When one mentions Bordeaux, what do you think of?  Rolling hills covered by vineyards producing some of the best wines of the world?  At one time, that was the first thing that came to my mind, too.  It’s true that the Bordeaux wine-growing region is absolutely beautiful.  But now that I’ve explored Bordeaux, the actual city itself has taken up new meaning, a beautiful city in its own right.

We had only one day to explore Bordeaux, and it happened to be a very unusually swelteringly hot day.  Undeterred however, we made our way into the center of town.  To build up some energy for our day, we first stopped for lunch at an excellent pizzeria recommended by our AirBnB host in Cap Ferret.

Lunch at Pizzeria Restaurant Masaniello

After this excellent lunch, we were ready to begin our walking tour of Bordeaux…

Pont de Pierre, built in 1822, sitting over the Garonne River

Porte Cailhau (or the Cailhau Gate) once a part of the city walls of Bordeaux

Place du Palais looking down towards Porte Cailhau

Walking along Quai Richelieu

A combination of the old and new:  Place de la Bourse alongside Bordeaux’s main means of transportation

Fontaine des 3 Graces, located in the middle of the Place de la Bourse

The Miroir d’Eau (Water Mirror), located across from the Place de la Bourse, alternates between periods of stillness where one can catch the reflections of the beautiful buildings nearby…

…and periods of misting, perfect for a hot day like today!

After a long (and hot!) day of walking around the city, we were ready for dinner!  We decided on another recommendation from our Cap Ferret host (since she didn’t disappoint for lunch) and we ate at Belle Campagne, a restaurant that believes in serving only seasonal ingredients from local producers.  We split a pork chop for 2 people, and it was delicious!

An excellent ending to an excellent day

À Savoir:

• Belle Campagne – 15, rue des Baguiers, 33000 Bordeaux.  Open Tuesday through Saturday 7-11pm.  Phone: 05.56.81.16.51.  http://www.belle-campagne.fr/contact/

• Pizzeria Masaniello – 10 Rue Maucoudinat, 33000 Bordeaux.  Open 7 days/week for lunch and dinner.  Phone: 05.57.30.61.50.  http://www.pizzeriamasaniello.com