What to do in Bordeaux

Bordeaux has had a glow-up. The once-grimy quays now gleam, and the honey-coloured eighteenth-century façades are some of Europe's finest (see them on a gourmet food tour, or after dark from a vintage sidecar). La Cité du Vin, shaped like wine swirling in a glass, pairs its museum with sommelier-led workshops. Out of the city, the D2 runs through the Médoc past the grand châteaux of Margaux and Pauillac (try it in a classic Citroën 2CV). Medieval Saint-Émilion has a church carved into the limestone, and vineyards you can cycle or float over by balloon at sunrise. Out west, Arcachon Bay serves oysters fresh from the farms beneath the Dune du Pilat, Europe's tallest sand dune. The Médoc is as flat as a crêpe, so save your legs for Saint-Émilion. And your palate for everything.