Discover the best things to do in Bordeaux

Want to visit Bordeaux and wondering what to do in this city? Monuments, good restaurants, local shops, vineyards, beaches near the city ?  Trust the blog of cool places and good tips in Bordeaux and the region to find the best things to do !

Visit Bordeaux

– Discover the medieval side of Bordeaux by visiting the Grosse Cloche (Big Bell) and the Porte Cailhau (Old Door)

– Admire the reflections of the city on the famous Miroir d’eau (Water Mirror)

– Enjoy a panoramic view on all Bordeaux from the top of the two tours Flèche Saint Michel and Tour Pey Berland

– Have a natural break in the Public Garden on the left bank or in the Botanical Garden on the right bank

– Discover the crypt, the sarcophaguses and the basilica of Saint Seurin’s archeological site

– Visit the City hall

– Walk around the “round Markets” of the city: the Market of Lerme, the Market of Chartrons (built by the municipal architect Charles Burguet) and the elegant Market des Grands Hommes

– Imagine yourself in Rome by admiring the antique amphitheater of the Palais Gallien

– Visit Darwin, a military fallow land rehabilitated into a cool place with a skateboard park, an organic grocery shop and a trendy restaurant

– Look up to find the typical mascarons of the city… more than 3000 different ones !

– Rent a local bike (Vcub) and make the loop around the quays (6.7 km) through the two symbolic bridges:  the Pont de Pierre and the Pont Chaban Delmas

…  Other ideas and information on the website of Bordeaux Tourisme

Bordeaux restaurants

– Feast at the least expensive gastronomic table of Bordeaux: Racines by Daniel Gallacher

-Taste a good glass of Bordeaux wine and a mixed plate at the CIVB wine bar 

– Take a snack at Juliena or at Møna

– Taste the Wellington beef, the iconic Gordon Ramsay’s signature dish in his brasserie “Le Bordeaux”

– Test the best brunch of the city at Plume

– Treat yourself with a dinner in a star restaurant by Pierre Gagnaire at La Grande Maison

– Succumb to the greedy temptation of the Gallien district with burgers at Edmond Pure Burger, Italian specialities at Tentazioni, Scandinavian dishes at Koeben, French-Japanese kitchen at Nama or gastronomic cuisine at Garopapilles

– Taste tapas with a new twist at the wine bar Echo cave à manger

– Tickle your taste buds with surprise menus of gastronomic tables like Miles, Hâ Restaurant and l’Exquis

– Discover the regional specialities at La Tupiña

– Taste the creative cuisine of Symbiose for lunch or in the evening during the gastronomic Tuesdays and Wednesdays

– Eat a rib steak, a speciality of Bordeaux in the Brasserie Bordelaise

– Enjoy an exceptional view on Place de la Bourse by eating at Gabriel, in the bar side or the gastronomic restaurant

– Have lunch in one of the rare bucolic patios of the city, the cafeteria Palo Alto, or at Potato Head for their creative cuisine

Bordeaux by night

–  Party on the Iboat, a barge moored to the docks 

– Drink a mojito in Saint Pierre district, at the intimist and original bar La Comtesse

– Have a walk on the quays by night to admire the enlightened city, its reflection in the Miroir d’eau and the changing colors of the Pont Chaban Delmas

-Go on an Irish pub crawl at Connemara, Houses of Parliament, the Sherlock Holmes and Sweeney Todd’s

– Drink a cocktail while tasting a stuzzichini in the retro atmosphere of l’Alchimiste

– Fire the dancefloor of one of the oldest nightclubs of the city, Le Monseigneur

– Discover bottles of wine from the whole world and taste fresh products in the cosy wine bar La Ligne Rouge

-Have a drink on the incredible rooftop of Mama Shelter or at Night Beach Intercontinental Bordeaux

– In December, admire the huge Christmas tree place Pey-Berland and the illuminations of Cours de l’Intendance and Place de la Comédie
– Dig among 100 cocktails or 1000 references of wines at the Point Rouge, the bar and restaurant located in the former wine storehouse of Château Descas

Bordeaux culture

– Applaud an opera or a ballet at Grand Théâtre 

– Visit la Cité du Vin (wine’s world museum) and have a drink on the top of the belvedere (more information here)

– See an exhibition in the atypical Base Sous Marine (ex submarine base)

– Discover the history of the region in the Musée d’Aquitaine

– Visit the CAPC, the museum of contemporary art of the city, located in the former warehouse of colonial products

– See a theater play in the TNBA, the national theater of the region, or in a more intimist theater as La boîte à jouer or the Glob théâtre

– Learn by having fun at Cap Sciences 

– Watch a good movie in Utopia, art movies located in a former monastery (more information here)

– Listen to good music during a concert in the Garage Moderne or Rock School Barbey

-Discover the permanent collections and the temporary exhibitions of the Musée des Beaux Arts and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs et du Design

– Participate to an artistic meeting and discover the exhibition of the Cultural Institute Bernard Magrez 

– Listen to a concert of the National orchestra of Bordeaux Aquitaine in the Auditorium 

Bordeaux shopping

– Shop 100 % made in France products at “Do You Speak Français” in Chartrons district 

– Walk up and down the street Saint Catherine, longest shopping street in Europe (1.5 km) and discover the Rockefeller center of Bordeaux named Promenade Sainte Catherine

