For a classic Bordelais experience, tourists join the locals in trolling the Marché des Capucins for the freshest market fare, pausing only to sip white wine with oysters at one of the shellfish stands. The best times to go are Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings—and be sure to top off the excursion with a seafood lunch at one of the surrounding cafés.
Total (and literal) immersion in the region’s most famous export is the specialty at Spa Vinothérapie Caudalie. Get scrubbed down with crushed Cabernet before soaking in a red vine extract bath, and finish up with a relaxing Merlot wrap.