| A visit to Bordeaux that won’t break the bank |
Mere mention of the name "Bordeaux" is enough to make any wine lover’s spine tingle. It evokes visions of seductive white wines and beautifully complex reds, as well as stately chateaux and pedigreed vineyards. Sadly, the thought of Bordeaux can also make one’s wallet feel instantly lighter. Think of the wines that cost up to thousands of Euros a case! Imagine the economic toll of nights spent in luxurious chateau hotels, and of wine-based beauty treatments in posh spas.
But maybe, I asked myself recently, maybe Bordeaux doesn’t have to cost the proverbial arm and a leg. Might it be possible, I wondered, to find an array of appealing yet affordable Bordeaux wines? Furthermore, could one realistically contemplate a visit to Bordeaux on a reasonably priced budget?
These questions are the reason I find myself now on the TGV whisking from Paris down to Bordeaux (with 25 trains a day to and from Paris, and 140 flights connecting it to various other cities, Bordeaux is certainly accessible). My goal is to spend a handful of days in the city of Bordeaux sampling wines, eateries, and accommodations, all in a reasonable mid-price range.
Arriving in town on a Sunday night — not a great time to go anywhere in France since most restaurants are closed on Sunday — I check into my hotel, then head out to the streets to look for a place to dine.
I could hop on Bordeaux’s spiffy and efficient new tramway, which covers most of the city. Installed in 2004, the high-tech tram is efficient, inexpensive, and non-polluting. It has greatly reduced downtown traffic congestion, and since it operates on an underground power supply, there are no ugly cable systems overhead. But instead, I think I’ll walk. For those of us who like both the exercise and the expediency of getting about on foot, Bordeaux is an idyllic city, with plenty of car-free zones, and easy to navigate with the help of a basic map.
I saunter through town slipping easily from one neighborhood to the next. Bordeaux is divided into several different districts, each with its own charm. Saint-Michel is very cosmopolitan, with a colorful outdoor market on Saturday mornings and a flea market on Sundays. Narrow, cobbled streets characterize Saint Pierre. The Grands Hommes district (known also as The Triangle) is lined with elegant boutiques and townhouses, while the Chartrons, the former heart of the Bordeaux wine trade, features magnificent architecture.
By chance, I happen upon Chez Paulette, a delightful little bistrot embellished with walls covered with pictures. The somewhat funky decor is well matched by a menu that sums up the essence of bistro cuisine with items such as gratineed pigs’ feet, porcini mushrooms (cepes) baked in a deep dish to luscious perfection, delicately sauteed sweetbreads. One simple measure of good bistrot cooking is the success of the omelettes, and Chez Paulette turns them out classically golden on the outside with a voluptuously soft interior. Tender and tasty white asparagus is a Bordelais favorite, especially when accompanied by refreshing local Sauvignon-Blanc/Semillon white wine. The wine list at Chez Paulette offers good and affordable selections such as Domaine de Grandmaison, Chateau Coufran, and L’Abeille de Fieuzal, none of these more than 30 Euros.
It’s less than a 15-minute walk back to the Hotel de Normandie. Situated in the heart of the historic section of the city, the Normandie’s windows look out over the tree-lined Esplanade des Quinconces. With the exception of the spacious "Grand Confort" rooms on the top floor, guest rooms are generally smallish, but they are clean, serviceable, and modestly priced, ranging from EU 55-120. But what the Normandie is really all about is location. From here, it’s a two minute walk to the famed Grand Theatre, and less than 5 minutes to the banks of the Garonne River. Most conveniently for any wine lover, a scant block separates the hotel from the CIVB (the Conseil Interprofessionnel de Vin de Bordeaux — the Bordeaux Wine Council).
Around mid-morning the next day I make my way over to the 18th-century building that houses the CIVB, and head upstairs to the Ecole de Vin for a quick Bordeaux primer with Gabrielle Shaw. Shaw, a British Master of Wine, offers classes geared either to wine professionals or to interested amateurs, ranging from a two hour general introductory seminar to four-day intensive courses. Under her tutelage I brush up on Bordeaux’s important wine regions, including the Medoc (home of some of the most impressive chateaux and prestigious Classified Growths), the Blaye and Bourg districts (known for picturesque villages, Romanesque churches, and vine-covered slopes overlooking the Gironde River), Saint Emilion (as famous for its eponymous medieval town as for its fine, elegant wines), Entre-Deux-Mers (Bordeaux’s largest winegrowing region, named for the two rivers, the Garonne and the Dordogne, that mark its borders), and Graves (stretching bucolically along the west bank of the Garonne to the Landes pine forests).