– Go shopping in the old town, especially in the charming streets  Rue Saint James, Rue du Pas Saint-Georges
 and Rue des Remparts

– Buy a book in the biggest independent bookshop in France which has just celebrated its 120 years: Mollat

– Have a crush for a jewel made in the Southwest of France at Atelier d’Amaya or Atelier des Dames

– Go shopping for kids at Perlin Paon Paon or Le Petit Souk

– Discover the Bouffard street, the ancient street of the Antique dealers boosted by the arrival of new shops

– Buy vintage and second hand clothes at Blue Madone,  Trafic or Jolie Môme

Bordeaux events

– Watch a soccer match of the Girondins or a rugby match with the UBB in the new stadium Matmut Altantique

-Drink a glass of new wine and hunt for antiques in the Fête du vin nouveau et de la brocante, at the end of October, street Notre-Dame (district of Chartrons)

– Go antiquing at the biannual secondhand trade of Place des Quinconces at the end of April / beginning May and at the end of November / beginning of December

– Participate to the major festivals of the city which take place on the left side of the quays in June: Bordeaux celebrates wine (even years) and Bordeaux celebrates the river (odd years)

– Stroll in Sunday’s secondhand trade of Place Saint Michel

– Watch the arrival of sailboats which moor in Port de la Lune

– Celebrate gastronomy in the end of November during Bordeaux S.O Good

– Support the Boxers in the ice rink Mériadeck for ice hockey match

Bordeaux food

– Taste a canelé of La Toque Cuivrée, speciality of the city (more information here)

– Discover Rue de la Vieille Tour – aka greed street – with Hasnaâ chocolates, coffee roaster l’Alchimiste and Pascal white dunes (cream pastries)

– Shop at the historic food market of Les Capucins

– Buy croissants and chocolatines from La Boulangerie on the square Saint Michel

– Make the tour of the good cheese shops of the city (Beillevaire or Jean d’Alos at Grands Hommes / Deruelle in the St Pierre district and the last on Cours Portal, fromagerie Pierre)

– Discover the pastry Puits d’amour (wells of love) of Maison Seguin 

– Taste oysters on the quays during the Sunday market of Chartrons

– Drink the natural and local soda of La Manufacture Bordeaux

– Have a coffee break with small cakes at Black List or Sip coffee bar

– Buy local products (Amélie’s pastis, Barthouil cans) at the Epicierie Servan (Grocery shop) in the district of Grands Hommes

Bordeaux unusual

– Look for the only vine of the city center at Place de la Victoire. It produces 8 to 10 bottles a year! Look up just next to the historical Café Auguste!

– Take a picture of the “falling car” of the Victor Hugo parking lot

– Discover the oldest houses of Bordeaux, dead-end Rue Neuve, built in the 14th century and located next to the house of Montaigne’s wife, Jeanne de Lartigue

– Make the tour of the Place Mitchell, a quite round square decorated with green chairs just a step from the Public garden

– Take a look at the unusual architecture of the twin houses of 28/29 Quais des Chartrons, houses of Dutch inspiration built in 1680 by a trader

– Visit the inside of the statue and the column of Girondins

– Discover the slavery past of Bordeaux during a guided tour with Karfa Diallo 

– Navigate on the Garonne river (dinner-cruise on the Sicambre with Bordeaux River Cruise, simple ride with Batcub or sports session with Bordeaux Canoë) and discover the remains of a ship of the Second World War at low tide.

The ocean side

– Dance with your feet in the sea in the Club Beach Pereire 

– Swim in Le Porge

– Taste oysters in an oyster cabin like La Canfouine in the village of Le Canon (Lège Cap-Ferret)

– Have dinner at Co(o)rniche and admire the view on the Banc d’Arguin

– Climb up to the summit of the Dune of Pilat, highest sand dune of Europe

– Visit the nature reserve of the salty meadows of Ares and Lège

– Embark on a “pinasse”, a typical and local boat, and make the tour of the Bassin d’Arcachon (more information here)

– Go up the 258 stairs of the Lighthouse of the Cap Ferret

– Surf the waves of Soulac

–  Stay at the charming hotel La Ville d’Hiver in Arcachon and enjoy their market cuisine 

– Admire the Bassin d’Arcachon from the sky, in paragliding, ULM, plane or parachute

Bordeaux vineyard

– Enjoy a wine tasting perched on a century-old tree at Chateau Rayne Vigneau (more infos here)

– Have lunch or dinner at Le Manège, the restaurant of Château Léognan (more information here)

– Discover the Entre-Deux-Mers wine and visit the garden of the scents in the beautiful Château Reignac (more information here)

– Spend a day in the Saint Emilion’s medieval village

– Visit the ultra design wine storehouse of Château Pédesclaux (more information here)

– Treat yourself with a cocooning spa session at the Sources of Caudalie in Château Smith Haut Lafitte 

– Discover the first 5 Grand Crus classified 1855

– Have lunch “above the vineyards” in la Terrasse Rouge, Château La Dominique in Saint Emilion 

– Fall asleep in the luxury room of a prestigious bed and breakfast and wake up with a jump in the swimming pool at the edge of vines in the Château Prieuré Marquet next to Saint-Emilion (more information here) or in the Château Le Pape next to Léognan (more information here)

♥ Special thanks to Maria from the dog friendly blog www.thetropicaldog.com for helping me in the translation !