Bordeaux Tourist Guide

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Late holiday deals to Bordeaux are a great thing to look for, particularly at the end of the summer holiday season. Temperatures are still up, but once kids go back to school it’s nice to be able to get away without them if you have your own, or if you don’t just when it’s cheaper and quieter. Bordeaux is a city with a port at the mouth of the Garonne River in south-west France. It’s the capital of the Aquitaine region where the famous Eleanor was from. In her time she was the queen of both France and England and one of the most powerful and richest women in the Western Europe at the peak of the Middle Ages. She was the mother of Richard the Lionheart who is mentioned in the folklore surrounding Robin Hood, his brother John being cited as a villain.

Bordeaux is famous for its wine, which is exported globally and enjoyed in many countries. The area has more than 280,000 acres of vineyards with 10,000 chateaux that produce the stuff. Hundreds of millions of bottles are produced each year.

But wine is something that is best as an accompaniment to good food. Bordeaux has a humble approach to food, delighting in many things that are simplistic in their composition.

As with the south coast of the UK, which also looks out to the Atlantic ocean, the regional fish here features mussels, oysters, clams, cockles and crabs much as in the UK. Look out for a plateau de fruits de mer (platter of the fruits of the sea). Next you might get a merrine with cod lobster or scallops. Soup aux moules is a thick and creamy soup made with mussels, saffron cream and wine and is delicious.

Eclade is a tradition in Bordeaux – cooking mussels on the beach. Mussels are placed on a water-soaked board on rocks on the beach and covered with hay. The hay is then set alight.

Another good fish dish is the Lamproie a la Bordelaise (eels in red wine). The eel here is fantastic and in addition to eels, top-notch caviar comes out of the Gironde estuary.

The region also produces some fine quality beef and lamb. A favourite beef dish is the entrecôte marchand de vin which is essentially seasoned steak fried with onions with wine added near the end of the cooking process. Entrecote translates as ‘between the ribs.’ Perhaps the most famous sauce from this region, however, and that works with the entrecote is the Sauce Bordelaise, made with bone marrow stock, shallots and red wine.

The agneau de Pauillac is a wonderful lamb dish that uses lamb from by the salt marshland of Pauillac. You should also be able to find snails cooked in a red wine, cognac and tomato-based sauce. Another beautiful dish is Figs avec le jambon Poitou et le fromage de chèvres or figs with Poitou ham and goats cheese.

For dessert, perhaps you might like to delight in a Cannelés Bordelais. These are sweet caramelised brioche-like pastries.

John Hutchinson has enjoyed travelling since he was a young boy when his parents first took him to visit family overseas. Since leaving home, John has tracked down family all over the world and regularly jets off to faraway lands to see distant relatives.