Last year we decided to do a holiday in France. The advantages of doing so are two-fold. A) It’s relatively near and B) the food’s generally pretty amazing. So I went online in search of cheap car hire and decided to head en famille to the city of Bordeaux via Luton airport.
The city carries the moniker La Belle Au Bois (Sleeping Beauty) which is a little baffling. Beautiful it unquestionably is, but sleeping it most certainly is not. Indeed, since the year 2000 and its mayor, ex-Prime Minister, Alain Juppe, started to pedestrianise this elegant city, restore its faded grandeur and introduce a highly efficient transport system, the place barely goes to sleep.
It is the capital of the Aquitaine region of France, lying in the south west corner and on the left bank of the River Garonne, near the Atlantic coast. It’s also an animated university town with a busy port. But it’s best known, of course, as the centre of the wine trade.
On arriving in our little hatch-back, we found our way to our reasonably priced hotel with free car parking not too far from the city centre, and from here ventured out on foot. For gastronomes and those who like to indulge in a spot of retail therapy, this place scores in spades. This majestic city noted for its fine 18th century facades is also home to some of the world’s finest wines which are grown surprisingly close to the city centre, and the vineyards themselves stretch for several miles beyond.
We enjoyed mooching around the city’s old town which is a maze of endless narrow streets and enticing shops, some with art nouveau features. The Quartier Saint-Michael with its lovely church and bustling market that takes place every Monday and Saturday morning is a good place to head for if, like us, you have a thing about markets. The French, of course, do markets better than most, and this one with its exotic offerings from North Africa was no exception.
Once you feel you’ve done enough of the city, there are countless places to head for if you have a set of wheels. We chose to seek out Bayonne, the mediaeval city that is the capital of the Basque region with its magnificent cathedral and chic riverside boulevards. For over 500 years Bayonne has been famed for its fine chocolate. Beware chocoholics, this could be an expensive though thoroughly enjoyable trip, particularly when you have children in tow. The place is also known for its cured ham seasoned with peppers and of all things, walking-sticks (makilas).
We spent much of our time thereafter walking in the lush region of Landes, a flat forested area that runs along the coast just below the Bordeaux vineyards all the way to Bayonne, and is liberally sprinkled with pretty villages of half timbered houses, attractive resorts like Biscarrosse and Hossegor, and wonderful white sandy beaches, which were perfect for entertaining the kids while we plonked ourselves down with the papers and a good bottle of the local grape juice.
Alex Pearl is a freelance copywriter and author of ‘Sleeping with the Blackbirds’.
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