Paris Bordeaux Nice

Flight from Bordeaux to Nice? Best idea?

Daily flights Bordeaux → Nice with Easyjet (low cost airline).

Avoid Volotea

There is a TGV from Paris to Bordeaux that takes 2-3 hours (fairly frequent if I remember right...check with SNCF). Bordeaux has multiple options for wine tasting and touring, plus the Cite du Vin (easy to spend 3-4 hours there). St. Emilion and Bordeaux wines are excellent. In Bordeaux itself the cathedral is lovely, the fine art museum is worth a visit, seeing the Bassins des Lumieres, strolling the old town near the clock tower, the Musee du Vin at du Negoce, eating some wonderful food. The tram system in the city is good, and necessary because auto and bus traffic are horrible! I don't have any specific recommendations for wine tours, but you can check previous forum entries for suggestions about those.
Yes, I would fly to Nice from Bordeaux. Driving would take all day, and train connections would as well. (I could be wrong here. If I am, I hope someone will give correct info on that.)
Amusez-vous bien!

Hi Mary,

Winery visits in Bordeaux can easily be done without a tour or tour guide. It will be far more economical. There are two wineries within the city that you can visit, Chateau Pape Clement and Chateau Les Carmes Haut Brion. Saint-Emilion is only a short train ride away with many wineries walking distance from the train station. Make sure you book your visits in advance, don't walk in.

I would recommend you take a look at this website: www.sauvistication.com

It's genuine and will teach you how to navigate the wine scene on your own.

Safe Travels.

The train station in St.-Emilion is a fair distance from the town. When I was there in 2019, there was one of those little tourist pseudo-trains running from the train station all the way up to the top of the town (a much less touristy area). It wasn't expensive. I very much enjoyed starting at the top of St-Emilion and wandering slowly downhill. The distance from the train station to the town is totally walkable. I did that on the way back, but it was nice to get a lift up to the top of the hill.

Just an afterthought.....If you want to do a tour of wineries on your own with a rental car, be aware that impaired driving rules are strictly enforced in France, and the blood level alcohol content is lower than any of the states in the US. We have never done winery visits in France such as the ones in, say, Napa Valley, California, so we haven't had to concern ourselves with that, but for this reason, if I wanted to imbibe, I would take a tour. (Although I have no clue about their prices, so maybe not!)

Whatever you decide, Bordeaux is worth a stop oif at least two days.

Thank you for these excellent tips. We would not consider driving to wineries but were looking at being driven by tour companies.
Now that we have your knowledge that there are in town wineries to visit as well as the St Emilion train option we have a plan! Walking will be wonderful
Hoping to find a central Bordeaux location for that reason. Thanks again and please feel free to add anything!

Hi Maryellenpeter,
You can either take the train from Paris to Bordeaux (Gare Montparnasse) or fly. We do both and our personal choice comes down to cost vs. time. Both can be great, easy options. I would definitely fly from Bordeaux to Nice as the train is loooong. And, as someone mentioned, EasyJet is the way to go for that route.

Regarding Bordeaux itself, there is so much to do and see! I would suggest taking a look at Lost in Bordeaux (https://www.lostinbordeaux.com/), which is a website/blog that outlines everything to do in the Bordeaux area and it's in English. Another great resource for Bordeaux is Quoi Faire à Bordeaux (https://quoifaireabordeaux.com/) but it is in French (however you could google translate it.)

As for wineries/wine tours, you could do yourself or you could take a tour. Either are fantastic, it just depends on your needs. I have used Rustic Vines tours (https://rusticvinestours.com/) a few times with great success. They depart from either Bordeaux center or St. Émilion. I'm sure there are other tour companies just as good but I only have experience with Rustic Vines. The bike tours are super fun!

If you would like some more specific recommendations for the Bordeaux area, I'm happy to provide. I'm sure your trip will be fantastic whatever you choose to do! Happy Traveling!