Bordeaux

There are a lot of interesting things to see close to Bordeaux.

North

The Medoc region, where some of the famous Bordeaux wines are produced. The first growths Château Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Château Margaux and Chateau Mouton Rothschild are all located in the Medoc. If you are planning a tour to a chateau, keep the following in mind: 1 call ahead and make a reservation; 2 Chateau Latour generally only accepts serious collectors and professionals; and 3 Chateau Mouton Rothschild is closed for renovation during 2010, the chai is a five-meter hole as of this writing.

West

To the west, you will end up at the Atlantic Ocean, with over 250 kilometers of golden sand beaches accompanied by a sea of unspoilt pine forests; there are a lot of very nice-looking little towns close to the sea, including Arcachon, sea-side town, noted for its oyster production. You can take a train from Gare de Saint Jean in Bordeaux to Arcachon for around 7 euros, the train takes between 40 and 50 minutes. The Hourtins' Lake, the biggest fresh water water lake in France, is located there. In summer, its a paradise to go swimming or cycling in the pine-tree woods of that area. Near Arcachon is the biggest sand dune in Europe– very interesting, especially when you travel with small children.

East

Here you will find Saint Emilion, a well known AOC c.f. Saint-Émilion AOC surrounding the UNESCO Heritage village by the same name c.f. UNESCO World Heritage List. Here, the most famous chateau are Château Ausone and Château Cheval Blanc. Nearby, in the Pomerol AOC, lies Château Petrus. In addition, the Entre-deux-Mers between the Garonne river and the Dordogne river has a large variety of old castles and wineries that produce Bordeaux Superieur wines.

South

The Graves region, which includes some of the oldest vineyards. Two famous estates are Château Haut-Brion closed for renovation in 2010 and Château La Mission Haut-Brion. To the southeast lies Sauternes, which produces one of the most famous dessert wines in the world, Château d'Yquem. This area is the most interesting for historical tourism, with many beautiful towns and historical monuments open to the public. Towns: Bazas, Saint Macaire, Uzeste,Cadillac. Castles: Chateau de Roquetaillade (http://www.roquetaillade.eu), Villandraut ,Malle, Fargues, Cazeneuve.

To reach those places, you can use either the regional railways TER or inter-city bus lines which often go where trains do not. By car, all these areas are less than an hour from Bordeaux.

The whole region is covered with well organized bike or walking trails which let you discover the countryside.