On today's episode, Annie chats with Ira about her favorite day-trips around Bordeaux. Ira is in a great position to tell us about that because she moved to Bordeaux full time a few years ago and has gotten to know the area very well. We talk about several wine routes you can drive, about the Bassin d’Arcachon which is dear to my heart as I explain in the episode, the Entre Deux Mers area, and about general tips about visiting this area. Ira publishes a blog called Lost in Bordeaux that I can heartily recommend. Day-Trips Around Bordeaux There is a fair bit of information about Bordaux and Saint-Émilion on-line, but not so much about the other gems in the area. The purpose of this episode is to make you aware of the many wonderful places you can visit around Bordeaux! Before you get going around Bordeaux, it's worth repeating that Bordeaux itself is worth a full day. The city has a lot to offer. If you land in Paris from North America and take the TGV to Bordeaux directly from the CDG airport, you'll arrive in Bordeaux by the middle of the afternoon France time. It would be ideal to spend that first half-day in Bordeaux and then at least one more full day. It's worth it just for the gastronomy and all the great wine bars! Places You Can Visit Around Bordeaux Bordeaux is in the Gironde department, in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region. One of the things that make it special is that there are so many different types of activities to do in this part of France. Having said that, many of the attractions we'll discuss are hard to get to without a car. You should book your car in advance, especially if you need an automatic. Understand that in France last-minute car rentals are terribly expensive. Wine Activities You can't come to Bordeaux and ignore the wine. There are 5 sub wine regions in Bordeaux and you could do a wine route dedicated to each of them. Each would look different, taste different, have a different history. Saint-Émilion Do understand that Saint-Émilion is the most "touristy" wine area of the Bordeaux region, especially during "vendange" season which is Sept and Oct. This town is the easiest to visit by train. The train station in Saint-Émilion is a 15-20 minute walk to the center of the town, but there are taxis, it's easy to do. In Saint-Émilion you MUST take the tour that they offer at the tourist office otherwise you won't get into the monolithic church that is so interesting there. You should plan ahead and book a tour, they have them available in English as well. There are a lot of wineries to visit around Saint-Émilion and for some of those you need a car. If you come in the summer or harvest season, book in advance, they don't like people just showing up. But, if you didn't book in advance, at the Tourist Office they have a list of 3 or 4 chateaux that are open that day for drop-in visitors. Also book your restaurant in Saint-Émilion unless you just want to get a sandwich at a boulangerie because all the good places are full. This is more important than ever because with the pandemic all venues are limited to how many people they can host and this will probably be the case going forward to some time. Pomerole Pomerole is another lovely wine village and area you can visit. It's not as touristy. The town itself if tiny, not much to see. But there are lots of wineries around there including Château Pétrus but most of us can't afford that because it is priced in the thousands per bottle. A more approachable chateau there is called Château Beauregard and it's also very nice. Médoc The Médoc area includes some of the most expensive wines in the world, but it's not as touristy as the others. Médoc is more spread-out all over the Médoc peninsula. They are all along this road with beautiful châteaux sprinkled throughout. You'll see many family-owned wineries, much smaller labels you've probably never heard of. Again, it's important to select a few places you want to visit and book them in advance because, like many popul