What To Do, Eat, Drink and Experience in Bordeaux

I went to wine school in Bordeaux and then moved to a tiny village in Southwest France called Hastingues, initially to complete a month-long internship requirement, which then turned into a 5-month stint, totaling 11 months in the region. Does that make me an expert? No, because I only have so much time in life to explore every restaurant, attraction, and winery in Southwest France.

I must begin by admitting Bordeaux is not my favorite city, but I 100% understand why all my French Bumble dates absolutely adore the city (and, thanks to them, I have very local tips for you).

Bordeaux has everything:

• oysters
• an international airport with unbelievablely affordable European budget airlines (I’m talkin’ $35 roundtrip flights, if you travel light)
• a two-hour train ride to Paris
• top-notch gastronomy, including world-class kebabs (I’m not joking, check out Aslan Berliner)
• year-round concerts, wine expos, art shows, music festivals, wine festivals, beach parties, you-name-it. There’s always something going on.
• a one-hour drive to beautiful beaches, two hours to even more beautiful beaches (Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz, etc.), and three hours to San Sebastian (Spain)
• a two-hour drive to the gastronomically endowed Basque Country, where they speak a different language (Euskadi) and enjoy pristine landscapes

All this, and I haven’t even mentioned wine!

So you see, besides being a city rife with things to do, drink, and eat, it’s also the perfect base to enjoy all that Southwest France has to offer. (Maybe I do like Bordeaux…)

I have organized this post like so:

1. First, I offer some general pointers like “arriving in Bordeaux” and “where to stay in Bordeaux”
2. Then, I list my top picks of restaurants, bars, wineries, places to visit, and things to do
3. Finally, I propose a few itineraries depending on the number of days you have

I hope my suggestions help you piece together your ideal trip!

*I wrote this up in January, 2025 and never got to publishing it until now, so I apologize in advance if any information is outdated.

How to get to Bordeaux center from the airport:

1. By bus: 30-minute bus ride to Bordeaux Saint Jean Train Station for 8€
   • The train station is well-connected to the rest of the city via the public, above-ground tramway system
   • Beware of operation hours! If you arrive in Bordeaux super early or late at night, continue reading for other options…
2. By Tram, which can take up to 1.5 hours, but takes you directly to the center. Buy a ticket at the machine at the station or online.
3. Uber/Taxi – My friend’s Uber ride was around 50€ from the airport to Marché des Capucins
4. Rent a car, but DO NOT RENT AN ELECTRIC CAR. The batteries are not in good condition, and SW France is ill-equipped with charging stations. My rental car ran out of electricity after just two hours on the highway, and all the charging stations were out of service. It was a nightmare. I paid 100€ for an Uber ride at 2 am (in pouring rain) to fetch us 25 miles away from Bordeaux. We ran into other cars stuck on the road for the same reason.
   • That said, I highly recommend renting a (non-electric) car if you want to see more wineries, take day trips from Bordeaux, and see the rest of Southwest France (which you absolutely should do). You don’t have to rent from the airport. You can also get it from Saint Jean Train Station.

Bordeaux airport is small, so it’s easy to find all these modes of transportation.

Where to stay

Bordeaux is a small and well-connected city, so you can’t go wrong with where you stay, but convenience will depend on how you wish to get around and where you plan to go.

If you want to be in the hubbub of the city, consider the neighborhoods of Gambetta, Hôtel de Ville, Place de la Bourse, and Quinconces. This is tourist central, but hey, time is precious!

• Check out Central Hostal for a super clean and centrally located budget-friendly option
• Mama Shelter is a good mid-range option with a popular rooftop bar!

If you want to stay near the center in a cool, hip, neighborhood with sometimes grungy vibes, stay near Saint-Michel. If you want a quiet, more “refined” neighborhood, look into Chartrons and the area around Jardin Public.

If you rent a car, however, the areas I mentioned above are challenging for street parking. Also, beware of narrow streets, untrustworthy Google map directions (I drove on tram rails in the wrong direction), and 30€ per day street parking.

• Good news is that street parking is free from 7pm – 9am Monday to Saturday, and all day Sunday and holidays (which is often), so if you’re out the whole day, you’re exempt from parking fees!

