Bordeaux: how many nights and where to stay?

How about St. Emilion for two nights, Kay.

Three nights in Bordeaux sounds about right since your arrival day will probably be fairly unproductive. Bordeaux is a handsome city with some medieval streets to wander. On the other hand, some people find it not a very engaging city, perhaps a bit stuffy (though the people were perfectly nice to me). Part of it, I think, is that there's a lot of grand (or self-important, depending on your point of view) architecture. There are some museums (though the Resistance Museum was closed in June); check out the options to see whether there's something that sounds appealing to you. I think I've read a negative comment or two about the made-for-tourists (I assume) Cite du Vin. I'm not a wine person myself. I believe tickets are fairly expensive, and that may be underlying the negative reviews. If you do go there, there are some good food options in a market hall about a block away.

St. Emilion is very picturesque. I had a great time walking every street in the town, despite the presence of a lot of other tourists. It is extremely hilly, however.

I stayed in a lot of small cities/large towns in the Dordogne/Lot this year, to facilitate visits to some of the smaller places by public transportation. It's hard to pick a favorite, but perhaps that would be Cahors. I'd have no hesitancy in recommending Perigueux, Bergerac, Agen and Brive-la-Gaillarde. I only day-tripped to Figeac but thought it was especially interesting because it's a bit hilly. I find terrain changes add something. If I have a chance to return to the area, I'll certainly base for part of the time in Figeac. None of those places felt overwhelmingly touristy in June, by which I mean I didn't hear a lot of English on the streets. I assume there were a lot of French visitors around.

Of course, Sarlat-la-Caneda is probably the most popular base in the area. It's gorgeous and thus very touristy. I spent a full day there in a pouring rain, which is an indication of how attractive it is. But of course there weren't so many visitors around because of the weather, despite its being Wednesday, the day of the secondary market.

Some here would say that three nights in Bordeaux is three too many. I will say that it's one night too many. A full day in Bordeaux is enough. But then I don't know where to spend three nights between there and Sarlat... What is the rest of your itinerary?

I totally disagree with Andrew. Take a look at any comprehensive guide book or even Trip Advisor. It depends, as always, on what you are looking for. Bordeaux isn't a cute little town. But cute little towns don't usually have multiple museums and large historic districts. The most interesting and accessible of the cute little towns are likely to be totally swamped by tourists, whereas most of the people on the streets in Bordeaux were French--and probably local residents.

I did four nights there last September which was perfect. We did a day trip out to the sand dunes and did the Cite de Vin, for me its the carafe shaped building that was the highlight - its amazing. On the day we left we went out to watch a friend run in the Marathon du Medoc, for a non sporty person like me I was amazed at how much I enjoyed that, it was like seeing a circus going through the vineyards, quiet brilliant! Oh and no problem with the people at all, friendly and nice as the French always are. You will have a lovely time. Oh also discovered the work of Henri Martin in the Art Museum there, now abit of a fan!

RS may not go to Bordeaux or many other places, but life does exist beyond the RS path. We spent ten nights in an apartment in Bordeaux while we were exploring cities for a second home. We didn’t get bored— even if it is called bored-doe.
I remember an Office of Tourism tour of the old city, two trips to vineyards via the office of tourism, markets, a boat ride, night visit to the cathedral and just hanging out.

Andrew, I can't believe you seriously think that only places on Rick's 22-day itinerary are worth visiting! France is a huge country, as you well know, and it is full of charming, interesting places. You are of course entitled to you opinion, but I hope new visitors to the forum realize how unusual your opinion is.

While i agree that Bordeaux is somewhat pleasant but not earthshaking, it did have a big advantage for me: a shop that sells Mariage Freres tea! That's very hard to find in the US without paying as much for shipping as for the tea itself, which I am not prepared to do, so locating a store that sells it was a great bonus for me, since I was going to be there anyway. Tea was my biggest souvenir purchase on the trip. Granted, that's not a reason to go to Bordeaux, but it can be helpful for fans of that tea who don't also happen to be going to Paris. Guess when I finish my stash, I'll just have to plan a trip there!

Thanks everyone! One reason we will be in Bordeaux is because we are taking a flight from CDG to Bordeaux. We have booked a gite for 2 weeks beginning the 4th night after we arrive. We should arrive in Bordeaux about 10:30 a.m. so we will have the whole afternoon and then at least the next day if we decide to stay only 2 nights. We would then see if it was possible to add an additional night to the gite rental or stay in Beynac, Sarlat, or LaRoque Gagiac. Or possibly somewhere in between Bordeaux and the gite. Still trying to figure out where to stay in Bordeaux. Should we stay in the area with all the smaller streets which I assume? What about the other side of the river (East)? It looks like there might be some appealing accommodations there.