Is Bordeaux worth a stop?
 

Hi,

I am currently working on a four week itinerary to London, Paris, Barcelona, Provence, Cote D'Azur, and Northern Italy. My husband is interesting in stopping in Bordeaux for a day or two between Paris and Barcelona. Do you think it is worth the stop? Or will the experience be similar to Provence? Thanks in advance.

Hi I,

I think that you will find a night or two in Bordeaux quite enjoyable, especially for wine buffs.

The oysters are, I am told, also quite good.

((I))

Bordeaux the city is not much at all but the wine area around it is. Saint-Emilion is one very neat small town, an old town surrounded by a swirl of Bordeaux vineyards and wine houses. I'd base myself outside of Bordeaux and just take a quick glance, if any at all, at it. Not that it doesn't have its pluses, but they are few and far between and is a big city girdled by industrial blight.

I haven't been there (or near there), but I had to laugh when Rick Steves said Bordeaux must mean "boring" in some language -- fwiw.

I had a great four day stay in Bordeaux in December. I also took a half-day trip to St Emilion. Here's a link to my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34546163

We spent two days (three nights)in St. Emilion last spring. We really enjoyed the village and the winery visits. We learned a lot about Bordeaux wines and enjoyed the "underground" tour of St. Emilion (catacombs, hermit cave and monolith church.) We daytripped to Bordeaux. The area was certainly worth a stop and ,for us, was a nice contrast between a week in the Dordogne and a few days in Paris.

Bordeaux is out of the way when going from Paris to Barcelona. Unless you specifically want to visit the wine region, I would suggest going through the Auvergne or the Périgord. But if you are interested in Bordeaux, here's my trip report and photos:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34523592

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=j4n04qu...0&y=lushn9

Michael's right that it's not really on your route at all. That sai, I love Bordeaux. It's got gorgeous architecture, much of which reflects its history as the main Atlantic seaport of France, it's filled with beautiful parks, it has some of the best restaurants in the south of France, and the wine isn't bad to boot;) It's NOTHING like Provence.