Marta shares her discoveries, fun and useful tips for visiting this incredible city
I must say Bordeaux is a fantastic city and I feel anyone who visits is very lucky! It has a lot of charm and positive vibes. I was there a last Spring and absolutely fell in love with Bordeaux itself, as well as its surroundings. I am not sure how much time you will have and where you are staying, but here are a few tips:
Transport:
· public transport (trams and buses https://www.infotbm.com/en/mode/bus-tramway) is very good and easy to use (mind the traffic if using buses, but it isn’t bad) - you can buy single ticket/travel pass for multiple days in the kiosk next to the stop; alternatively you can buy a city pass that gives you access to public transport and discounted entry to multiple museums and places of interest, but there are restricted timings and I must say that it didn’t do the trick for me
· bikes - if you love cycling these are easy to hire https://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/transport/bike-rental.html and there are a couple of cycling paths for tourists that are recommended (map available in the Tourist office or you can try on googlemaps too)
· walking - I love walking, but in Bordeaux depending where you go it is good to mix it with public transport or a bike :)
Places of interest:
· Le Cite Du Vin https://www.laciteduvin.com/en is a must see if you are interested in wines - multiple rooms and interactive displays cover all possible aspects of wine, you take a tour in your own pace and finish with wine tasting at the rooftop terrace with a fantastic view of Bordeaux ( warning! allow a good few hours for this one :)); when I was there there was also a Picasso exhibition in the same building - I really recommend seeing it if it is still there
· Bordeaux Cathedral https://frenchmoments.eu/bordeaux-cathedral/, Garonne river bank, Opera house, Bordeaux Water Mirror (Mirror d’Eau); just wondering around seeing these is a pleasure…
· Food and drinks abound for a really great impromptu snack, rest, lunch, dinner - Bordeaux has an amazing vibe with such fantastic food and wines. It may be good to do some research on trip advisor and book a place depending on your location. However Bar a Vin is a must !!! Fantastic wine bar where they don’t take reservations and is definitely worth getting into - you can taste a good variety of wines, staff are very helpful and knowledgable, building itself is interesting and it is buzzing all the time :)
· Bassin des Lumières is quite interesting one - digital art centre in the former Submarine base
Train trips outside:
· Arcachons Bay - recommend by train from the main station; seaside town with fabulous beach, fantastic architecture, vibrant atmosphere, fantastic food (especially oysters !!!) and good wines - ideally by the sea; when you are there I recommend renting a bike and getting to Dune du Pilat (1-1.5 hrs bike) to see the biggest and most impressive dunes in Europe - highly recommend!!!
· St Emilion - by train from the main station; needless to say it is probe;y the most famous wine day trip out of Bordeaux. There are Chateaux that you can visit on foot without booking in advance :). Les Bistrot de Vinobles was an amazing spot for lunch there and there are some nice wine bars in the town itself.
· Château Pape-Clément was my favourite Chateau I felt my money was well spent on the tour - in fact its a great tour including insights into their history, winemaking, viticulture and practical aspects of the L2/L3 knowledge ;)…also nice wine tasting finishing the tour. I also loved exploring the grounds in mown leisure including their herb garden etc…there is no limit of time for that :)
There are a few more trips outside that you can take like Margeaux, Gujan Mestras (Oysters farming town), Libourne (with its market), but I didn’t manage to do all and also the above were my favourite ones.
Hope it helps :).
If you need anything else shout, otherwise have a great trip!!!
All the best,
Marta x
