Bordeaux

WHY GO NOW -- The wines of Bordeaux inspire superlatives like ''extraordinary balance'' and ''gorgeous showstopper.'' The city itself, however, does not. With noses stuck in glasses, travelers tend to see only a boozy blur on their way back from Mouton Rothschild, Lynch-Bages and the nearly 12,000 other wine chateaus in the region. And for years, the city of Bordeaux didn't seem to care. Like dust on an old bottle, a layer of thick grime sullied the ornate medieval churches, Baroque-era facades and Art Nouveau town houses of a bygone merchant class. The Garonne River waterfront, the former hub of Bordeaux's international trade, had devolved into an unsavory strip where prostitutes, not wine, were the commodity. Just a few years ago the city looked like a fallen aristocrat gone to seed.