Auberge du Vieux Port, Bordeaux

Advantages: A unique city, full of history and character
Disadvantages: Racy reputation, some grim districts

...less to offer than the truncated remains of the "Old Major" cathedral in its shadow. Among secular buildings, the Palais du Pharo occupies a landmark position on a promontory to the south of the Vieux Port, and is surrounded by a pleasant park. Here, amid tamarisks, maritime pine and fig trees one can relax and enjoy views both out to sea and into the harbour. Built by Napoleon III it was completed in 1870, just in time for his downfall. Used as a centre for conferences, seminars and exhibitions, its interiors are reputedly elegant and sumptuous, but alas in my brief stay in Marseille I never went inside. Fans of more modern architecture will find one of its most significant monuments in Marseille' southern suburbs. This is the Cité Radieuse, le Corbusier's pioneering attempt to realise his vision of modern high-rise living... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: culture and wine
Disadvantages: some places are dirty

...still of the commercial ports most significant of Europe. But Bordeaux, it is especially as I said it to you a town of art, whose apotheosis is in the Bordeaux old town. This historical district gathers very old monuments, worked and carved, and I thus advise you to make a pedestrian visit in one of the most beautiful places of the city. While speaking about beautiful monuments, if you are impassioned of archaeology, I very highly encourage you to discover the site paleo-Christian of Bordeaux, which proposes more than 400 m² of archaeological excavations exposed within the framework of old a necropolis Gallo-Roman.This site is Place of the Martyrs of Resistance and the various remainders are very interesting. A true diving in the remote History of Bordeaux! Lastly, to enclose with the monuments, I recommend the convent... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Justly famous for scenic beauty
Disadvantages: So can be crowded in summer

.... There are also outstanding grottos (as at Dargilan) and pot-holes and caves (as at Aven Armand) for those who like exploring underground and know, or want to learn, the difference between stalagmites and stallachtites. All in all, there is no shortage of things to do and see in this fascinating area. * There are places to stay to be found in every village along the Gorges du Tarn, although beware if you go out of season, when many of them are closed. The Lozère tourist office (0033 466 65 60 00) publishes a comprehensive list of hotels. The poshest at which I have stayed, which is not particularly posh, is the Manoir de Montesquiou at La Malène - old-fashioned and atmospheric, with good food. The simplest, but decent enough, was the Hotel le Grillon at Les Vignes. An ideal compromise between the two is the Auberge de la Cascade at St... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful