Bordeaux is France's wine capital and one of its great food cities — the combination of Gascon cooking (duck, foie gras, oysters) with the world's most celebrated wines makes every meal in Bordeaux an occasion.
Canelés (small caramelized pastries with a rum-and-vanilla custard center, crispy outside, custardy inside) were invented in the convents of Bordeaux in the 18th century and are still the definitive Bordelaise breakfast. At Baillardran or Lemoine.
The covered market of the Capucins (daily, finest on weekends) has the best produce in Bordeaux: the magret de canard, the foie gras from Les Landes, the Arcachon oysters and the cheeses from the Pyrenees.
The definitive Bordeaux meal: entrecôte (sirloin steak from the Bazas beef breed) with the bordelaise sauce of bone marrow, shallot and red Bordeaux wine. Since 1968.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe official wine bar of the Bordeaux wine council — the authoritative introduction to all the appellations at trade prices.
Arcachon Bay oysters (finest in France, 30 min away) with Pessac-Léognan white Bordeaux — the classic Bordeaux food pairing.
A Pomerol (the Merlot heartland, home of Pétrus) at a cave à vins in the Chartrons. The most velvety red wine style in Bordeaux.
Foie gras (duck liver terrine) spread on toasted brioche with fleur de sel and a glass of Sauternes. The most indulgent breakfast in France.
The Chartrons has been the wine merchant quarter since Dutch traders arrived in the 17th century — the stone cellars beneath the quays are some of the finest storage in France. Several négociants still sell direct.
Duck confit (leg rendered and crisped) with sarladaise potatoes (cooked in duck fat with garlic) and a glass of Cahors Malbec alongside.
The world's finest wine museum with 20 immersive rooms, ending with a wine glass at the 360° belvedere over the Garonne and vineyards.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideDuck breast (served pink like a steak) with a bottle of 2015 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. The classic Bordeaux right-bank food pairing.
Armagnac (the oldest distilled spirit in France, from the Landes south of Bordeaux) at a bar in the old city. Older, rawer and more complex than Cognac.
40 minutes from Bordeaux into the most beautiful wine village in France.
The largest rock-carved church in Europe (12th century) with limestone catacombs — the most extraordinary thing in Bordeaux wine country.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe wine bar-restaurant on the central square of Saint-Émilion — the best Saint-Émilion list in the village, with local charcuterie and cheese to accompany.
A biodynamic Grand Cru Classé with a 13th-century limestone cave cellar — guided tour and tasting of 3 wines. The most atmospheric cellar in Saint-Émilion.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideReturn by train and last dinner at the bistro of your choice.
The last dinner: whatever you've been saving for the final night — perhaps an aged Margaux, a Pauillac, or a glass of Sauternes with dessert. Bordeaux goodbye.