Bordeaux
City On The Garonne Whose Eighteenth Century Centre, Bordeaux, Port Of The Moon, Is A UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed 2007; Capital Of The World'S Best Known Wine Region · Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bordeaux is a port city on a crescent bend of the Garonne river in south-west France, and the capital of the most famous wine region in the world. Its centre, known as the Port of the Moon for the shape of the river, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2007: an unusually complete eighteenth-century city of pale limestone façades, squares and long quays. For much of the twentieth century it was blackened and cut off from its river by warehouses; since the 2000s the stone has been cleaned, the quays turned into a riverside promenade and trams have replaced much of the traffic. The Place de la Bourse and its Miroir d'eau, a thin sheet of water that reflects the façades, are the city's emblem. Rue Sainte-Catherine is a long pedestrian shopping street; the Chartrons quarter to the north was the wine merchants' district. La Cité du Vin, a museum of wine culture, sits on the river further north. Bordeaux makes a good base for the vineyards of Saint-Émilion and the Médoc, which need a car, a tour or booked visits.
Place de la Bourse and the Garonne quays, Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
The streets, quays and squares of the old centre are open at all times and free, and the Miroir d'eau normally runs every day in the warmer months, cycling between a thin film of water and a mist, but it is switched off in winter for maintenance and in some dry summers; confirm before planning photos around it. La Cité du Vin opens daily with longer hours in summer, and a timed ticket with a tasting on the top-floor belvedere is the usual visit; it closes on a few holidays such as 25 December. The city's museums, including the Musée d'Aquitaine, the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the CAPC contemporary art museum, usually close one weekday, often Monday or Tuesday, and on some public holidays, so check each before going. Churches are generally open during the day outside services, and the Pey-Berland tower beside the cathedral keeps its own seasonal hours. Shops mostly close on Sunday, when the Quai des Chartrons market is on in the morning. Châteaux in the Médoc and Saint-Émilion are visited by appointment only, often closed at weekends and during the September to October harvest, and must be booked days or weeks ahead.