Taste of Bordeaux
(Smithsonian Journeys)

The October 2026 sailing features two experts. Dr. Maria Fadiman is a cultural and environmental geographer and professor at Florida Atlantic University, with extensive fieldwork experience across Latin America, Africa, Europe, Oceania and Asia. April Nowell is an award-winning Palaeolithic archaeologist and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Victoria, specialising in cave art and Palaeolithic sites.

The Pair-non-Pair cave, located in the Gironde department north of Bordeaux, contains parietal engravings dating back around 32,000 years, from the Aurignacian period of the Upper Palaeolithic. It was the third decorated cave ever discovered, after Altamira in Spain and the Chabot cave in Ardeche, and in 1901 became the first cave to be classified as a historical monument in France. The engravings depict horses, ibexes, deer, mammoths and cattle, as well as a megaloceros, an exceptionally rare subject in prehistoric art. The excursion on day four is a Smithsonian exclusive guided visit.

Chateau Royal de Cazeneuve has been held by only four families since its founding and is still privately owned. The Smithsonian exclusive excursion on day six involves meeting the owner personally and being shown rooms containing original furnishings, including those associated with Henri IV and Queen Margot. This level of private access is what distinguishes it from a standard chateau visit.

The Bassins de Lumieres is a digital art museum housed in a former submarine base in Bordeaux, one of the largest digital art centres in the world. It projects large-scale immersive artworks across the walls, ceilings and pools of the base’s vast concrete chambers.

No. UK citizens can visit France without a visa for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, as France is a Schengen Area member. From 2025, UK travellers need to register with ETIAS before entering Schengen countries.