Bordeaux lived up to expectations. It’s a port city on the Garonne River with some of the most beautiful architecture and buildings we saw in France.

We stayed at a budget hotel, Hotel ibis budget Bordeaux Centre Bastide, located across the river. Although it was a bit of a walk to the city center, we got to cross the Pont-de-Pierre, a majestic road bridge built in the 1820s.

Bordeaux is best known for its wine. And it’s confusing business. The Bordeaux wine region is divided into subregions and there are 60 Bordeaux appellations. The wine styles they represent are usually categorized into six main families, four red based on the subregions and two white based on sweetness.

Since we only had one day in Bordeaux, we knew we had to make the most of it. And that included squeezing in a wine tasting that wouldn’t cost us an arm-and-a-leg.

When we first crossed the river we noticed there was a wine festival in town. The ticket price was a little steep for our budget, but it was free to enter, so we took our time walking through the event, enjoying the atmosphere and checking out the food and wine samples.

Then we made our way into the city.

One of the coolest things about Bordeaux is its wine welcome center. It actually has a more legit name, Le Bar à Vin, but wine welcome center is exactly what it is.

The place had super courteous and knowledgeable staff that spoke many languages. And, most importantly, it had affordable wine tastings that allowed you to try a good example of many different Bordeaux wines. We were able to taste eight half glasses of wine, a bread and cheese plate, and chocolates for around €30.

Bordeaux was really nice. We hope go back one day to spend more time and participate in a winery tour.

Up next we head through Southern France on our way to Spain.