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The city of BORDEAUX is stunning when approached from the south along the river. It's big, with a population of over half a million, and obviously rich - as it has been since the Romans set up a lively trading centre here. Especially attractive is the relatively small eighteenth-century centre, paid for by the expansion of colonial trade. The rest is scruffy and, even with its long history, contains few sights. But if you're just passing through - it's the main regional transport centre - there are a couple of sights worth checking out, and plenty of cheap places to sleep and eat. The atmosphere is inviting and worth sticking around for.

Bordeaux is reasonably spread out along the western side of the River Garonne, with the eighteenth-century old town lying between the place de la Comédie to the north, the imposing buildings of the river bank and the cathedral to the west. North of the centre is the vast open square of the esplanade des Quinconces , and further still, the Jardin Public , containing some very scant remains of Bordeaux's Roman past.

Arriving by train, you'll find yourself at the gare St-Jean , with its own small tourist office (May-Oct Mon-Sat 9am-noon & 1-6/7pm, Sun 10am-noon & 1-6pm; rest of year closed Sun; tel 05.56.91.64.70), right at the heart of a somewhat insalubrious area, nearly 3km south of the city centre; buses #7 or #8 run into the centre. Single-journey tickets are available on the buses (7.50F/?1.14), but it's cheaper if you buy a carnet of ten from a tabac (52F/?8.31). You must punch your ticket on the bus; carnet tickets are then valid for one hour, during which period you can change bus up to four times, re-punching the ticket each time. There's no central gare routière , but most regional bus services terminate at the parking lot on the north side of the esplanade des Quinconces; if the planned tramway goes ahead, however, the bus park may well be relocated. Bordeaux's main tourist office , 12 cours du 30-Juillet (May-Oct daily 9am-7/8pm; rest of year Mon-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9.45am-4.30pm; tel 05.56.00.66.00, fax 05.56.00.66.01, www.bordeaux-tourisme.com ), can book accommodation free of charge; it also has useful information on the city and surrounding vineyards, to which it also arranges tours .

Bordeaux is packed with numerous restaurants , many of them top-notch, and due to its position close to the Atlantic coast, fresh seafood features prominently on many a Bordelais menu. The best place to look for restaurants is around place du Parlement and place St-Pierre, where you'll find something to please all tastes and budgets. There are numerous sandwich bars and fast-food outlets at the south end of rue Ste-Catherine and spilling into studenty place de la Victoire. In recent summers, guinguettes - open-air riverside stalls selling shrimps, king prawns and other seafood snacks - have proved a huge success, and they set up along the quai des Chartrons. Surprisingly, Bordeaux lacks any truly grand, people-watching cafés . Though Café Regent on place Gambetta is the place to be seen, a nicer, cheaper alternative is to be found across the square at Café Dijeaux beside the city gate. For picnic fodder , there is a marvellous, round market in the place des Grand-Hommes, north of cours de l'Intendance. And on rue de Montesquieu, just off the square, Jean d'Alos runs the city's best fromagerie , with dozens of farm-produced cheeses.

Bordeaux's student population ensures a collection of young, lively bars , a host of which are found on and around place de la Victoire. Several offer live music and all are packed on Thursday nights. There's also a clutch of English, Irish and antipodean pubs now in Bordeaux and a low-key gay scene concentrated at the south end of rue des Remparts.

Since Bordeaux's dance clubs are constantly changing - places often come and go within six months - it's best to ask around for the latest hotspots. There are one or two discos in the city centre, such as Paris-Pékin , at 10 rue de la Merci (tel 05.56.44.19.88), but the majority of clubs are spread out along southerly quai du Paludate, where things don't really get going until two in the morning and continue till around four or five; Sunday is generally closing day. One of the district's longer-lived clubs is La Plage at no. 40 (tel 05.56.49.02.46), a fun disco in a tropical-beach setting, while the wonderfully Baroque Shadow Lounge , 5 rue Cabannac (tel 05.56.49.36.93), plays house and techno.

To find out the latest events and happenings in and around Bordeaux, get hold of a copy of the regional newspaper Sud-Ouest . Alternatively there are the fortnightly listings booklet Spectaculair 33 (3F/?0.46), the free but less comprehensive Bordeaux Plus and Clubs & Concerts , also free, detailing the city's current favourite clubs. The tourist office issues Bordeaux Magazine , a free monthly with coverage of more highbrow cultural events around town. To buy tickets for city and regional events, contact the venue direct or head for the box office (tel 05.56.48.26.26) in the nineteenth-century Galerie Bordelaise arcade, wedged between rue Ste-Catherine and rue des Piliers-de-Tutelle. Virgin Megastore (tel 05.56.56.05.55) on place Gambetta also has a ticket outlet.

Jazz and blues fans should head south down the river to the Comptoir du Jazz , 59 quai de Paludate (05.56.49.15.55); entry is free but you are expected to buy at least a drink. Other options are the Café des Arts and the more frenetic L'Alligator , 3 place du Général-Sarrail (tel 05.56.92.78.47), which blasts out the blues on Wednesday nights.

There's no shortage of more contemporary music , either. Rock is alive and kicking at Le Barclay , 57 cours de l'Argonne (tel 05.56.31.44.66), a music-bar near place de la Victoire, and near the station at the Rock School Barbey , 18 cours Barbey (tel 05.56.33.66.00). Le Jimmy , 68 rue de Madrid (tel 05.56.98.20.83), meanwhile, is perhaps Bordeaux's most famous rock-bar, popular for its DJ nights and a programme ranging from heavy metal to techno.

© 2003 by Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved.The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.

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