The new millennium was a turning point for the city long nicknamed La Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty), when the mayor, ex-prime minister Alain Juppé, roused Bordeaux, pedestrianising its boulevards, restoring its neoclassical architecture and implementing a high-tech public-transport system. Today the city is a Unesco World Heritage Site and, with its merry student population and 2.5 million-odd annual tourists, scarcely sleeps at all.
The 4km-long riverfront esplanade incorporates playgrounds and bicycle paths.
Cathédrale St-AndréCATHEDRAL
Lording over the city, and a Unesco World Heritage Site prior to the city's classification, the cathedral's oldest section dates from 1096; most of what you see today was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. Exceptional masonry carvings can be seen in the north portal.
CAPC Musée d'Art ContemporainGALLERY
Built in 1824 as a warehouse for French colonial produce like coffee, cocoa, peanuts and vanilla, the cavernous Entrepôts Lainé creates a dramatic backdrop for cutting-edge modern art at the CAPC Musée d’Art Contemporain. Entry to the permanent collection is free but there is a cover charge for any temporary exhibitions.
Musée des Beaux-ArtsGALLERY
The evolution of Occidental art from the Renaissance to the mid-20th century is on view at Bordeaux’s Musée des Beaux-Arts, which occupies two wings of the 1770s-built Hôtel de Ville, either side of the Jardin de la Mairie (an elegant public park). The museum was established in 1801; highlights include 17th-century Flemish, Dutch and Italian paintings. Temporary exhibitions are regularly hosted at its nearby annexe, Galerie des Beaux-Arts .
AIR
Bordeaux airport (www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr) is in Mérignac, 10km west of the city centre, with domestic and international services.
TRAIN
From Gare St-Jean, 3km from the centre, at least 16 trains daily serve Paris' Gare Montparnasse (€73, three hours).
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