Bordeaux has been crowned “European Best Destination 2015.”
The French city won the annual online contest organized by the European Best Destination.
Bordeaux’s popularity is largely due to the quality of the city’s tourism offer.
Many of the city’s attractions cited by travelers include the docks, architectural heritage, water mirror pool (the largest in Europe), museums, flower parks, vineyards, the great choice of restaurants, gastronomy, wine, zoo of Pessac and the beautiful surrounding regions and landscapes.
(See our article on Bordeaux p 16)
GROTTO of Vallong-Pont d’Arc, Ardeche
The opening of this new attraction at the end of April is the event of the year in the Ardèche as the replica of the Pont d’Arc Decorated Cave – the Grotte Chauvet – and its 36,000 year old paintings. The replica cave, which took a team of scientists two and a half years to create, will enable tourists from around the world to continue to see the frescos of painted animals without damaging the original cave. Unique in the world for being such an identical and precise reproduction, the grotto has been built in the shape of a bear's paw, and stands just one kilometre away from the original site.
The smell, humidity and even stalactites of the Grotte Chauvet have also been recreated to make the new site as authentic as can be. www.cavernedupontdarc.fr
© SYCPA Sebastien Gayet
Bordeaux TouristO office © Vincent Bengold