Bordeaux

Practise your best santé - you'll be raising your glass a lot in Bordeaux, home to one of France's seven key wine regions and known for its award-winning big reds. Tour the chateaux, imbibe the world-class wines and indulge in the regional cuisine, but remember that Bordeaux offers much more.

The city has excellent museums, lively nightlife and beaches close by. Wide avenues, neoclassical architecture and well-tended parks all give the city a certain 18th-century grandeur. An ethnically diverse population and a lively university community of some 60,000 students complete the picture.