Car Hire 3000 our expert of the day, writes:

Chateaux tours and wine tastings are de rigeur throughout Bordeaux this summer, as France prepares to welcome its visitors to what is arguably the largest and oldest fine wine producing region in the world. So, get ready to raise your glass to this beautiful, sunny city.

The local tourist office, which arranges trips and introductory wine tasting courses, claims there are 113,000 hectares of vineyards and 57 appellations producing 800 million bottles of wine annually, while the region is home to seven of France’s major wine-growing areas.

It is world-renowned for its big reds, which have dominated the viticulture scene for centuries, but visitors are advised to remember there is much more to Bordeaux than its grapes, so look beyond the dry and sweet whites, roses, clairets and the cremant de Bordeaux to a port city that is also perfect for driving holidays.

Offering spectacular coastal views of the vast Atlantic Ocean, many visitors to France’s south-west coast drive down to the Bay of Biscay and Biarritz or make their way up to La Rochelle - either way you can expect breathtaking scenery.