Bordeaux sightseeing
Bordeaux wine tours
Its fifth largest city is France's epicenter of wine production. Nearly 300,000 acres in all! The many chateaux (castles and palaces) are testimony to this, and of course the wines and related terroir.
Synonymous with the fine wines of its namesake, the city of Bordeaux is as charming and nuanced as many of its vintages. In its heyday as the country's wealthiest port city from the 16th to 19th centuries, much of the convulsive history between France and England, the Kings, Queens, lands, territories, and related massive shifts in power and influence played out here.
Even though bottles from every winery in this region begins with the title “Chateau...” not all have actual castles or palaces there. However, the ones we bring you to do!
Bordeaux Heritage
Called Port de la Lune, because of its crescent-shaped harbor, Bordeaux is the largest UNESCO World Heritage site, with the entire city under that protective designation, with its “cultural and natural properties of exceptional interest for the common heritage of humanity.”
Right next door to Bordeaux is Saint-Emilion named after the 8th century travelling monk who settled into a hermitage carved from rock there and the Abby and winery which followed in his name. But it was centuries earlier even when the Romans are known to have planted vineyards there, so once again, layers upon layers of history to explore and stand on the shoulders of, and of course taste on the tongue.
The Post Impressionist painter Odilion Redon and King Richard the II of England were both born here. It is home to over 350 historic monuments, second only to Paris in this regard. The modern city of Bordeaux is also known for its place in European space aviation and aeronautics and home to several international companies, the Ariane Group among them.
It is home to over 350 historic monuments, second only to Paris in this regard.
Bordeaux food tours
Among the refined authentic dishes we will help you get to know here are:
-- For starters, the Atlantic Coast Oysters de la Baie d’Arcachon, savored by the Romans and to this day. Traditionally eaten at Christmas time in France.
-- Agneau de Pauillac the succulent and tender lamb dish only of this region.
-- Entrecote Bordelaise, a rib-eye or T-bone steak prepared wine, butter, shallots and fresh
minced thyme.
--Lamproie Bordelaise is a superb delicacy made from the lamprey eel stewed with leeks,
carrots and wine.
-- And for a dessert, the Canelés de Bordeaux pastry; as specialized as a croissant, but wholly
unique and different with its chewy caramelized shell and bread-custard interior.