It’s significantly easier to park on the other side of the Garonne River (just over the Pont Pierre bridge), and it’s easier to find free parking. Just poke your head into unmarked lanes, such as the one next to Eklo Hotel. Eklo is a decent budget option that has tiny rooms, but it is pet-friendly, is next to Tram A (which gets you to the center in 15 minutes and goes directly to the airport), and offers a delicious breakfast! Plus, if you like to walk, you get to cross the beautiful, iconic bridge into the city.

If your priority is to visit vineyards, I recommend staying on the right bank (the city center is on the left bank) so you skip driving through city traffic.

Bars I either frequented or went to just once, but would definitely go again:

• YARRA – owned by the friendliest, most humble sommelier from Australia (hence the name Yarra, like the famous wine region in Australia) with an excellent wine list and delicious, creative foods to share (like hummus, the best ever!!!). My wine-school mates and I frequented Yarra, because we always learned something new and could depend on good wine and food.
• L’ampélo – short for ampelography, the science of classifying and identifying grapevines. This place is new to town, but I love it, not for its service, but for its non-pretentious vibes and its top-up card! They have wine-dispensing machines, so you get a wine glass, top up your card, and insert it into the machine that catches your eye, put your glass under the spout of the bottle you want to try (they have a great selection from regional-level wine to Grand Cru Classés), select the amount you want, and voilà! Now repeat 10 times. As of the time of writing, one of my classmates now works here!!!
• Bistrot de Fromager – There are two locations, but I prefer the one in Chartrons because they have a little cellar in the back, and it’s more local, but the one downtown is more conveniently located. Straightforward wine bar served by people who know their shit. You can also fill up on a charcuterie and cheese board here.
• Mama Shelter Rooftop Bar – that says it all! Rooftop. Bar. It’s also a reasonably priced hotel!
• Le Bar à Vin (of the C.I.V.B., the Interprofessional Council of Bordeaux Wine) – this is on every visitor’s list of must-do’s and it’s on mine, too. There’s a huge selection of wine by the glass at the best prices in town because it’s run by the department that manages and represents the Bordeaux wine sector. Plus, it’s beautiful inside.
• Le sebaba – a “tapas” bar (I put quotations because if you’ve been to Spain, you’ll know it’s not a tapas bar–look at me being all snooty!!) with the best Piña Coladas! It’s a hip local joint and hard to get a table, so come early.
• La Cabane Cent Un – 1€ oysters + 3€ wine from 6-7 pm Tuesdays to Fridays! Get a spot on the terrace to slurp down oysters and people-watch at the same time.
• Calle Ocho – if you want to do some dancing in a grungy Latin bar with a floor covered in peanut shells (I do love the crunch), this is the place! Latin music and fun times. This is the only “club” I went to in Bordeaux, so I apologize that I don’t have more nightlife spots to recommend! I hear there are a bunch of nightclubs near Bassins à Flot.

My top restaurants in no particular order, except Zépherine which is first for a reason:

