The Médoc

Route des châteaux

The D2, nicknamed the route des châteaux, runs north from Blanquefort, on the edge of Bordeaux, following the left bank of the Gironde at a distance. It passes through the communal appellations of the Haut-Médoc in turn: Margaux, then Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe. The great estates follow one after another, often visible from the road, with their chartreuse manor houses, towers and wine cellars amid the vines. The 1855 classification, drawn up for the Paris Universal Exhibition, still ranks the wines of the Médoc today in five categories, from first to fifth growth. In Saint-Julien, Château Beychevelle is recognisable by its ship emblem: its name is said to come from the order given to passing ships to lower their sails in front of the estate of the Duke of Épernon, the admiral. Further north, the pagodas of Château Cos d'Estournel mark the entrance to Saint-Estèphe. Most visits must be booked in advance, with tasting packages at widely varying prices, and it is wise not to plan more than two or three a day. The two Maisons du Vin, in Margaux and Pauillac, advise on the estates open to the public.

Pauillac

Pauillac, population 5,190, is the main town of the Médoc vineyards, on the left bank of the estuary, 50 kilometres from Bordeaux. Its appellation covers more than 1,200 hectares of vines planted with red varieties, on deep gravel soils, and counts 18 wines classified in 1855, including three of the five first growths: Lafite Rothschild to the north, near Saint-Estèphe, Latour to the south, near Saint-Julien, and Mouton Rothschild, promoted to first growth in 1973 and famous for its labels illustrated each year by an artist. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the wine trade and shipping on the estuary brought the town its prosperity, and it was from its port that Lafayette set sail in 1777 aboard La Victoire to support American independence. Today the quays, more than a kilometre long, are home to the marina, the restaurants and the Maison du Tourisme et du Vin, a handy starting point for arranging visits. The village of Bages, south of the town, restored around a square with a bakery, bistro and shops, makes a pleasant stop between two châteaux.

Margaux

Margaux is at once a village, an appellation and a first growth. The appellation, about 1,519 hectares in 2023, spreads across four communes: Margaux-Cantenac, created by a merger in 2017, Arsac, Labarde and Soussans, about 25 kilometres north of Bordeaux. It brings together 21 wines classified in 1855, the largest number in the Médoc, including Château Margaux, its only first growth, but also Palmer, Rauzan-Ségla, Brane-Cantenac and Giscours. The heart of the appellation is a plateau of white gravel about six kilometres by two, which produces wines renowned for their finesse and perfume. Château Margaux, whose colonnaded neoclassical mansion was built between 1810 and 1815 by the architect Louis Combes, comes into view at the end of its avenue of plane trees; the estate can be visited by appointment only. The village is low-key, with its church, its wine shops and the Maison du Vin et du Tourisme, which gives information on the estates open to the public and sells the appellation's wines. For an overview, take the small roads between Cantenac, Labarde and Arsac, through the vines.

Cordouan lighthouse

The Cordouan lighthouse, nicknamed the Versailles of the sea, stands on a rocky plateau about seven kilometres offshore, between the Pointe de Grave and Royan, at the mouth of the Gironde. Its construction, begun in 1584 by the architect Louis de Foix, who died before the work was finished, took 27 years and was completed in 1611. Conceived as a monument as much as a lighthouse, it houses a king's apartment and a consecrated chapel, unique in the world for a lighthouse. From 1786 the architect Joseph Teulère raised it by more than 20 metres to carry the light further, giving it its current height of 68 metres. Automated in 2006, it remains the oldest lighthouse in France still in service and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2021. Around 24,000 visitors reach it every summer, on approved shuttle boats leaving from Le Verdon-sur-Mer or Royan: a 45-minute crossing, then a landing on the sandbank at low tide. The ticket covers the crossing and admission, €59 in high season from Le Verdon, €63 from Royan, and less out of season. Places go quickly in summer.

Soulac-sur-Mer

Soulac-sur-Mer, population 3,100, occupies the northern tip of the Médoc, near the Pointe de Grave, about 86 kilometres from Bordeaux. The resort grew up after the railway arrived in 1874, and its streets still have many villas of brick, stone and fretwork timber built for summer visitors from Bordeaux. The basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Fin-des-Terres, a 12th-century Romanesque church and a stop for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela arriving by sea from England, was gradually buried under the dunes from the 18th century; the work to uncover it lasted from 1859 to 1905, and the building has been a World Heritage Site since 1998. Soulac is also a symbol of erosion on the Aquitaine coast: the Signal apartment block, built in 1967 200 metres from the ocean, ended up on the edge of the dune and was demolished from February 2023. The central beach, lifeguarded in summer, and the cycle paths towards the forest and the Pointe de Grave round off a stay. The TER train from Bordeaux still stops here.

Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans

The Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans is the northernmost of the great Gironde lakes and the largest natural freshwater lake lying entirely in France: 18 kilometres from north to south, 5 wide, about 5,667 hectares. Its shallow depth, 4.5 metres on average and 10.5 at most, means the water warms up quickly. It formed behind the line of dunes bordering the Atlantic, and the pine forest planted in the 19th century to stabilise the sand surrounds it almost entirely. The east shore has the harbours and beaches, at Hourtin-Port and Maubuisson, with sailing, paddleboarding and lifeguarded swimming in summer. The wild west shore has been protected since 2009 by the Dunes et Marais d'Hourtin national nature reserve, 2,150 hectares managed by the National Forests Office. A canal links the lake to Lake Lacanau to the south. To the north, at Contaut, the Americans set up a seaplane base in 1917, which later became a Navy training centre until 2000. For families, it is a soothing counterpoint to the ocean waves, just a few kilometres away.