Both a
city and a
region in Southern
France. The city straddles the banks of the
Garonne River, making it an
inland port city (in fact,
Fort Medoc defends access from its island location downstream on the
Gironde). A relatively small city,
Bordeaux is quite pleasant even for the non-
Francophones (if you speak
English), as a multi-century vacation spot for the
British. In addition to having an airport just outside the city, access to the city via the
TGV is convenient from
Paris - a 3 hour
express train, or a 4 hour
local train.
While in town, take a stroll down Rue St. Catherine, a (mostly) pedestrian street stretching from town center to the Place des Quinconces. The shops, patisseries, and people make it quite enjoyable. If you're an American, you'll probably want to make sure your hotel has at least three stars (there is a nice Holiday Inn a 5 minute walk from the train station). If you want a guided tour of some wineries, the Office de Tourisme runs tour buses out twice a week. The bus will take you out into one of the, where you'll visit two chateaux, get to taste some wine, and even buy some wine to take home - which you should do.
The Wine Region
In addition to being a city, Bordeaux may be best known as one of the premier wine regions in France. Within Bordeaux, their are 6 major wine-producing regions, which are further broken down into appellations, as follows:
- Médoc
- The best known wines come from the Médoc region; there are five first growth, or Premier Grand Cru, vineyards (4 from the 1855 classification (Lafite-Rothschild, Margaux, Haut-Brion, and Latour) and one reclassified in the 1970's (Mouton-Rothschild)).
- Médoc
- Saint-Estephe
- Pauillac
- Saint-Julien
- Haut-Médoc
- Listrac-Médoc
- Moulis
- Margaux
- Graves et Pessac-Léognan
- Pessac-Léognan
- Graves et Graves Supérieures
- vins blancs doux
- Cérons et Graves
- Barsac
- Loupiac
- Sainte-Croix-du-Mont
- Sauternes
- Entre-Deux-Mers
- The catchall region of Brodeaux, Entre-Deux-Mers covers not only the delta between the Garonne and the Dordogne, but also sprawls north and south to the borders of Bordeaux.
- Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux
- Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux et Cadillac
- Bordeaux et Bordeaux Supérieur
- Cotes de Bordeaux-Saint-Macaire
- Bordeaux Haut-Benauge et Entre-Deux-Mers-Haut-Benauge
- Entre-Deux-Mers Bordeaux et Bordeaux Supérieur
- Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux Bordeaux et Bordeaux Supérieur (No, that isn't a typo. Really)
- Graves-de-Vayres
- Bordeaux-Cotes de Francs
- St-Emilion, Pomerol, Fronsac
- Saint-Emilion
- Cotes de Castillon
- Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion
- Saint-Georges-Saint-Emilion
- Montagne-Saint-Emilion
- Lussac-Saint-Emilion
- Pomerol
- Lalande-de-Pomerol
- Fronsac
- Canon-Fronsac
- Blayais-Bourgeais
- Cotes de Bourg
- Cotes et Premieres Cotes de Blaye