• Zépherine €€€ – This place is worth every cent. The quality of the food, the generous portions, the atmosphere, the wine list, the little shop in the front, the personal service…plus it’s a family business! This is hands down my favorite restaurant in Bordeaux, and I take all my friends there when they visit. Make sure you reserve a table!!!
• Au Bistrot €€ – cozy corner bistro, like the ones you see in French movies.
• L’Entrecôte € – I avoided this place until the very end, because I didn’t think I liked steak, but you don’t go for the steak. You go for the GREEN SAUCE! It’s 25€ for the most delicious and simplest salad, a plate of crispy fries that I wished was bottomless, and a hot plate of pre-sliced steak drenched in their secret sauce. No wonder there’s a line out the door every single day. But boy am I glad I caved.
• La Table du Lavoir €€€ – If you want to have a fancy spa day, go to Les Sources de Caudalie, and then dry up to have dinner at La Table du Lavoir, one of the restaurants that belongs to Château Smith Haut Lafitte with vineyard views. The other one has 2 Michelin stars. If you’re able to reserve a winery tour of the Château, I also highly recommend it, and you’ll probably see the owners taking their dogs out in their vineyards.
• La Cabane Cent Un – again…1€ oysters + 3€ wine from 6-7 pm Tuesdays to Fridays! The oysters are brought in fresh every morning from the coast.
• L’Embarcadère €€ – a cozy and casual seafood restaurant in the center of town. If you don’t like oysters, but want to eat them just because you’re in Bordeaux, this place has cooked ones!!! With leeks and cheese!
• Ganache Le Restaurant €€ – Tasty French fare with an extensive wine list. And they’re famous for their homemade chocolate!
• Nom d’Une Crêpe € – yes it’s touristy, but they have every combination of crêpes and galettes you can imagine. Click here to learn what the difference is. Plus, they have dry sparkling cider on tap (like they do in Brittany, which is where galettes and cider originally come from).
• O’billig € – another crêperie I frequented (and not because it was just outside my apartment) for the galette complète, a galette topped with egg, cheese, and ham! When you’re finished here, go next door to the little coffee stand for a cafè allonge, which is the closest thing to an Americano there is in France.
• Elio’s €€ – ok, ok, not French. It’s an Italian pasta place, and it’s absolutely delicioso and the portions are gigantic!
• Les Burgers de Colette € – if you need a burger fix, here’s my go-to place.
• Aslan Berliner € – Kebab (aka döner, durum, shawarma, etc., but in France, it’s kebab) culture is real in Europe. And this one is top-notch. The portions are ginormous, and while we’re here for the kebabs, let me just say that the fried chicken tenders are some of the best I’ve ever had. What am I doing having fried chicken in France? Well, tell me why French people eat fries at every meal, s’il vous plait?
• ANY BAKERY – stop at any bakery for a croissant or a chocolatine (Please, don’t call it pain au chocolat here. It’s a touchy subject, but we’re in the south where it’s called Chocolatine). Or, get a simple baguette sandwich that will delight your senses.
  • Y’know what makes a French sandwich so good? Butter.
• Any oyster shack in the village of L’Herbe in Cap Ferret, which is accessible only by car! You can get to Cap Ferret by bus, but not to L’Herbe, though other options exist for fresh oysters.
• Finally, because this is my very own blog, I can recommend my favorite Chinese restaurants, my retreats from bread and cheese and butter. L’Hirondelle and La Fontaine d’Or!

Wineries worth visiting, according to a wine school graduate who also values quality customer service

As you can imagine, there are many wineries in Bordeaux. Then you throw in wineries from other appellations of SW France like Madiran and Bergerac, and let’s not forget about the distilleries of Cognac and Armagnac. So, how do you choose which wineries to visit in your limited time?! Read on, friends.

The lists below are based on equal parts quality wine and excellent service, because for me, rude service can ruin even the best wines, but like your taste for wine, excellence is relative!

Bordeaux:

• Château Kirwan 3rd Growth Grand Cru Classé en 1855 – Médoc
• Château Giscours 3rd Growth Grand Cru Classé en 1855 – Médoc
  • Beautiful estate with animals on-site and a friendly, knowledgeable, and patient guide. I was so enamored I bought a corkscrew – the only one from my months in Bordeaux!
• Château Smith-Haut Lafitte Grand Cru Classé – Pessac-Leognan
  • You often see the owners, who actually say hello, roaming around the estate! Last time I saw them walking their dogs around the vineyards.
  • I love bringing friends to their restaurant, La Table du Lavoir, for a fancy meal and a stroll around the vineyards!
• Château La Favière – A personal favorite just outside Saint-Émilion!
• Château Coutêt Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
  • Verrrryy passionate winemaker who is in tune with his natural surroundings to make quality wine (and soy sauce!)
• Château Doisy Däene – Sauternes 2nd Growth Cru Classé – Barsac
  • Sauternes and Barsac are known for their sweet, luscious wines, and this is one of the best from a well-established and respected family in the region
• Lillet – what a fun visit and the best gift shop ever! (though not technically a winery) – Podensac
  • They produce a most delicious, century-old wine-based aperitif (aka wine that is aromatized and fortified with citrusy and herby liqueur)
  • Fascinating history! I wrote my paper for wine school on La Maison Lillet

Outside Bordeaux:

• Braastad – Cognac producer in…Cognac!
• Château de Millet – wine and Armagnac producers in Gers
  • If you ever visit Armagnac in the Fall, you must sign up for a Flamme event. Flamme d’Armagnac is a season-long festival during which producers begin distilling their wine into brandy and make a giant party out of it!
  • In case you didn’t know, brandy made in Cognac is called Cognac, brandy made in Armagnac is called Armagnac, and sparkling wine made in the region of Champagne is called Champagne, voila!
• Château Arton – wine and Armagnac producers in Haut-Armagnac who always have an event or something special going on, so check their site!

And here are others I think are worth a visit!

