Bordeaux & Charente
Top Tips
St Emilion
St Emilion lives and breathes wine, so go on a vineyard tour (we
recomend Chateau Figeac), or a tasting at the Marchand de Vins (25
rue Guadet). The lovely cobbled 13th-century hillside town is less
famously home to the macaroon. Visit the bell tower on a guided
tour: starting inauspiciously in a cave, it ends with a panorama of
merlot-producing vines.
Bordeaux
Its tawny 18th-century buildings glow in the sun, its river
sparkles at night. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (CAPC)
housed atmospherically in a big old spice warehouse; browse the
Monday and Saturday markets under the Basilica in Place Saint
Michel. Enjoy exquisite patisseries at Chris'teas, 16 passage
Sarget (the covered gallery just off the Cour d'Intendance), buy
some of Bordeaux's little fluted cakes ('canales') from
Baillardron, or invest in a world-beating wine at L'Intendant, 2
allee de Tourny. Slurp oysters garnished with sausage at Jool D Le
Bistro de L'Huitre, dine on a thick steak cooked over an open fire
at La Tupina, salivate over sweetbreads at Chez Paulette, 24 rue St
Remi.
Aubeterre sur Dronne
This pretty village, beloved by Brits and artists, is found
northeast of Bordeaux. Its main draw is the astonishing eglise
monolithique, a cavernous and historic worshipping space hidden
inside a cliff, peppered with graves, stairwells and galleries all
hewn, Petra-like, out of the living rock. Back in the real world,
there's a shady square for beers and snacks, bijou boutiques
selling antiques and bric-a-brac, some small museums (puppets,
butterflies), a wonderful atelier selling painted mobiles for kids
(open sporadically) - and, a short walk down the hill, a riverside
plage for summertime bathing or canoeing. Just 5 minutes' drive
from Chateau Le Mas de Montet.
Brantome and Bourdeilles
Continuing north: Brantome's water-lilied and willow-strewn Dronne
entices the tourists in summer, but don't let this put you off.
Hire a canoe and paddle downriver to Bourdeilles, an ancient
village that clusters around a two-part chateau: one half a
13th-century fortress with a tower and a spectacular view, the
other, a Renaissance chateau with a golden drawing room designed
for Catherine de' Medici. Close to the Chateau de la
Couronne.
Head for the Atlantic
Visit Charente - soft sands, good swimming, watersports. Then
there's Talmont, a tiny peninsula on the Gironde, with a handful of
Charentais houses, hundreds of hollyhocks, 82 residents and a
beautiful Romanesque church.
Cognac
Sales of the world's favourite brandy have broken all records.
Since the 1600s, the celebrated nectar - "yac" to American rappers!
- has been created in Cognac, the medieval town that bears the name
of the region; the very air is imbued with the scent of spirits. So
prepare to get down to some serious tasting - each distillery has
its own secret process for mixing the blends. All too easy if
you're staying at the Chateau de Mirambeau.