Three days in Bordeaux

Day one. The city first.

Morning. Start at La Cité du Vin, the wine museum that looks like a decanter mid pour. Two hours is enough, and the tasting on the top floor comes with the whole city below you. Afternoon. Walk the riverfront to the Place de la Bourse, then browse the Marché des Capucins for lunch among the oyster stalls. Evening. Le Bar à Vin run by the CIVB on Cours du 30 Juillet, where serious Bordeaux is poured by the glass at committee prices. Order across both banks and take notes for tomorrow.

Day two. The Left Bank.

Morning. Drive north into the Médoc on the D2, the château route. Your first appointment is in Margaux or Saint-Julien, booked weeks ago because that is how the Médoc works. Afternoon. Second visit in Pauillac, where Cabernet is at its most certain of itself. Lunch in the village at Café Lavinal. Evening. Back in Bordeaux, dinner at La Tupina, duck fat on everything, the most Bordelais room in the city.

Day three. The Right Bank.

Morning. Forty minutes east to Saint-Émilion, a medieval village standing in its own vineyards. Climb the bell tower first, the whole appellation makes sense from up there. Afternoon. One château visit on the limestone plateau, where Merlot leads and the wines turn velvet. Lunch in the village square, then the underground monolithic church before you leave. Evening. Last glass back in the city. You will know by now whether you are a Left Bank or a Right Bank person, which is the whole point of coming.

Know before you go

When to go. May, June and September. Harvest in late September is thrilling but the châteaux are working and visits thin out.

Getting there. Two hours from Paris by TGV, or fly into Bordeaux Mérignac. You only need a car for the château days.

How many days. Three. City, Left Bank, Right Bank. Trying to do both banks in one day is how people end up hating Bordeaux.

The châteaux. Almost everything is by appointment. Book two to four weeks ahead, expect 15 to 40 euros per visit, and the famous first growths book out months in advance. The unfamous names often pour better visits.

The mistake first timers make. Skipping the city. Bordeaux town earned its UNESCO listing and it is where you learn to drink the region by the glass before committing to appointments.

Drink it before you go

A cru bourgeois Médoc, such as Château Citran. Left Bank structure without the first growth invoice.

A Saint-Émilion grand cru, such as Château Soutard. What Merlot sounds like when it leads.

A white from Graves. The Bordeaux nobody expects, and the best argument the region is more than red.

Bordeaux is one of twelve places in The Grape Atlas. Learn it in five minutes, free.