France – Ultimate Travel Guide to Bordeaux

Bordeaux is the center of a famous wine region, the local vineyards are ranks the largest in the world. The delicious Bordeaux red wine is famous, but this doesn’t mean that white wine is bad either. All of France is one of the best gourmet top places and Bordeaux is no exception. So any visit to Bordeaux shouldn’t go without visiting a good restaurant and tasting local wine. Check out our tips and ultimate Bordeaux guide.

Let’s admit that the visit to Bordeaux is mainly about wine but the whole region has a very long history dating back to the time of the Roman Empire as well (the remains of the Roman amphitheater Le Palais Gallien are still in the city). Thanks to this long history and beautifully preserved houses, the center of Bordeaux is listed in UNESCO.

Throughout the history, Bordeaux has had a connection with the river and the sea. Although not directly on the seashore, thanks to the nearby mouth of the La Garonne, the city has always been a very important port. Throughout history, the harbor has been located in various bays and parts of the city. Nowadays you can see anchoring both river cruise ships and giant ocean liners along the river. The harbor brought great prestige to the city and, of course, the great wealth that we can admire here today.

Sights and unique architecture in the center of Bordeaux

The Bordeaux Center isn’t very spacious, so you can visit and see a lot of interesting monuments within one afternoon. When you go through the city, you can admire the mix of modern, medieval and antique architecture. Not surprisingly, the city has been awarded several times for example as the most attractive city for 2017 by Lonely Planet and as the second most attractive city in 2016 by the New York Times.

Porte Calihau 

A former 35-meter-high tower and gate built between 1493 and 1496 dedicated to King Karell VIII after his victory at the Battle of Fornova in Italy. In the Middle Ages, it was the main gateway to the city from the port.

Pont de Pierre

It is the first bridge in the city that has connected both banks of La Garonne river. The construction of the bridge was ordered by Napoleon Bonaparte himself, whose 17-letter long name will be forever linked to this stone bridge with 17 arches.

Place de la Bourse & Miroir D´Eau

Probably the most photogenic place in Bordeaux. The square from the early 18th century was designed to look like Versailles. And it was beginning of a big transformation of a “wooden city” into the monumental classicistic architectural pearl of Europe. Place de la Bourse became the center of business. These days you will find several museums and restaurants there.

Today, the largest water mirror in the world (3,450 m²) is inherent to the square, yet no photo can show the beauty of the square and its incredible atmosphere.

Huge water mirror on Place de la Bourse

Cathédrale Saint-André & Tour Pey Berland

The history of the grand Gothic cathedral date back to the 12th century but it has undergone a number of rebuilding and expansions in the course of history. Sometimes it is also simply called the royal cathedral, as there were two great royal weddings held there (Luis VII and Luis XIII).

The weak walls of the cathedral couldn’t support the tower and a heavy bell and in the 15th century, a separate 50-meter bell tower was built next to the cathedral. Today you can climb the stairs to the top of the tower and admire the entire Bordeaux on the palm of your hand.

View from tower Tour Pey Berland at Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux

Interactive wine museum – Bordeaux La Cité du Vin

As the name of the City of Wine suggests, it is a large, modern, interactive wine museum. In addition to the permanent exhibition, there are several temporary exhibitions. After you pass the multimedia exposition (we spent about two hours here and we  aren’t wine experts), you are going to the 8th-floor at an altitude of 55 meters from where you will be able to see the city with a glass of wine in your hand. Wine selection is of course very wide and isn’t limited just to French wines.

Tasting in the tower is part of the entrance fee. If you want more, the museum offers several kinds of guided tasting tours even for complete novices. Just ask at the reception or check out the La City de Vin website.

Bordeaux wine museum – La Cité du Vin

A trip to the vineyards with wine tasting

In the region of Bordeaux, in 6300 wine-producing chateaux, it is no wonder that 21 bottles of wine from Bordeaux are sold every second. You can choose from a wide selection of different tours for only a few hours or a few days. Right in the heart of Bordeaux operate various tourist agencies that can help you arrange your entire trip with a visit to the different chateaux with tastings. Thanks to Rustic Vines, we had the opportunity to discover the Bordeaux wine region with everything that belongs to it.

Part of our visit was also the medieval village of St Emilion, which, thanks to its beauty and authenticity, has reached the UNESCO list. The village is also sometimes nicknamed “The hill of a thousand vineyards”, not surprising at all that it is surrounded by vineyards producing famous wine.

Discovering tastes in local restaurants

France is always associated with excellent cuisine, nor is Bordeaux an exception in this honor. We think it is useless to name a particular restaurant because we tried a few, mostly cheap restaurants, and they all amazed us with excellent taste, new combinations and aesthetics of serving. For restaurants, reservations are essential at weekends.

However, no visit to Bordeaux would be complete without going to the local market. In addition to having groceries, there are also a number of great stalls/restaurants. We can especially recommend Bistro Poulette and Bistrot à huitres: “Chez Jean-Mi”

Best time to go to Bordeaux

The main season is of course in the summer – June to August. At that time you will experience the warmest and best weather but also a great crowd of tourists. I personally visited twice, once at the beginning of November and the other time at the end of March. The off-season trip to Bordeaux has its advantages and disadvantages. More likely there will be worse weather, which is offset by fewer tourists and lower hotel prices. Yet the visit outside of the main season has one major disadvantage – some museums and attractions are closed.

Bordeaux Metropole City Pass

Bordeaux cheap hotel tips

At the main station, we can recommend California Hotel Gare Saint Jean (Booking.com | HotelsCombined.com). This is the area with the largest number of cheap hotels. The main advantage is direct bus line 1 leading to Bordeaux Airport. A short walk away is a market that you should not miss.

Towards the north to La Cité de Vin, you can find a very pleasant City Résidence Bordeaux Center (Booking.com | HotelsCombined.com). There is less accommodation and transportation from the airport or train station. The advantage is that the Rue Notre Dam which is full of various smaller restaurants where local food is mainly served.

Read next: Trip to the vineyards near St. Emilion

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