It is impossible to visit Bordeaux without realising that wine flows through its veins. The city is packed with wine bars, wine shops and companies offering tours out to the vineyards and chateaux to taste wine, learn about wine-making and buy cases to take home. (And if you do not drink alcohol, non-alcoholic alternatives abound.)
Before you dive in, get up to speed with a visit to the Musée du Vin et du Négoce de Bordeaux where you can absorb some history of wine in Bordeaux, enjoy a wine tasting, and sample the local sweet pastry, a canelé.
Then visit the Cité du Vin. The iconic building is supposed to resemble a wine decanter, although locals have been known to compare it to the creative efforts of a beloved canine.
You can get there either by river ferry or tram. Tickets cost the same for both. If you have time, you could spend the entire day at the Cité du Vin. There is a permanent exhibition explaining everything you need to know about the wines of the world, which includes a glass of wine in the bar at the top of the tower. It has a great deck for taking panoramic photos of the city.
There are also tasting workshops where you learn to tell your cépage from your assemblage, and another fabulous experience; the Via Sensoria. This is a guided tasting of four wines, season by season, with video effects, poetry and decor that have a relaxing effect. (You can buy a combined ticket including this experience.)
There are also two very reasonably priced restaurants to choose from for lunch, and don't forget that if you take a paper bracelet on the way out of the permanent exhibition, you can go back in the same day.
Having built a good foundation of wine knowledge, you might like to join an organised wine tour (details from the Tourist Office) to visit some wineries outside the city. Don’t miss the photogenic village of Saint-Émilion.
You can drive (45 minutes) or take the train (56 minutes), which involves a short walk at the other end. The historic centre is a wonderful place to explore, with gourmet food shops, wine cellars offering tastings, and plenty of restaurants. A stroll through the vineyards afterwards will help you work up an appetite for more wine-tasting later on.
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The châteaux in the area all offer tastings, and you can pick up free maps from the Tourist Office.
Saint-Émilion is a draw for gourmandsVincent Bengold
Culture: delights of Darwin
Darwin is an alternative 'ecosystem' on the eastern banks of the Gironde, opposite the Port de la Lune. Housed in the sprawling former Niel military barracks, it is home to shops, restaurants and cafés as well as a doctor's surgery, a lycée, and a residential 'village' for homeless people. A bakery and brewery are popular destinations.
There are skateboarding spaces for children, a vegetable garden, and hens, as well as offices, co-working hubs, workshops and performance spaces. Around 300 events (exhibitions, festivals, salons, concerts and performances) are staged here every year. The entire enterprise aims to run on environmental principles, and profits are ploughed back into social programmes.
As you walk through the main gates (entrance is free), the first thing you see is the handmade chocolate shop and organic bakery on the left. Walk a bit further and you'll find a selection of second-hand sofas where you can sit and have a drink or a snack while you take it all in. Everything is made from reclaimed materials and decorated with colourful graffiti. People are buzzing around with African drums, large plants, skateboards and sketchpads. The windows on the first floor are office spaces. Have a wander and don't hesitate to stop and speak to people. They'll explain what is going on. Find out what's happening in advance by checking the website.
Bordeaux is full of restaurants. But the oldest, Le Chapon Fin, founded in 1825, is arguably the most beautiful. A stunning fake rockface decorated with plants occupies an entire wall. It has to be seen to be believed. The rest of the decor is reminiscent of a 1930s garden terrace. Visited by all the major French stars, its service is attentive and formal, and the cuisine gourmet.
The evening menus are €78 or €98 and a selection of four wine pairings is €60. (There are no individual glasses of wine, and bottles cost €40 to €5,100 – yes, you read that right!) So the top tip is to go at lunchtime when you can revel in the decor and service while enjoying a menu costing €45 or €65 washed down with a carafe of tap water.
Elegant: Le Chapon FinLe Chapon Fin
Bar Castan on the Quai de la Douane also has a fake rockface wall but the vibe is very different. This is post-industrial student punk stuff. A great place for an early evening sun-downer.
Family-run restaurant Zéphirine is a completely different experience. The style is deliberately unfussy, with pale wooden furniture and an open kitchen. You walk past the deli counter to get to the restaurant, where lunch menus start at €30 and diner menus are €69. You don't have to choose a starter because they bring you some of everything, and the cuisine is truly divine. Modern and fresh, with the accent on local produce, vegetables and fruit, it never disappoints. Well worth seeking out, but book ahead and do not be late.
Several bars in Bordeaux offer self-service wine-tasting via wine machines dispensing 3cl, 6cl or 12cl of your chosen taster. You load one of their house cards with money and use it to buy wine. When you return the card, whatever money remaining on the card is refunded. Try L’Ampélo, diagonally opposite the Tourist Office, which also sells snacks and sharing plates of charcuterie and cheese.
For something entirely more relaxed, the QuatrèS café just along from the Tourist Office is a good choice. Check out the old-fashioned, faded elegance of the interior, or lounge on the terrace while enjoying one of its €10 cocktails (€8 for the virgin ones).
