Bordeaux
in Nouvelle-Aquitaine

For a long time Bordeaux was better known for what it produced than for what it was like to be in. That has changed considerably. The city along the Garonne has been rebuilt into one of the most handsome in France: the limestone quays, the miroir d'eau reflecting the Place de la Bourse in a sheet of water so thin it seems architectural, the Saint-Pierre quarter with its wine bars and restaurants doing serious things with the local cèpes and duck. The wine estates of the Médoc, Saint-Émilion, and Pomerol are all within an hour by car and range from grand châteaux that have been receiving visitors for centuries to small family domaines that pour their best bottles at a table in the kitchen. Two hours from Paris by train, Bordeaux has quietly become one of the most rewarding short breaks available from the capital.