Things to do in Bordeaux

Three days minimum. One for the city centre (Place de la Bourse, Saint-André Cathedral, the wine-trade quays). One for a Médoc or Saint-Émilion wine tour (or both, with a driver). A third day for the Cité du Vin and a stroll across the Pont de Pierre to the Bastide neighbourhood.

Place de la Bourse and its Mirroir d'Eau — the largest reflecting pool in the world, mirroring the 18th-century façade across the Garonne. Hit it just after sunset when the building is floodlit and the pool fills up. The reflection plus the actual building make for the city's defining photograph.

The Saint-Pierre district around Place du Parlement for medieval streets and aperitivo terraces. Chartrons north of the centre — the old wine-merchants' quarter, now full of antique shops and natural-wine bars on Rue Notre-Dame. Darwin in the Bastide for the alternative scene in a converted barracks.

A glass of Médoc with entrecôte à la bordelaise (steak in red wine and shallot sauce). Cannelés (caramelised rum-and-vanilla pastries with crispy outsides) from Baillardran. Oysters from the Bassin d'Arcachon at the Marché des Capucins on Saturday morning, with a glass of dry Entre-Deux-Mers white.

Three tram lines (A, B, C, D) and a generous bike share (V³) make the centre simple. The trams are silent, modern and run on a ground-level catenary in the historic centre to keep the views clean. The tram B reaches the Cité du Vin in 15 minutes from the centre.

The submarine base at Bacalan, just north of the Cité du Vin — a colossal WWII German concrete bunker now turned into the Bassins des Lumières immersive art space. The scale of the building is the experience: 41,000 m² of unbroken concrete vaults, dim and echoing.