• Château de Pressac – fascinating history, gorgeous views of Saint-Emilion, great wine, and very impersonal, but I take all my friends here!
• Château Pape Clément Grand Cru Classé de Graves- reachable by public transport, beautiful estate
• EGIATEGIA – located in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (2.5-3 hours from Bordeaux) where vinification takes place underwater in the Atlantic Ocean
• Château Beychevelle – delicious wine, but a very impersonal tour and estate…but delicious wine!!!!
• Les Cordeliers – visit the underground cellars of Bordeaux Crémant (sparkling wine!!!) in the center of Saint-Émilion
• Château Bouscassé – I didn’t take a tour, but visited during an Open Door event, and wow, the grounds and the surrounding vineyards are just gorgeous
  • Look for Open Door events to visit wineries that aren’t normally open to the public or require reservations to just pop in and taste their wine!

Day 1: Arrive in Bordeaux

After reaching the city, checking in to your hotel, and showering after a long flight (or not), it might already be late afternoon, which means it’s time for an aperitif!

If it’s not quite dinner time yet (i.e. 7 pm), look for:

• Le Bistrot de Fromager (there are two: the one in Chartrons is more local, but if you want to continue exploring, go to the one in the city center),
• l’Ampelo, or
• Le Bar à Vin to settle into your French holiday with wine, cheese, and charcuterie. Le Bar à Vin belongs to the Bordeaux Wine Bureau, or C.I.V.B – Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux, so pick up some well-designed, informative pamphlets to start your wine education.

If you want oysters, head to La Cabane du Cent Un for 1€ oysters from 6-7 pm (closed on Mondays). Do yourself a favor and pair them with a bottle of crisp, Entre-Deux-Mers white wine.

If you haven’t already filled up on charcuterie boards, then it’s a good time for dinner!

Day 2: Choose your own adventures: Exploring the vineyards / Oysters and Beaches / Exploring the city (in any combination you wish)

Adventure 1 – Exploring vineyards in the Médoc

If you’re into the Bordeaux greats, aka the Grand Cru Classés en 1855 (the 5% of Bordeaux wines that get all the fame because they’ve been classified growths since 1855, and the law says it can NEVER change), then head to the Médoc. The further north you go, like to Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac, the more scenic the drive.

Many châteaux (the French word for castle and also refers to a winery) offer visits and tastings that you can book directly on their websites. Some of the most memorable châteaux visits in the Médoc during my wine-schooling days include:

• Château Léoville Poyferré
• Château Beychevelle (not my favorite tour, but the wine is outstanding),
• Château Kirwan, and
• Château Giscours.

Unpretentious. Super educational. And of course, great wine.

I also highly recommend visiting a Cru Bourgeois winery. While I can’t personally recommend any because I haven’t visited any myself, Cru Bourgeois is a classification of exceptional Bordelaise wine that is on par with Grand Cru Classé, but cannot be classified as such because of an outdated law barring any changes to the original classifications of 1855, except ONCE in history, thanks to bribery, connections, money, etc…

For lunch, park at Port de Pauillac. The street has plenty of restaurants and cafés to choose from. If you want something simple, buy a sandwich and enjoy it under the sun on the boardwalk.

If you want to continue your vineyard visits, head to Saint-Emilion. If you want a change of scenery, head to Cap Ferret for oysters and beaches.

Adventure 2 – Right bank vineyard visits + Saint-Emilion

Normally, 2-3 winery visits in one day are enough to wear you out without getting bored. If you’re still in the mood today, here are a few suggestions for châteaux visits in the right bank.

• Château Coutet (passionate, super hunky winemaker who also makes soy sauce!)
• Château de Pressac (touristy but worth the visit just for the views and for its history as the site where the treaty to end the Hundred Years War was signed),
• and my personal favorite, Château La Favière. I used to buy Château La Favière by the box when I lived in China, so when I moved to Bordeaux, I just had to visit. I reached out via email to schedule a visit, and Stan, the owner and winemaker, welcomed me and my friends with great generosity.

You know what, I urge you to do the same. Instead of taking my chateaux recommendations, look up your favorite Bordeaux wine, email them, and see if you can conjure up a visit. That will make your visit more special!

Wander around Saint-Émilion, the charming UNESCO World Heritage medieval town and supposed birthplace of Macarons.

It is highly recommended to take a tour of the 12th-century underground Monolithic Church, the biggest in Europe, and the site where the fascinating history of Saint-Emilion and wine begins. You could also tour the underground wine cellar of Les Cordeliers and taste Crément (sparkling wine) of Bordeaux!

