Bordeaux

Bordeaux : Limousin & Perigord : Gascony : The Pyrenees

Car Hire (main collection points only) : Bordeaux Airport : Bordeaux Railway Station : Toulouse Airport : Toulouse Downtown : Toulouse Railway Station

Bordeaux situated on the Gironde estuary, is both an important port and a key wine-producing region.

The main wine producing area is known as the Graves region.

The name “Graves” refers to the gravely nature of the soil, producing both red and white wines, some from the same vine.

The famous Chateau d’Yquem can be visited with prior reservation, and the nearby Chateau Filhot offers wine tasting and a friendly welcome.

Another area is the Santernais region, which produce sweet white Sauternes and Barsac wines. Their intensity is caused by allowing the grapes to ripen until attacked by fungus which causes the grape to shrivel, but the sugar content to increase, a process know as “noble rot”.

East of Bordeaux city lies the small town of St Emilion, which lends its name to yet another wine district. Honoured by the English as the “King of Wines”, the quality has been supervised for eight centuries by an elected council of peers, know as Jurats.

St Emilion also offers a wealth of religious architecture with its two monasteries. The most spectacular aspect is a unique monolithic church, whose steeple emerges full-blown at street level on the hill top, having been tunnelled in to the hillside in the 11th century.

The city of Bordeaux itself is the fifth largest in France and the sixth largest port. In addition to the wine trade, its merchant marine was active in the slave trade, and later in commerce with French colonies in Africa. Since 1960’s it has also become an industrial centre, mainly in aeronautics.

The urban architecture of Bordeaux city is cool and spacious, dominated by the regularity of 18th century construction; one exception to this pattern is the Romanesque church of Ste Croix.

The River Lot is also a prominent feature of this area. Situated on a peninsula formed by the by the river, near the town of Cahors, is the famous bridge of Pont Valentré, with its six pointed arches and three defensive towers rising 40m (130ft) above the river.

In this area you can obtain your hire car from Bordeaux Airport, Bordeaux Railway Station and Bergerac Airport.