This historic port in south-west France is famous for its wines, but autumn visitors can also explore its parks and imposing buildings, writes Natasha Edwards, Independent Newspaper

WHY GO NOW?

Because Bordeaux is on the move. The city's glorious 18th-century centre is being restored, its monuments floodlit, its quaysides landscaped, and parks and promenades created. The new tramway is about to open, and hip bars and restaurants are colonising neglected quarters. Other more traditional reasons for visiting remain: the wine produced in the vineyards that creep right up to (sometimes within) the city's boundaries; the mild winters; and the oysters from nearby Arcachon, which are at their tastiest right now.

BEAM DOWN

Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (00 33 5 56 34 50 50; www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr) is served by Air France (0845 0845 111; www.airfrance.com) from Gatwick, and British Airways (0870 850 9 850; www.ba.com) from Gatwick and Birmingham. The Jet Bus to the Saint-Jean train station stops at place Gambetta, Esplanade des Quinconces and Quai Richelieu, and runs every 30 to 60 minutes from roughly 5.30am to 10pm. It takes about 30 minutes to city centre, 45 to the station. A single costs €6 (£4), return €9 (£6). Taxis cost €15-€25 (£11-£18). You could also travel from London by Eurostar and TGV via Lille or Paris. The journey of about nine hours costs from £99 return through Rail Europe (08705 848 848; www.raileurope.co.uk).

GET YOUR BEARINGS

Bordeaux dates back to Roman times, when there was a settlement on the Rive Gauche (left bank) of a curve of the river Garonne, whose crescent-moon shape gave the port its name, Port de la Lune, and inspired the city coat of arms. Today, the heart of Vieux Bordeaux is between the Esplanade des Quinconces and the Cathédrale Saint-André. The Office de Tourisme (00 33 5 56 00 66 00; www.bordeaux-tourisme.com) is near the beautiful Grand Théâtre. Further south are the multiracial Quartier Saint-Michel around a fine Gothic church and the university and nightlife district near the Gare Saint-Jean and quai du Paludate.

TAKE A VIEW

Stand on the Pont de Pierre for a panoramic view of Bordeaux's splendid waterfront, and a reminder that the city's fortune was built on water as well as wine. The quais that look so handsome with their period façades were once lined with warehouses from which barrels were rolled into boats and carted off around the globe in exchange for spices, cocoa - and slaves. To your left is the Gothic belfry of the Flèche Saint-Michel, straight ahead the neoclassical triumphal arch of the Porte de Bourgogne, and, on the right, the turrets of the Porte Cailhau and the grandiose Place de la Douane.

TAKE A HIKE

Start at the Esplanade des Quinconces, a vast open space used for all sorts of gatherings. At the river end are two tall rostral ships' columns, at the other is the Monument des Girondins - the memorial to the Girondin députés guillotined by Robespierre. Head past the new tram terminal down the Cours du XXX juillet. At the junction with the allées de Tourny, the promenade laid out by the royal official Intendant Tourny, the Maison du Vin de Bordeaux (00 33 5 56 00 22 88) is the place to swot up on wine or find out about touring the vineyards. Opposite, the Grand Théâtre on place de la Comédie, (00 33 5 56 00 85 95; www.opera-bordeaux.com) was built in 1773-80 by Victor Louis. From here, take the narrow rue Mautrec to place du Chapelet, dominated by the ornate, sculpted Baroque façade of the Eglise Notre-Dame. Walk through Cour Mably, to the Marché des Grands-Hommes, a former market hall now shopping centre, then rue Voltaire to the Cours de l'Intendance, Bordeaux's smartest shopping street. Stroll round place Gambetta and through the Porte Dijeaux into the pedestrianised rue de la Porte Dijeaux. Take rue Vital Carles to the Cathédrale Saint-André. Head back along rue des Trois Conils, window-shop on rue Sainte-Catherine, and follow rue du Parlement Sainte-Catherine, full of pubs and bars, into place du Parlement. Finish by taking rue Philippart back to the river front at the place de la Bourse.

TAKE A RIDE

After three years of construction chaos, Line A of the new tramway system will finally open on 21 December, with Lines B and C due to open on 28 February next year. A comprehensive network of buses also serves the city, including the navette électrique (electric bus), which runs in a circuit around Vieux Bordeaux. On the first Sunday of each month, the centre of town is closed to cars, and inline skaters take to the streets. There are concerts and boat trips on offer, and bike hire is free.

