Regent in Bordeaux/Lorient

[thumbun]

Hello fellow cruisers -- heading out on the Navigator in August for a voyage from Amsterdam to Barcelona.  We dock in Le Verdon, France for Bordeaux.  According to Google Maps, Le Verdon is 110KM away from Bordeaux.  (Friends of ours took this trip a few years ago on the Navigator and the ship sailed down the river to Bordeaux.)  Unfortunately, we are not wine drinkers, which is horrible since we live in California wine country.  We don't have a great desire to visit a vineyard.  For those of you who have been to this part of the world, are there any sights that are a must see?  Is spending the day in Bordeaux doing a walking tour a good idea?  If you've sailed into Le Verdon on Regent, is there ongoing shuttle service to Bordeaux or do you need to sign up with one of the excursions?

[Belfast Taxman]

Looking at the available excursions, if you don’t like wine or vineyards (you could enjoy the latter without indulging in the former), then your two options appear to be Cognac, a lovely town but if you don’t like wine you may not like cognac either😩 or the bus tour to the city of Bordeaux itself, which imho is likely to be your best option. There is plenty of non wine interest. 

Given the distance I cannot imagine Regent providing a shuttle bus as well as the excursion offered (it is free). If you feel like some independent travel you could try Arachon, but you have to like oysters and it is slightly further away than Bordeaux so time might be an issue.

your post also mentions L’Orient. If there is a tour to the prehistoric site of Carnac then I would recommend it.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Would Regent perhaps do a 'Bordeaux on your own' excursion? When I was there we hightailed it to the vineyards but the city looked very appealing and walkable.

Edited December 24, 2019 by Wendy The Wanderer

[DaveFr]

Wendy, The Bordeaux city tour (Bordeaux Sampler) mentioned by Belfast Taxman is basically a Bordeaux on your own tour. You are driven to and from Bordeaux, given a short panoramic tour of Bordeaux, and then have 3 to 4 hours of free time in Bordeaux.

 

Dave

[DeepFreeze63]

1 hour ago, DaveFr said:

Wendy, The Bordeaux city tour (Bordeaux Sampler) mentioned by Belfast Taxman is basically a Bordeaux on your own tour. You are driven to and from Bordeaux, given a short panoramic tour of Bordeaux, and then have 3 to 4 hours of free time in Bordeaux.

 

Dave

Have been to Bordeau three times with Regent. It's a great town to do on your own. Suggest you use Trip Advisor for info to maximize your enjoyment during the time available. Lots of history; you might enjoy a guided walking tour. Super, large food market; interesting churches that were open, and a beautiful opera house that has served as the  legislature of France a few times.

Spoiler Alert: We had terrific weather and I drink a lot of wine.

[Camillus112]

Bordeaux is the "petit Paris" designed by the same architect in a much smaller scale.  The architecture is stunning and the city is very walkable.  If you are in to chocolates, you will see a store in the street leading to the Opera House, where chocolates are hand made and designed exquisitely.  I almost bought a pair of baroque era shoes, with intricate ornaments, all in chocolate.  My fear of a meltdown overcame me...to this date, I regret my decision.

[JMARINER]

On 12/22/2019 at 11:10 AM, thumbun said:

don

We did this itinerary on the Voyager 3 years ago. The ship docked in downtown Bordeaux. I have been to the cruise ship dock in Le Verdon, and assuming that is where Regent is going to dock, it is in the middle of nowhere, in a semi industrial port. 

 

If you are not into wine, I would also suggest a tour to Bordeaux. The other tour we did was to the town of Saintes, which has a nice Roman era amphitheater. I think the tour also stopped at a Cognac distiller for a tour/tasting.  

 

J

 

Below is the dock in Le Verdon.

 

Edited December 24, 2019 by JMARINER
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