FRANCE A LA CARTE

Wine-tasting and gastronomy breaks

Eating and drinking have always gone together in France and our short breaks range from serious tasting of the 'grand crus' in the Bordeaux region to a more leisurely introduction to the oldest French spirit - Armagnac - in deepest Gascony.

Bordeaux Wine Tour - the details

Bordeaux airport or TGV station are the most convenient arrival points.

Try the LUXURY version of this tour - accommodation in a 4* Luxury spa hotel in the Smith-Lafitte vines!

BOOKING ENQUIRIES

other wine-tasting packages

Gascony - a real French spirt - Armagnac

Corbières - Languedoc's answer to Bordeaux

Cahors - Chateaux Mercuès & Haute Serre

Gaillac - Albi and the Tarn: interesting wines

Cognac - the 'other' great French spirit

BORDEAUX WINE TOUR

5 days / 4 nights escorted tour

This wine tour takes the form of an escorted tour. Participants are met at their airport/TGV station of arrival and transferred thereafter to their hotel and the different wine sites over the five days. Transport is by comfortable air-conditioned minivan with an experience English-speaking driver-guide. No more than 6 people are in the party.

Day 1: Arrival Bordeaux

Arrival airport. Welcome by your guide, panoramic tour of Bordeaux.
Dinner and overnight in Bordeaux (4* hotel).

Day 2: Full day tour of Médoc

Pick up at the hotel by your driver guide, departure for the Médoc, the most famous of the Bordeaux vineyards which lies to the North-West of Bordeaux city, a vast spit of land between the Atlantic Ocean to the West and the Gironde Estuary to the East, a geographical location which confers on it a temperate climate suited to vine-growing.
This symbiosis of plant and environment has given us 60 Grand Crus classés and 400 Crus Bourgeois in the 8 AOC of the Médoc.

Visit and tasting at the Château Lascombes, Grand Cru classé in Margaux Appellation
Visit and tasting at the Château Lynch Bages, Grand cru classé in Pauillac Appellation
Lunch at Café Lavinal. The café-restaurant is located in an old building at the heart of the hamlet of Bages, just opposite the famous bakery 'Au Baba d 'Andréa'. Every day chef Hugo Naon creates a special brasserie -style cuisine for his clientele.

Visit and tasting at the Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande at Pauillac.
Return to Bordeaux. Overnight at the hotel in Bordeaux.

Day 3: Full day tour of Saint-Emilion. Pick up at the hotel and departure for Saint-Emilion.
Visit and tasting to the Château Franc Mayne, Grand Cru classé of Saint Emilion
Visit St Emilion, mediaeval city, UNESCO world heritage site and one of the centres of Bordeaux wine-making.

Lunch in the medieval city at the Logis de la Cadène restaurant which dates back to 1848 and located in a fine old mansion in the centre of the old town. One of their specialities is grilled meat on vine-clippings, but whatever you eat, you'll have a warm and attentive welcome.
Visit and tasting to the Château Fonplegade, Grand Cru classé of Saint-Emilion. Return to Bordeaux.
Overnight at the hotel in Bordeaux.

Day 4: Bordeaux

Departure for a guided visit (2 hours) of Bordeaux to discover the old town: You will be able to discover the new heart of the City which has been considerably renovated with cleaned-up monuments, pedestrian zones and a brand-new tram service.

From the vestiges of the Middle Ages (11th century cathedral of St André, the St Pierre quarter), to the elegance of 18th century (the 4 km long façade overlooking the river, the place Royale, the Grand Theatre, Bordeaux's 1781 opera).

You will discover the different golden ages of Bordeaux's history, dominated by the wine trade and various colonial influences.

This afternoon you can do some shopping in the centre.
Gourmet dinner at the Chapon Fin restaurant
Overnight at the hotel in Bordeaux.

Day 5: Bordeaux

Breakfast in hotel. Transfer to Bordeaux Airport.