LUNCH ON THE RUN

Speedy lunch is not really the point of the Bordeaux lifestyle, but cafés and brasseries are usually a good bet if you want an informal steak or salad. The Café Bordelais, 15 allées de Tourny (00 33 5 56 81 49 94), offers inexpensive lunches and some phenomenal wines by the glass. The elegant Brasserie Noailles, at number 12 on the same street (00 33 5 56 81 94 45), is a classic 1930s brasserie with good food and old-fashioned service.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

If you've drunk enough wine, you might consider bathing in the stuff. Twenty kilometres from the city centre, Les Sources de Caudalie (00 33 5 57 83 83 83; www.sources-caudalie.com; closed Jan), at the very grand château of Smith Haut Lafitte, pioneered "vinotherapy" - grape-based health and beauty treatments. A red-wine bath costs €49 (£34). There's no public transport nearby; a taxi costs €23 (£16) one way.

WRITE A POSTCARD

Take time to write a postcard from a café terrace on the cobbled square in front of the Eglise Saint-Pierre, and absorb the atmosphere of the old town at its most intimate while you do so.

A WALK IN THE PARK

Bordeaux now has two botanical gardens. The old one, part of the Jardin Public, Cours de Verdun, offers classic iron railings, lake, flowerbeds with some 3,000 plant species and a children's playground. Across the river, the new Jardin Botanique, quai de Queyries, is sparsely planted, very modern, very French. A water garden, rock formations (apparently concealing offices), a grass prairie and chalk hillocks recreate the various habitats of Aquitaine.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON

The huge warehouses, in which coffee, spices and rum from the colonies were stored in the 19th century, are now the impressive CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain, Entrepôt, 7 rue Ferrère (00 33 5 56 00 81 50). The Richard Long slate line-up on the roof is a permanent feature. Other exhibits change, and the vast grand nave is an inspiring place for installations. The CAPC is open Tuesday to Sunday 11am-6pm (to 8pm Wednesday), closed Monday; admission is €5.50 (£4), but free on the first Sunday of the month.

OUT TO BRUNCH

Brunch is not really part of the Bordeaux scene (an exception is the excellent brunch served at the Café du Musée on the top floor of the CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain - see Cultural Afternoon). Otherwise, join the Bordelais bourgeoisie dining out en famille at the animated Bistrot des Quinconces (situated at 4 place des Quinconces; 00 33 556 528 456); breakfast is served from 8am-11.30am, and lunch from 12 noon-2.30pm.

SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH

The Cathédrale Saint-André, Place Pey-Berland (open daily 8-11.30am and 2-6.30pm, and on Sundays 8am-12.30pm), is an imposing if rather austere place. It is Unesco-listed as one of three Bordeaux churches on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. In 1137, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Louis VII here, before wedding Henry Plantagenet - later Henry II of England - thus bringing Bordeaux under English rule for three centuries. The cathedral is mainly Gothic in style, although parts date back to the 11th century. Take a look at the sculpted royal doorway and the organ loft, and the glitzy gold virgin on the belfry.

DINING WITH THE LOCALS

La Tupina, at 6 rue Porte de la Monnaie (00 33 5 56 91 56 37), with its series of cosy little rooms, is a temple to homely south-western cuisine. Crates of shallots and ceps lie in the entrance, pimientos hang from the walls, pork sizzles in cast-iron pots, and chickens roast on a spit in front of an open fire. Alternatively, L'Estacade , quai de Queyries (00 33 5 57 54 02 50), built on stilts jutting out into the river, is emblematic of the recent rise to favour of the Rive Droite of the Garonne, drawing the fashionable set for its modern fusion cooking and unbeatable view.

AN APERITIF

Sit on the pavement terrace (heated in winter) of the venerable Le Régent brasserie at 46 Place Gambetta (00 33 5 56 44 16 20) and watch the world go by while sipping a Lillet. This old-fashioned Bordelais aperitif (an oak-aged blend of white wine and an orange and quinine liqueur) has been produced at nearby Podensac since 1887, and is currently enjoying a fashionable comeback.

WINDOW SHOPPING

Bordeaux's smartest shops lie within the golden triangle formed by the allées de Tourny, the Cours de l'Intendance and the Cours Clemenceau. This is the area for designer clothes and bags, fine chocolates and the elegant tableware of Bernardaud and Christofle. The stunningly designed L'Intendant, 2 allées de Tourny, (00 33 5 56 48 01 29) is possibly the most beautiful wine shop in France, with over 15,000 bottles that climb up around a spiral staircase. A less-known local delicacy is Caviare d'Aquitaine found, despite the name, at Black Sea Caviar at 5 rue Martignac (00 33 5 56 51 20 56), and produced at the Gironde's burgeoning sturgeon farms. Antiques are concentrated along rue Notre-Dame in the Chartrons district; junkier bargains occupy the Passage Saint-Michel, next to the Eglise Saint-Michel, where there is also an occasional flea market.

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