Where to stay in Bordeaux

Around the basilica and its 114-metre bell tower: the Capucins market, North African and Portuguese grocers, and the cheapest food in the centre.

Across the Pont de Pierre: riverside gardens, the Darwin eco-quarter in old army barracks and the best view back at the Place de la Bourse.

The medieval core between the Place de la Bourse and the Porte Cailhau: narrow streets, the Place du Parlement and the Place Saint-Pierre with restaurant terraces, busy until late.

The old wine merchants' quarter north of the centre: antique shops on rue Notre-Dame, the iron market hall, the Sunday market on the quay and some of the best restaurants.

The old wet docks in the north, around the Cité du Vin and the submarine base, now new flats, hotels and restaurants on the water. On tram line B.

The eighteenth-century triangle between the Grand Théâtre, Place Gambetta and the Allées de Tourny, with the smartest shops, the opera house and the five-star hotels.