Paris to Bordeaux
 

We are planning to travel from Paris to Bordeax in mid February. I don't know what's the best way to explore. Should we take train or drive to Bordeaux? How much do I have to prepare for toll and fuel cost? Appreciate your help and information.

www.viamichelin.com will give you itineraries and cost of travel on the itinerary you choose. Taking the TGV might be cheaper, although the lowest price tickets are probably no longer available.

I'd take the train myself (and did just last October), had no desire for a car for any reason and didn't want one in Bordeaux. What's your motive for driving and what do you mean about exploring (where do you want to explore). Because that probably makes the difference in what you do.

I think if you want to spend time exploring on the way then a car would make sense. If you just want to get to Bordeaux then take the train.

Why are you going to Bordeaux in February? If you'd planned ahead, you could have gotten tickets for as little as 19 euros on the TGV direct from Paris, which is definitely the best way to get to Bordeaux if you're not interested in visiting sites between Paris and there. If you jump on them now, you can still get fairly cheap PREM tickets. You certainly don't want a car IN Bordeaux.

StCirq is absolutely correct about not having a car in Bordeaux. We had to drive into the city twice in December and January;it is an experience I do not recommend. There is good public transportation in Bordeaux, including a very good modern tram system.

Question...
If you don't have a car in Bordeaux how hard is it to get to the nearby wineries?

Well I'd use a bike as there are some good long distance bike paths in the area.
There are tours (have a look at the official Bordeaux website) or you hire a car.

I've used the local bus service for the odd tasting within the city boundary but not the best solution.

With any of the very best houses you will need an invitation but there are plenty that let you walk right on in. With some of the smaller appalations you will find that they have a central tasting room (so Cadillac for example, from memory has one just of the main road), you will find "degustation" signs all over and St Emillion is a World Heritage wine town. Please note the French deal very hard with drunk drivers and the limits are pretty low.

It would be pretty difficult to get to the wineries without a car as they are in the countryside and not really serviced by public transit that I remember...

The Maison du Vin and the tourist office can arrange visits, but as bilbo notes, you can't expect to just drop by the main châteaux.

Personally, I think the whole visits to Bordeaux wine châteaux thing is overrated. I find it much more interesting to visit the smaller places around Monbazillac and Bergerac. But then, I'm not a pro.

Some of the best tasting is probably available in Bordeaux itself, in that the wine merchants will carry wines from the entire region. Visiting a vineyard is overrated in my opinion.

There also is a store in Bordeaux that sells only cognacs, which might lead to the discovery of other than the standard brands.