Bordeaux

Where to go and what to see in Bordeaux to get the most from your trip – a 3-day itinerary from destination expert and travel writer Dana Facaros.

Where to go and what to see in Bordeaux to get the most from your trip – a 5-day itinerary from destination expert and travel writer Dana Facaros.

France’s premier wine-growing region is home to over 8,500 wineries (or chateaux) producing some 800 million bottles a year, 89 percent of which are red wines, including the legendary Grands Crus or ‘First Growths’ of the Medoc.

A day-trip away from Bordeaux or Toulouse, in the beautiful Dordogne, you can visit an immaculate replica of France’s prehistorically painted cave – the ‘Sistine Chapel’ of Palaeolithic art.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bordeaux is an architectural masterpiece, with more listed buildings than any French city outside Paris.

A museum dedicated to the history of wine and its relationship with Bordeaux, housed in a spectacular modern architectural jewel.

This compelling history museum is home to over 1.3 million artefacts that document the history of Bordeaux and the entire Aquitaine region, from prehistory (including Paleolithic Art and the Lascaux Cave) to the modern day.

Bordeaux’s enormous Gothic Cathedrale Saint-Andre is the city’s most majestic medieval landmark; the church dates back to 814 AD, but it was predominantly constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries. Don’t miss the sculptures of the Porte Royale and a climb up the Tour Pey-Berland belltower for a bird’s-eye view over the city centre.

Inside the elegant Palais Rohan, the museum displays works by some of Europe’s finest painters, including Titian, Perugino, Rubens and Van Dyck, as well as famous local artists from various periods. The south wing is devoted to art from the 16th to 18th centuries, and the north wing focuses on the 19th and 20th centuries.

These lively, four-day summer festivals – with an alternating theme or either ‘wine’ or ‘river’ – celebrate the heart and soul of Bordeaux.