Adventure 3: Oysters and Beaches

Drive to Cap-Ferret and head to the village of l’Herbe, where you will find oyster shacks offering seafood platters that MUST be paired with Entre-deux-Mers white wine. It is a classic Bordeaux pairing, and of course, the wine helps slimy oysters go down easier (if oysters make you queasy like they do to me).

Now you have a whole afternoon left to explore the beaches on this peninsula! So don’t forget to grab your bathing suit before you leave the house this morning.

Adventure 4: Explore the city

My city-walk tour:

Ideally, do this on a Sunday, because there is a flea market at the plaza of Saint-Michel and it’s a sight to see! And who knows, you might find treasure.

So, on Sunday morning (or whenever you do this), start your day at Marché des Capucins. People come here for the oysters, the mussels, and the Portuguese tapas, but I come for the Galette Complète at O’Billig and then a coffee from the coffee truck next door.

There’s a booth that sells Puits d’Amour, which a Bumble date told me was a must-try when in Bordeaux, but I prefer the Choux.

Wander around, marvel at the charcuterie, herbs and cheeses, the rotisserie chickens and leeks and tomatoes, and when you’ve whet your appetite, head towards Saint-Michel Basilica. Have mint tea at one of the North African cafés. Scour through the mountains of “antiques.” People watch. (I love this neighborhood. My apartment was just next to the Marché des Capucins and I loved the hustle and bustle.)

Walk down Rue Camille Sauvageu until you reach Église Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux, and then turn left towards the river. Take another left once you hit the main road and continue in the direction of Porte de Bourgogne. Keep going until you see Porte Cailhau, a beautiful, Cinderella-esque historic city gate. Pass through it now to get back into the city center.

Wander through these streets and head towards Grosse Cloche, now a Harry Potter-esque bell tower. The area between Porte Cailhau and Grosse Cloche is filled with boutique shops and cafés.

From Grosse Cloche, walk up Rue Saint-James, cross the main road, and continue straight onto Rue du Pas-Saint-Georges. If you turn left, you’ll hit Rue Saint-Catherine, the largest pedestrian shopping street in Europe (apparently). If you continue straight and to the right-ish, you’ll reach Place de la Bourse, where you’ll find the famous mirage that you see on every postcard of Bordeaux.

Continue wandering until you reach Rue Notre Dame, which another Bumble date told me was the prettiest street in Bordeaux. If it’s dinner or apéritif time, look for La Cabane du Cent Un, the oyster bar.

It’s a small city. Eventually, you’ll hit all the main spots like the Grand Theater, Place des Grands Hommes, Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux, Jardin Public, and Quinconces. Once you reach Musée du Vin (the wine museum), you’ll have walked the length of the city. Go to the seventh floor and grab yourself a drink! You must be EXHAUSTED!

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If I had 5 days in Bordeaux, here is what I would do:

Day 1 – Arrival Day

• Bienvenue! Welcome! After you’ve found your way to the hotel, checked in, showered (or not), let’s start discovering the beautiful historical city of Bordeaux, shall we?
• European cities come to life at night, so you’re right on time. Wherever you’re located, you’re likely either within walking distance or within tram distance of the center, so let’s start there: Quinconces. From here you can explore Rue Sainte-Catherine, Gambetta, Grand Theater, Place de la Bourse, Hôtel de Ville…
• Stop for an aperitif at L’ampélo, or get in line for a spot at Le Bar à Vin, before going to a nice dinner at Zépherine perhaps? Or if it’s Monday, the day most French restaurants close, perhaps at Ganache Le Restaurant? Or hit two birds with one stone at YARRA!
  • Fun fact: Yarra is located on Rue Notre Dame, what a Bumble date told me was the prettiest street in Bordeaux!

Day 2 – Morning walking tour / Afternoon in Cap Ferret with Oysters & Beaches

• Walking tour of my favorite parts of the city: start from Marché des Capucins to Saint-Michel Basilica, to Port Cailhou, and then to Grosse Cloche (or in any order as long as you get to Marché des Capucins before 12:30).
  • You can probably do this within 2 hours, including stops for coffee and snacks, and it’s less than 3 miles of walking.
• After lunch, drive 1.5 hours to L’Herbe, a colorful fishing and oyster-farming village in Cap Ferret, to enjoy an afternoon of oysters and Entre-deux-Mers at the beach! There are several oyster shacks right on the water.
  • AOP Entre-deux-Mers, which means “between two seas” as it is wedged between the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers, is a lesser-known appellation of Bordeaux producing crisp, dry white wine–that’s why it’s such a great pairing for oysters! The acidity cuts through the fatty texture of the oyster, while the salinity found in the wine (due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Atlantic Ocean) matches the salinity of the slimy shell creature!
• The Atlantic coastline on the other side of the peninsula is one long stretch of beach, so don’t leave your hotel this morning without a bathing suit!

