Bordeaux Attractions

Venue: Calle Ocho    When: Daily; not Sun

The Latino craze sweeping France has led to funky Cuban bar Calle Ocho becoming Bordeaux's number one drinking hot-spot. Dimly lit, with battered leather sofas, mosaic walls, red lights and posters of Che Guevara, the bar has real character and exudes kitsch charm.

There are four bars inside and with a maximum capacity of 400 it gets suitably heated and animated as the night progresses. As well as cocktail specialities such as mojitos at €4-€5, they also serve a selection of tapas in the early evening.

Every Wednesday night at 9pm Cuban dancers take to the floor, performing a number of seductive salsa routines. On Thursdays at the same time there are free salsa lessons for beginners and advanced level dancers. The emphasis is more on getting you to learn a few moves rather than technical brilliance and it's perfect for those inspired by the night before. Through the weekend the bar is generally heaving with Bordeaux's twentysomething in-crowd, who move on elsewhere after it closes at 2am.

The bar is situated in the St Pierre area, the heart of old Bordeaux and its most charming quarter, criss-crossed with narrow winding streets and dotted with numerous bars, cafes and restaurants.