Bordeaux

Wine treated as a global subject rather than a Bordeaux advert. €23 including one glass at the Belvedere, €27 for two. 10am-7pm from April to October, 10am-6pm in winter. Tram B to the door.

A granite slab opposite Place de la Bourse that cycles between two centimetres of water and a fog thrown up by 900 injectors. Free, and the most photographed thing in the city.

Hourly trains take about 30 minutes from Saint-Jean, then a 20-minute walk uphill to the village. The underground monolithic church can only be seen on a guided tour booked through the tourist office.

Digital art projected across a wartime submarine base, the largest venue of its kind. €16, 10am-7pm on weekdays and to 8pm on Saturdays, last entry an hour before closing.

The wine council's own bar in the Maison du Vin at 3 cours du 30 Juillet, pouring about thirty Bordeaux by the glass. Monday to Saturday 11.30am-10pm, closed public holidays.

Two hours four minutes from Montparnasse to Bordeaux Saint-Jean on the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique, with 33 return services a day and fares from around €25.

European and domestic flights from an airport west of the city, with a shuttle bus into the centre and Saint-Jean station.

Three tram lines cover the centre and cross the Garonne. The right bank is a short ride, or a walk over the Pont de Pierre.

May-June and September: warm, and September puts you in the middle of the harvest.

November-March is cheapest, with quieter châteaux and some tasting rooms on reduced hours.

July-August and harvest weekends, when the wine tourism machine runs at capacity.

Marché des Capucins for oysters and a glass of white at breakfast time, then walk north through the old centre.

Place de la Bourse and the Miroir d'eau, then follow the quays north towards the Chartrons.

Eat in the Chartrons or around Saint-Pierre. Canelés are a snack rather than a dessert course, and are best bought warm.

Tram B to La Cité du Vin, or on to the submarine base at Bassins des Lumières a little further north.

Start at the Bar à Vin du CIVB, which shuts at 10pm, then cross the river to the Bastide and Darwin.

TER to Arcachon in about 50 minutes, then Baïa bus line 3 for 25 minutes. Access to the dune is free if you arrive by bus, bike or on foot.

The classified estates north of the city almost all require a booking rather than a walk-in, and tastings come as part of a scheduled tour.