Sign in with Facebook
Hotel Class: 
3 Stars - 5 Opinions
78 Av John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Parc Cadera Sud, Merignac, Aquitaine, 33700, France
Check Rates and Availability
of people enjoy staying here
5 Opinions
Place de la Bourse at night
For the Big Splurge
The North Side Royal Portal
mi's
I'm a student from California heading to Bordeaux this fall for about 4 months as part of an university exchange program. I'm looking for some ideas for weekend travels out of the country. I'm interested in some big cities like Rome and Geneva, but I'm also eager to visit smaller towns -- the better kept secrets of France and surrounding countries. Please, seasoned travelers, offer some ideas (and advice) to an unsuspecting, naive young fellow.
Are you from Berkeley?
My son spent his junior year in Bordeaux. He enjoyed riding a bicycle in the countryside east of Bordeaux. He said people were more friendly towards him when he was riding his bike. He met some very nice people.
Jeannette
San Sebastian, Spain is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It's just over the border from France.
In the Bordeaux area, be sure to visit St. Emilion. It's a beautiful town and they have a church there literally carved out of the mountain. There are lots of places for wine tasting too. That's its real claim to fame.
You might want to go up to La Rochelle on the coast. Also, inland are Bergerac and Sarlat among many others. It's such a gorgeous area, you might want to stay there for the four months. Whatever you do, don't miss Rocamadour.
Type these into the VT search window above and see what they offer. All are definitely worth a weekend.
Yes, Sarlat is a great idea. I remember now that my son said he rode his bike to Sarlat from Bordeaux and had a terrific time.
J.
If you can make your way to Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre in Italy. You'll meet lots of young people from Australia, USA and Canda (plus Italy of course!) and see some stunning scenery. The walk between the five towns is a must do. You can get a train to Genova or La Spezia and get a regional train from there.
Have fun
2 tips:
1- You can get very cheap flights from Bordeaux airport to UK, Scandinavia, Madrid or others + Paris by train is fast (3h) and cheap if you book in advance (or take Air France for app. 100€ if you book 2/3 weeks in adv.).
2- Go to saint Emilion area and in Bordeaux get some friends (not so difficult, you'll see) to do a road trip from Bordeaux to Spain (Landes, Basques Country, San Sebastian/Donostia, Northern spanish cost or Madrid)
Visit Sauternes at 80 Km in the North from Bordeaux. Here is one of the most famous vineyard of the area. They make a sweet white wine of which particular taste is given by a mushroom which grows on the vine at Fall when the weather is wet. The best of the best is the Chateau d'Yquem. Pretty good but very expensive.
I recommend the TGV from Paris. It 350 miles from Paris so lets not spend all day on a train, so take the fastest one. Buy your rail passes from home not when you get there. It's less expensive and then you are guaranteed a seat.
The bus is ok. It seems like a long ride from the train station to the more central 'downtown'. A tour guide is ideal but mostly we walked. Just accross from where we were staying they offered horse drawn winery tours which looked neat. A bicycle may not be a bad idea. You can rent them down at the wharf pier area not far from the retired warship to explore the water front.
The majestic monument with fountains in honour of Girondists - deputies of Revolution towers at the Esplanade des Quinconces. The monument is 50 m high. At the top we can see a statue of Freedom. At the bootom of the monument we can see two fountains "Triumph of Respublique" and "Triuumph of Concorde". The monument was installed in 1902.
The bottom part of the column is decorated with various symbolical figures, including the gallic cock. In 1943 fascists disassembled the column to take advantage of 52 tons of bronze. The restoration of the column finished in 1983.
The Pont de Pierre is a beautiful stone bridge which was completed in 1822 after being commissioned by Napoleon. The bridge is quite amazing and was the first bridge built across the Garonne.
It is said that the bridge could only be compared to those magnificient bridges in Paris, and I quite agree. During dusk you can appreciate the bridge in all its glory as my picture illustrates.
See my blog, www.momentumandmemento.blogspot.com for exhaustive details about my trip to Bordeaux, Plum Village (a seminar with Thich Nhat Hanh), St. Remy de Provence, Marseilles, and Paris in August and September, 2007 (for about a month in all). If you want to see my unedited photos (only about half of them, because I haven't scanned the ones on slides yet), go to www.picasaweb.google.com/joansaks.
Sponsored Links
Similar to Ibis Bordeaux Aeroport
Near Ibis Bordeaux Aeroport
Step Up from Ibis Bordeaux Aeroport
Cheapest in Bordeaux
Great Hotels for Less
Q: West of Bordeaux? "Hello VT friends, I know you are going to know the answer to this... What is the area to the west of Bordeaux like? Its called..."
A: "We made this detour on a similar journey some years ago. Colleagues - who were enthusiastic campers, cyclists anwalkers,as well as beach lovers made annual vists to..."
Sponsored Links
Latest Bordeaux hotel reviews
Sponsored Links
Check Rates and Availability (from our partners)