Day 3 – A Day in the Vineyards

• Drive across the river to Saint-Emilion. Take a winery tour in the morning, and then head to the village of Saint-Emilion for lunch.
  • If you want to have a nice lunch overlooking vineyards, consider La Terrasse Rouge of Château La Dominique, which offers a panoramic view of surrounding vineyards, including that of Château Cheval Blanc, one of the most famous wineries in the world (that doesn’t offer public tours), and who is just next door, which means they share a similar terroir…
• After exploring Saint-Emilion, head to Maison Lillet for another winery tour, but this one’s special! Lillet is a famous French aperitif that you may have heard Bond, James Bond, order in Casino Royale, but then forgot about, and will now rediscover and fall in love with. I was so fascinated I wrote my paper for wine school about Lillet and to this day carry my Lillet tote bag.
• Now that you’ve gone wild in the Lillet gift shop (as so happened with me), continue the indulgence as you head to La Table du Lavoir, the bistro of Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Martillac. If you want a meal that’s friendlier to your wallet (maybe L’Entrecôte is calling), head back into town via Martillac. The drive is beautiful.
  • While I love the experience at La Table du Lavoir, if you allow yourself to splurge on one meal, let it be Zépherine, and you can go for lunch when the price is lower for the same amazing quality food.

Day 4 – Day Trip to Bayonne

• It’s a bit of a drive today but it’s worth it, I swear! And since you’re not in a hurry, tell Google or Waze to avoid tolls and highways.
• First, drive 2.5 hours to the village of Hastingues, a place my friends described as a scene from Chocolat, for lunch at Le Jardin du Carcoilh. Don’t forget to check out the hidden wine cellar stocked with wines from the Southwest — ask Aurelle! I lived in this village initially for one month but ended up being five, so I love this little village and think you will, too.
• After lunch on the terrace feeling very French, it’s a 40-minute scenic drive along the river to Bayonne. Don’t forget to tell Google/Waze to avoid the freeway!!
  • Bayonne is one of my favorite places in Southwest France. It’s a colorful city in the Basque country with a charming old town full of boutique shops, shops selling local products, and cafés and chocolate shops. Can you be laid-back and full of life at the same time? Well, in Bayonne, it is.
    • Bayonne and chocolate go back to the 17th century. To the time when Jews fled the Spanish Inquisition from Spain and Portugal and brought with them cacao from South America.
    • Bayonne ham is another popular item! Think of it as the French Prosciutto or Iberico…(please, nobody kill me for saying that). It’s cured with salt from the caves of Salies-de-Béarn, another adorable French village not far from Bayonne.
• If you don’t mind driving a long distance in the dark (in the middle of summer, it gets dark at 10 pm), stick around for dinner. There are numerous restaurants along the river, a couple of Basque cider houses, and so much more.

Day 5 – Departure Day = Sad Day so treat yourself to an unforgettable breakfast

• You must be thoroughly exhausted but filled to the brim, quite literally, from all the food and drink. Treat yourself to one more chocolatine before heading to the airport, or wherever you’re going next. Hopefully, it’s to Spain, jaja! And hopefully, it’s by car!

In between some of those ideas above, I would also add a day trip to Cognac or Armagnac. There is just so much to do and see and eat and drink in this region. I am missing swaths of Bordeaux wine country like Pressac-Léognan (where some of Bordeaux’s most famous wines are produced such as Château Smith Haut Lafitte and Château Haut-Brion) or Sauternes (did you know Bordeaux is also famous for sweet wines? Sauternes is a classic pairing for foie-gras.)

A great resource for everything to do, see, eat, and drink in Bordeaux, check out LostinBordeaux.com. She might also post events for what to do the week you’re in town!

As I mentioned earlier, I wrote this guide 7 months ago. If you visit any of the places I recommended and find that my information is incorrect, please let me know! And please accept my apologies!

Now, have fun, enjoy this sweet life! Bon voyage and chinchin!