Bonjour!!

Hubby and I are looking to rent a gite by Bordeaux Aug 29 - Sept 4. Our price range is under 300 euros and we have found the gites in following places:

Salleboeuf (this is the one we are leaning towards)
Gauriac
Izon
Tauriac
Sainte-eulalie
Saint-andre-de-cubzac

Any feedback?

We would like to be in the country, but near a village or town, near vineyards, and close to a main road so its easy to do day trips.

Any thoughts are very much appreciated!
Jamie

Any thoughts?

We've rented almost 40 different Gites from Gites-de-France


http://www.gites-de-france.com/gites/uk/rural_gites

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu, thats where I found the ones above. I am just not sure which area around Bordeaux is the best

What is your reason for wanting to be in that particular area? It's not an area of tremendous scenic or historic appeal. If it's wine, I could understand. I could also understand wanting to visit Bordeaux itself for a day or two. But a week's rental?

well we loved spending time in Burgundy and thought we woudl try Bordeaux. Gites are affordable (around 300 euros for a week) and we like to take things slowly. We were in Sarlat for a week in 2006 and loved just exploring.

We thought we woudl spend our time something like this:

Day 1 - Arrive late afternoon and settle in
Dday 2 - Bordeaux
Day 3 - driving around vineyards
Day 4 - Saint Emilion
Day 5 - driving around vineyards
Day 6 - ?
Day 7 - train to Paris for a week

We love wine, photography and food.

Would this work?

Thanks for your thoughts!

I've never read anything in a tour book or encountered any posts here that pursuaded me to rent a place near Bordeaux, so I don't have any knowledge of that region.

If I find a general region I'm interested in, I'll get out the Michelin Green Guide and on my Michelin map I'll underline every site I want to visit (town, chateau, etc)in red. Then I'll mark (in yellow) every scenic drive described in the Guide. Then I'll get the Red guide and mark every restaurant location in blue. I've also marked morning markets in green. Then I'll pick a spot that is centrally located - trying to stay somewhat close to a village that might have a grocery, bakery, etc. Last year in the Franche Comte region, I had to pick 2 different places because the sites I wanted to visit were too far apart to be visited from only 1 location.

Stu Dudley

You're gonna wish you were back in Sarlat, is all I can say. Driving around vineyards for two full days will bore the heck out of you, as they all look the same and the towns are dowdy compared to the ones in the Dordogne. St-Emilion can be seen in two hours. I'd either go back to the Dordogne, with a stop in Bordeaux and St-Emilion on the way, or pick another region entirely - maybe around La Rochelle or the Lot, or Alsace or Burgundy or the Midi-Pyrénnéesif it's vineyards you're after.

I realize that your itinerary is very vague at this point, but most Gite rentals start on a Saturdays, and you plan to visit Bordeaux the next day on a Sunday - which is not a good day to visit any large or medium sized city in France.

This is what we're doing this June
- Arrive in Bordeaux on Friday. Visit Bordeaux.
- Sat - visit Bordeaux some more, and then drive to our Gite in the Dordogne near Domme.

We have also landed in Bordeaux & driven to St Emilion for a 1 nighter Friday night - then on to the Dordogne.

One week in the Dordogne isn't enough, IMO. We started to do "repeats" after about 5 weeks there - and we're very active sightseers.

I've told this story before:
When I was planning our very first trip to Europe in '77, I visited the French National Tourist office in San Francisco. I wanted to get info on Bordeaux. The agent there said that Burgundy is much more enjoyable - and talked me into dropping Bordeaux in favor of Burgundy.

Other major winegrowing regions we've enjoyed are Alsace, & the Cote du Rhone in Provence. Both extremly easy to access from Paris

Stu Dudley

hmmmmm...ok, well maybe plan B...we were thinking midi-pyrennees as well...

Our flights are into Biarritz so we can do that as well.

Guess that might make more sense.

One of my guidebooks says that the vineyards in Bordeaux are "dusty", and that the villages have not benefited from the wealth that the wine area produced.

Stu Dudley

thanks for the feedback...what about the Pyrenees-Atlantique? That was our other option actually. We like'd like to try a different area of France.

Has anyone stayed in this area of France?

Wait a minute, you guys! The Bordeaux area is wonderful . We rented a house in Branne, south of St. Emilion for two weeks a few years ago in May. You have the Entre du Mer, Medoc, Cotes de Bourg, Sauterne...you have a great drive for every day. You can go out to the coast and eat oysters and little sausages and drink lots and lots of very fine wines for SO little. Try to find a copy of Hugh Johnson's BORDEAUX guide. Good maps. Branne is on the river, has a twice-weekly mkt, baker, supermarche, butcher- quite a fine spot!
SMB

ok, so our plan now is to drive to Sarlat and stay at Les Granges Hautes again for 4 nights, then drive back to Saint Emilion for 2 nights to do wine tasting etc. Is this better?

J

Well, SMB, sure it's fine, but it's like chopped liver compared to foie gras, is all.

jamikins, that's a good plan, as long as you don't mind revisiting the same area. If you're flying into Biarritz, then driving to Sarlat, I would encourage you to explore St-Jean-de-Luz and Bayonne on the way(then zip right to Sarlat - not much that's compelling between the two).

More- spend a night or two in St Jean de Luz! Fab! The thing about the wonderful Pyrenees is the cloud-cover that so often prevents viewing them!
SMB

OK, so we have a plan coming into shape

Sounds like we will spend 4 nights in Sarlat area (LOVE the dordogne, so we are ok with revisting) and then 2 nights in Saint Emilion. Then we will train Bordeaux to Paris for a week in an apartment with my bro and his fiance. Got prems for 38 euros for 2! YAY!

I think you're going to be a little bored with St Emilion after about 2-3 hrs. 1 night is fine.

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu, we want to visit Bordeaux and some vineyards as well. So we will aim to arrive in time for dinner, do Bordeaux and vineyards during most of the day, spend another night in St Emilion and then head to Bordeaux for our morning train to Paris.

Stu is right about St.-Emilion. It's a 2- or 3-hour visit, including the star, the monolithic church. But you might well wat to budget some time for Arcachon and Cap Ferret and the Dune de Pylat on the coast, not to mention Bordeaux itself - the Comédie, the Musée des Beaux Arts, the old quartier, etc.