Page 364 - Lonely Planet France’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

were designed by Lord zinc bar, and a menu of Château Lanessan (%05
Norman Foster in 2015. French classics overseen 56 58 94 80; www.lanessan.
The Pauillac wine ap- by twin Michelin-starred com; Cussac-Fort-Medoc;
pellation encompasses 18 chef Jean-Luc Rocha adult/child €8/2; h9am-
crus classés in all, includ- from nearby Château noon & 2-6pm by advance
ing the world-renowned Cordeillan-Bages. reservation), whose daily
Mouton Rothschild, The Drive » Count no more hour-long guided tours
Latour and Lafite Roths- than 15 minutes to cover the take in the neoclassical
child. The town’s tourist 9km between Bages and the château, its English-style
office houses the Maison next stop. Follow the D2 south gardens with magnificent
du Tourisme et du Vin out of Pauillac for almost 7km, 19th-century green-
(%05 56 59 03 08; www. turn right towards Lachesnaye, house, the stables built
pauillac-medoc.com; La Ver- and continue for another 1.5km in 1880 in the shape of a
rerie; h9.30am-7pm Mon-Sat, then turn right to Château horseshoe with marble
10am-1pm & 2-6pm Sun), with Lanessan. feed troughs, the pine-
information on châteaux panelled tack room and a
and how to visit them. 4 Château horse museum with sev-
Essential is lunch at eral 19th-century horse-
Café Lavinal (www.jmcazes. Lanessan drawn carriages. Tours
com/en/cafe-lavinal; Passage There are so many end with wine tasting.
du Desquet, Bages; menus châteaux around here Advance reservations, at
€28 & €38, mains €12-25; with such a confusing least one day before, are
hnoon-2pm & 7.30-9pm, web of opening times and obligatory.
cafe from 8am), a mind- visiting regulations that The Drive » Getting to
blowing village bistro it can be hard to know Blaye involves splashing over
ATLANTIC COAST 33 HERITAGE WINE COuNTRY
in Bages with retro red where to begin. One of the Gironde River on a car
banquet seating and the easiest to visit is ferry – how exciting! Return
to the D2 and head south to
Lamarque where you hop on
board the ferry (passenger/car
DETOUR: €2.70/14.10, departures every
1½ hours in July and August)
COGNAC for the short crossing to Blaye.
It’s 11km from the château to
Start: 5 Blaye the ferry.
On the banks of the Charente River amid vine-
covered countryside, the picturesque town of TRIP HIGHLIGHT
Cognac, home of the double-distilled spirit that bears
its name, proves that there’s more to southwest 5 Blaye
France than just wine. If you want a lesson in
The best-known Cognac houses are open to the how to build a protective
public, running tours of their cellars and production citadel, then the spectac-
facilities, and ending with a tasting session. The ular Citadelle de Blaye is
tourist office (%05 45 82 10 71; www.tourism-cognac. about as good an exam-
com; 16 rue du 14 Juillet; h9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm ple as you could hope to
Sun Jul-Aug, shorter hours rest of year) can give advice on find. Largely constructed
current opening hours of each Cognac house. by that master fortress-
It’s 85km from Blaye to Cognac, much of which is builder Vauban in the
along the A10 highway. From Cognac you can cut 17th century, it was a key
down to stop 6, St-Émilion, in two hours on the D731 line of defence protect-
followed by the busy N10. ing Bordeaux from naval

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