Bordeaux

Posing haughty and bright-eyed above the grungy, ramshackle banks of the River Garonne near the city's industrial port, Bordeaux's signature wine museum is pure drama inside and out. Its dazzling gold architecture, intended to look like a wine decanter, is an art work in itself, while sensory exhibits, workshops and wine-tastings inside enable visitors to delve deep and far into the rich world of wine. A panoramic bar and restaurant with breathtaking views, ground-floor brasserie, wine cellar and boutique round off this classy 'Guggenheim of wine.'

There is no finer urban square on which to kick off Bordeaux explorations than place Pey Berland where the city's magnificent cathedral and belfry are the undeniable showpiece. Flying buttresses, exquisite stone masonry illustrating biblical tales and a rooftop forest of Flamboyant Gothic towers are architectural highlights of the 13th- to 16th-century church. Then there's its unusual freestanding, gargoyled belfry: scaling its 230-odd steps and swooning over the bird's-eye view of Bordeaux from the top is a Bordelais rite of passage.

Mooching through the high-ceilinged galleries at the city's Fine Arts Museum is as much about lapping up the elegant, grace and vintage vibe of the stunning 18th-century palace in which it is housed as it is enjoying its art. Works are split between two wings, and explore the evolution of Occidental art from the Renaissance through to mid-20th century. Of the many Bordelais artists on show, scandalously trouser-wearing Rosa Bonheur (1822–99) is undoubtably the raciest. End with a stroll around fountains and pristine flowerbeds in the French manicured gardens.

Artefacts and treasures acquired in Africa, the Americas and Pacific over the centuries by this learned city's impressive roll call of early archeologists, university professors, doctors, explorers, shipowners, wine traders, seafarers and missionaries fill the engaging maze of rooms at the Musée d’Aquitaine. This is the city's history museum, appropriately at home in the university's old Science and Letters Faculty, and it is superbly curated. Its themed section on 18th-century Bordeaux, transatlantic trade, triangular trade and slavery triangle are particularly emotive.

With its graceful sculptures and fountain, decorative mascarons, wrought-iron balconies, classical columns and symmetrical architecture peering out at the River Garonne from its enviable riverfront location, place de la Bourse is a city icon. Architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel (the creative force behind Château de Versailles near Paris) designed this elegant open space in the 18th century to replace the dark, narrow, dank alleys of the medieval fortress city, and there is no finer spot to bask in Bordeaux's magnificent architecture and history.

The dark side of modern Bordeaux history comes to life at this WWII submarine base in the rough-and-tumble old port district of Bacalan. Eerie and unsettling in equal measure, it is not difficult to imagine German u-boats stationed inside the huge pens within the eyesore bunker that Allied bombs (and subsequent attempts by the city) failed to destroy. On the bright side, its ghostly interior with vast expanses of raw concrete provides a brilliant backdrop for cutting-edge contemporary art exhibitions, concerts and other uber-cool happenings.

All too often usurped by the city cathedral, Basilique St-Michel is an equally perfect example of sacred Flamboyant Gothic architecture and is well worth exploring. Piercing the heart of the cosmopolitan St-Michel quartier, this almighty ensemble incorporates the church with its magnificent stained glass, an impressive 114m-tall bell tower proffering fabulous city panoramas from its lacy spire on clear days, and a twinset of adjoining squares peppered with cafe terraces, tree-shaded benches, neighbourhood shops and open-air market stalls.

A history-buff must, the soulful Basilique St-Seurin evokes 1001 fabulous tales and legends with its marvellous setting atop an ancient Gallo-Roman necropolis where everyone from the Romans to Charlemagne buried their dead. The 11th-century Romanesque complex was a key stop for southbound pilgrims following the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and, as such, the basilica was inscribed as a historical monument on the Unesco World Heritage list long before Bordeaux as a city gained the same status.

Be it shopping for fresh fruit, veg, cheese and seafood at historic food market Marché des Capucins, slurping oysters and white wine for breakfast with savvy locavores, brunching at a design-driven boutique eatery, learning to cook with a well-known chef, or cupping with a Bordelais roaster in a nouvelle génération coffee shop, the foodie experience in Bordeaux is deliciously intimate, burgeoning and experimental. Watch for new foodie streets to emerge in districts yet to be gentrified (La Bastide or Bacalan) or eat your way along streets where talented young chefs are already making their mark (rue du Palais Gallien).

Given the city's historic wine trade and enviable wine stash, it's only natural that its iconic vignobles (vineyards) enjoy God-like status among wine-loving Bordelais. Hook up with the tourist office on a guided tour to explore Bordeaux's wealth of surrounding vineyards and indulge in dégustation (wine-tasting) in a chateau cellar. DIY with a wine-tasting workshop in town at the prestigious École du Vin de Bordeaux. Or, even better, time your visit with one of the city's exuberant wine festivals – feisty celebrations of viticultural tradition harking back to Roman times.