With appetite fueled by a late-morning wine tasting at the CIVB, I stroll over to the bustling Place de Quinconces for lunch. A decade ago it was a challenge to come up with more than a handful of Bordeaux restaurants that were worthy of a great wine capital, but that picture has improved considerably. At the popular Bistrot de Quinconces, I order a glass of Chateau Tour de Mirambeau from Entre-Deux-Mers, a fresh and lively white wine that is a perfect partner for a dozen oysters shimmering in their shells before me (Bordeaux’s Arcachon oysters, raised on the coast due west of Graves, are notoriously sweet and plump). Sticking with the sea motif, the oysters are followed by a filet of carrelet, a diminutive Atlantic fish with the pure white flesh and delicate flavors of sole.
I devote the next couple of days to simply roaming around Bordeaux. This is a town that has impressively reinvented itself, evolving through the 1990s from a gray and sullen provincial outpost into a dynamic, welcoming metropolis. In addition to the fine new tramway, other municipal improvements include the creation of new parks and the renovation of public squares. Bordeaux’s elegant 18th-century buildings have been restored and buffed clean to reveal the pale, golden stone that had been obscured by centuries of grit and grime.
Bordeaux’s praiseworthy museums include the CAPC, where contemporary art is exhibited in a cavernous former colonial warehouse. The hulking old stone building provides a spectacular setting for the art, and it also houses an attractive cafe that is a great place to grab a bite to eat while resting one’s feet after a morning spent plodding around museums. In temperate weather the museum’s roof provides a restful haven as well as stunning views over the city.
I while away another couple of hours at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, with its varied collection of furniture, glass, ceramics and metalwork displayed in a pristinely preserved 18th century mansion set at the back of a cobbled courtyard. Just up the street from the museum on the tiny rue Bouffard, is an exceedingly agreeable Bed & Breakfast named Une Chambre En Ville. I spend my last couple of nights at the B&B to get a feel for what it’s like to stay in this section of town. Although it’s right in the center of the city, rue Bouffard is a fairly quiet street lined with antique stores (the double-paned insulated windows at Une Chambre further guarantee a quiet night’s rest.) The five guest rooms are stylishly furnished, and although a couple of them are small, mine (the Bordelaise Suite) is large and airy. (Rooms range from EU 79 to 89).
Heading further into the center of town, I pop into Thierry Lalet Dessert, a tiny shop where mouth-watering pastries are displayed jewel-like in glass cases. At Saunion, fine candy makers since 1893, I sample lightly salted chocolate meant to be enjoyed with wine. I also drop in at Jean d’Alos, the finest cheese store in Bordeaux (Jean d’Alos is widely recognized as one of the country’s finest affineurs). I make my way over to bustling Baillardron to sample caneles (unique to Bordeaux, caneles are little fluted cakes, caramelized on the outside, with a soft interior lightly flavored with vanilla and a hint of rum). At L’Intendant, a retail mecca for wine lovers, I climb the spiral staircase that corkscrews up four floors lined with shelves holding thousands of bottles of wine.
Among my favorite eateries in the city’s historic district is the informal and inexpensive Jool D. Le Bistrot de L’Huitre, where I slurp up oysters garnished Bodeaux-style with sausage, washed down with Clos de Beau Site Graves. For heartier fare I spend my last evening at La Tupina, where the substantial cuisine of Gascony reigns. At La Tupina the decor is casual, and both the menu and wine list cover a wide range of options and prices. Just walking past the open fireplace where ducks, chickens and steaks sizzling over the flames release heavenly aromas into the atmosphere is enough to make one fairly swoon with anticipation. Foie gras, rich and voluptuous, is garnished with nothing more than a sprinkling of coarse salt. Wild boar has been patiently braised in a pungent wine and herb infused potion, and garlic-spiked lamb spent a day simmering to silken tenderness. Fried potatoes that are utterly addictive accompany steak, grilled to perfection with a crisply browned exterior and juicy pink interior, the gastronomic equivalent of a habit-forming drug.
Since I can’t possibly go straight back to my hotel and bed after indulging so at La Tupina, I cross over the bridge on this balmy evening for one last look at Bordeaux in all her twinkling nighttime splendor. There is no better vista of the city, either after dark or by light of day, than from the opposite bank of the Garonne, looking across the dark water to the graceful procession of tawny buildings curving along the quay. And this splendid view costs absolutely nothing.
