Fodor's Expert Review Villa St. Simon

A 15-minute ferry ride across the other side of the Garonne estuary takes you to the pretty waterfront town of Blaye, where this welcoming hotel is located. It can make a convenient base for visiting the whole Bordeaux region. The spacious and comfortable rooms in this restored 1860s townhouse are well-equipped but not extravagant, so you can focus on what you really came for—wine. There are also five cozy, quirkily decorated self-catering apartments The gracious English-speaking hosts organize down-to-earth wine tours and tell all in their "debunking of wine" classes.