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Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, southwestern France.

Plan a trip to Bordeaux From Toulouse/Blagnac

A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called "Bordelais" (masculine) or "Bordelaises" (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region.

Get in

Getting to Bordeaux

It has many connections from other cities in west Europe, UK and Ireland, and North Africa (Tunis, Algers, Agadir, Casablanca, Marrakesh, Oujda and Fez). Other destinations include Istanbul and Tel Aviv. Air Transat have seasonal transatlantic flights.

  1. 01
    Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport

    There are in effect 2½ terminals, side by side.

  2. 02
    Gare Saint-Jean is

    The main entrance faces west down Cours de la Marne; buses, trams and taxis leave from the forecourt here.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Place Gambetta
  2. 02
    Cathédrale St-André

    Grand church built from 1170 in Gothic style.

  3. 03
    Musée des Beaux-Arts

    20 Cours d'Albret (west side of Hotel de Ville, but you need to enter from C d'Albret.

  4. 04
    Place de la Bourse

    You can also admire their reflections in the Water Mirror on the other side of the boulevard: it's a thin skin of water so in warm weather children scamper through it.

Do

Things to do

National Opera is on Place de la Comédie, 100 m south of Place des Quinconces. As well as opera it hosts ballet and musicals. Jeux Barjo, 12 Rue Saint-James (100 m north of Grosse Cloche),. Tue-Sat 14:00-00:00, Sun 14:00-22:00. Bar specialising in board games ancient and modern: you pay for either one long or three short games. Staff assist if you want to try a game you're not familiar with.

Eat

Where to eat

Chat Noir Cha Vert, 47 Rue des Faures (north side of Basilique Saint-Michel),. Pleasant place for light bites and views of the basilica. Beirut Kitchen, 8 Quai de la Grave (east side of Basilique Saint-Michel),. Wed-Fri 12:00-14:00, 19:00-22:00, Sat Sun 12:00-22:00. Good mezze and other Levantine fare. Chez Ta Mère, 12 Rue Camille Sauvageau (50 m south of Basilique Saint-Michel),. Tue-Sat 18:30-02:00.

  1. 01
    Le Café du Port

    Great views of Pont de Pierre and the left riverbank.

  2. 02
    L'entrecôte

    A city institution, no reservations and you'll probably have a long wait in line.

  3. 03
    Couleur Cafe

    Mostly positive reviews for this bistro by the cathedral.

  4. 04
    Chez Faty

    MAMACAM, 83 Cr Victor Hugo (Porte de Bourgogne A D ),.

  5. 05
    Restaurant Soléna

    5 Rue Chauffour (Tram Line A),.

How locals move

Getting around Bordeaux the local way

  • Get inThey also run direct but not daily from Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon and Algeciras (for Morocco ferries).
  • Get aroundThe river-bus BAT³ or Batcub runs from Stalingrad/Quai de Queyries on the east bank, northward along the west bank to Quinconces, Les Hangars and Cite du Vins, finally to Lormont (east bank, beneath Pont Aquitaine.) Ferries run every 45 min, 7 days a week, with the complete run taking 40 min.

From Wikivoyage: Bordeaux, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.