 4 on the way back. That's a lot in one day.

Bordeaux charmed us and I have to say we ate better than I ever expected. Restaurants are terrific and varied and we really did eat very well indeed. Although there are certainly cheaper options we tended to opt almost uniformly for restaurants where our average bill was 50-80 Euros for 2 with a half or full bottle of wine and one or two other drinks. We were piggies most nights and did the full three courses. Excellent standards and variety.