Travel Spotlight

Southwestern Belle

Whenever I leave France, I’m already planning a return trip. Usually it’s to a different region, but Aquitaine, which encompasses Bordeaux, Biarritz and the Pays Basque, was such a delightful surprise that my next trip will be back there. Comprising five of France’s 100 departments, Aquitaine is an amazingly varied place in terms of landscapes, food, customs and even language. Here are the highlights:

Bordeaux City

This is the French city that should be on your radar. It's a city that is young, fun and just now coming into its own. Large parts feel like Paris’s Marais before that quartier became overrun by chains and tourists. Bordeaux still has an artisanal, homemade vibe, with cute boutiques, a fabulous café and bar scene, and some very good brasseries serving the unapologetically rich southwestern cuisine (hello foie gras and rillette de lapin). Historic monuments seamlessly blend with contemporary additions, like the easy-to-use tram system and brilliant public art installations. Add to this a couple of very cool, up-and-coming neighborhoods, a few gorgeous, high-end hotels (including the historic Grand Hotel de Bordeaux) and the fact that 4,000 wine châteaux beckon nearby, and you have yourself an inspiring addition to your next Paris trip. (It takes less than one-and-a-half hours to fly to Bordeaux.)

Highlights not to miss:

Around Bordeaux

An hour west of Bordeaux is the Atlantic coast, and less than an hour to the east are the vineyards of this fabled wine region — in short, the city of Bordeaux is perfectly situated for combining town, country and seaside. The Bassin d’Arcachon is a gorgeous bay between the towns of Arcachon and Cap-Ferret, where many Parisians have second homes. Between the two, the main attraction is the Dune of Pyla, Europe’s largest sand dune and an impressive spectacle. After visiting the dune, take a boat to Cap-Ferret and have lunch at Le Bouchon du Ferret (2 Rue des Palmiers, 33-556-606-751), a seafood market and restaurant.

With 54 appellations and some 8,500 producers, France’s largest wine-growing region hardly needs any introduction. Some 4,000 wine estates are open to the public and coming up with a feasible itinerary, depending on interest, timing and price point is key to a successful visit. Many try to incorporate such quaint villages as St. Emilion into their itineraries.

Highlights not to miss:

Biarritz

From Bordeaux, take the train (two hours) to Biarritz. Located close to the Spanish border, the seaside resort was founded by Emperor Napoléon III and his wife, Eugénie, who brought the entire court here in the 1850s. Biarritz is small enough to be easily explored on foot, especially if you stay at the Palais du Biarritz, which overlooks the impressive Grande Plage. This is a great town for a couple of days of seaside relaxation, shopping and spa treatments. You can also use the very comfortable Hotel du Palais as a base for exploring the French Basque Country, with many of its most famous villages, including red pepper town Espelette, under an hour's drive away.

Highlights not to miss:

Great Country Hotel

Your final nights in southwestern France should be spent relaxing in a beautiful location, whether at a wine château, an acclaimed restaurant and spa resort or in the vineyards near Bordeaux.

For Spa Lovers Located a thirty-minute drive from Bordeaux, Les Sources de Caudalie is the quintessential French country escape, with lush gardens and a gorgeous vineyard setting. The sixty-two rooms are housed in freestanding buildings scattered in clusters around the property. In 2014 twelve new suites were unveiled, and these feature a more modern design scheme. The pièce de résistance of the multiacre property is the hushed spa, which has twenty treatment rooms on three levels and offers the full gamut of Caudalie’s famous Vinothérapie, a grape/wine-based spa program. This is the type of place that you won’t want to leave during the entirety of your stay.

For gourmets Award-winning chef Michel Guérard opened his now-legendary restaurant in tiny Eugénie-les-Bains in 1974, and he and his wife, Christine, have been adding to their beautiful resort property ever since. Today Les Prés d’Eugénie (Eugénie les Bains, Landes; 33-558-050-607), one hour and forty-five minutes by car from either Bordeaux or Biarritz, is beloved as much for its serene countryside setting as for its spa. But the main draw is the food, with three restaurants and a brand-new cooking school keeping guests inspired and well fed. The Guérards also have a series of homes on the Atlantic Coast, so day trips with picnics or overnights can be organized.

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