ordeaux
is reasonably spread out along the western side of the River
Garonne, with the eighteenth-century old town lying between
the place de la Comédie to the north, the imposing
buildings of the river bank and the cathedral to the west.
North of the centre is the vast open square of the esplanade
des Quinconces , and further still, the Jardin Public ,
containing some very scant remains of Bordeaux's Roman past.
Bordeaux
is packed with numerous restaurants , many of them top-notch,
and due to its position close to the Atlantic coast, fresh
seafood features prominently on many a Bordelais menu. The
best place to look for restaurants is around place du Parlement
and place St-Pierre, where you'll find something to please
all tastes and budgets. There are numerous sandwich bars
and fast-food outlets at the south end of rue Ste-Catherine
and spilling into studenty place de la Victoire. In recent
summers, guinguettes - open-air riverside stalls selling
shrimps, king prawns and other seafood snacks - have proved
a huge success, and they set up along the quai des Chartrons.
Surprisingly, Bordeaux lacks any truly
grand, people-watching cafés . Though Café
Regent on place Gambetta is the place to be seen, a nicer,
cheaper alternative is to be found across the square at
Café Dijeaux beside the city gate. For picnic fodder
, there is a marvellous, round market in the place des Grand-Hommes,
north of cours de l'Intendance. And on rue de Montesquieu,
just off the square, Jean d'Alos runs the city's best fromagerie
, with dozens of farm-produced cheeses..
There
is little in the world more alluring than a glass of Bordeaux.
Centuries of Cabernet and Merlot blending mastery, combined
with a unique terrain and climate give birth to refinement
and equilibrium of a highly enticing nature.
