I recently purchased your France 2018 guide. I planned on using it to review certain cities I plan to visit
this spring or summer. I will be staying in Paris for 7-10 days. I am purchasing a France rail pass and
plan on taking day trips to 4 or 5 cities. One of these cities was Bordeaux. When I starting reading your
guide I was amazed to find not a single word about Bordeaux. Is it possible for you to e-mail me some
information. Thank you, Ed Peel
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Hi, Ed.
I've deleted your email and phone number above for your security. If other respondents have info, they can reply here or by private message. If you want replies to come to you in the form of an email, click on your name at top right and check your settings where there is an option to receive copies of these replies by email.
Rick Steves does not cover nor recommend Bordeaux for the average, short tourist visit to France. As you continue to read the book that you have, you may be attracted to alternate destinations. Of course, that doesn't mean that you wouldn't enjoy a day or two there, but he focuses on other priorities. Have you already seen a lot of France?
You can buy just a chapter including Bordeaux from the Lonely Planet guidebook, to print in Adobe PDF format, for about $3.50. These tourist info web sites can also give you a start:
Posted by
3249 posts
Ed - I have been planning a trip to Bordeaux. The Lonely Planet book is a great resource. Believe it or not, "Let's Go Europe" has a good section on Bordeaux.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
I have visited most all of France. I have spent the most time in Provence and Paris. I was stationed in the Army near
La Rochelle many years ago and visited Bordeaux a number of times. I have not returned on any of my 15 trips to
France over the last 20 years and would like to see the city again Thank you for your reply and for removing my personal
info. Ed Peel
Posted by
Chicago
7873 posts
Just got back from Bordeaux. You have to go to the Wine Museum http://www.laciteduvin.com/en
and visit the cathedral for sure.
This has some detail
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/articles/the-most-beautiful-churches-in-bordeaux/
Posted by
Washington DC
27156 posts
Ed: If you haven't already purchased that rail pass, are you sure it makes economic sense? I realize that it will, if you want to retain total flexibility about the scheduling of your day-trips and they are all to TGV destinations as far away as Bordeaux. But if you're in a position to pin down the dates of even a few of your day-trips and can snap up promo-priced tickets while they are available, I think individual tickets may save you money. You can find ticket prices on the SNCF website.
I spot-checked fares to Bordeaux, randomly looking at May 22 (Tue). You could buy a 50-euro round-trip nonchangeable / nonrefundable ticket as of now on trains that take just slightly over 2 hours. Those deals usually need to be purchased far in advance, so you'd need to stay on top of ticket releases so you didn't miss out.
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2512 posts
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