Things to Do

Bordeaux rewards walkers. The historic centre is compact and the best sights cluster along the river and around the cathedral. The major museums are free on the first Sunday of each month.

Guide

Things to Do

01

Place de la Bourse

The iconic 18th-century square on the Garonne riverfront, Bordeaux's most celebrated facade

Sight
02

Saint-Pierre

The medieval heart of Bordeaux, centred on the Place du Parlement and its café terraces

Neighbourhood
03

Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux

One of France's finest neoclassical opera houses, built in 1780 and still in use

Sight
04

Musée d'Aquitaine

The city's main history museum, covering 25,000 years from prehistoric cave to colonial port

Museum
05

Cathédrale Saint-André

Monumental Gothic cathedral with rooftop views from the bell tower

Architecture
06

Chartrons

The wine merchant quarter — 18th-century chais, antique dealers, and the best riverside walk

Neighbourhood
07

Cité du Vin

Interactive wine museum with panoramic tasting belvedere

Museum
08

Basilique Saint-Seurin

Pre-Romanesque UNESCO basilica with a 6th-century crypt full of early Christian sarcophagi

Sight
09

Porte Cailhau

15th-century royal gate above the Garonne, built to commemorate the Battle of Fornovo

Sight
10

Saint-Michel

Bordeaux's most multicultural quarter, centred on the Gothic basilica and Sunday flea market

Neighbourhood
11

Tour Pey-Berland

The separate Gothic bell tower of the cathedral, with 231 steps to rooftop views

Sight
12

Basilique Saint-Michel

Gothic basilica in the heart of the old working-class quarter, with the tallest detached bell tower in France

Sight
13

Pont de Pierre

Bordeaux's first permanent bridge, built by Napoleon with exactly 17 arches for the letters of his name

Sight
14

CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain

Contemporary art museum in a converted 19th-century colonial warehouse in the Chartrons quarter

Museum
15

Miroir d'Eau

The world's largest reflecting pool — 3,450 square metres of water just two centimetres deep

Sight
16

Grosse Cloche

15th-century medieval gate and bell tower, the oldest surviving structure in Bordeaux

Sight
17

Jardin Public

18th-century public garden in the Chartrons quarter, with a natural history museum and a bandstand

Sight
18

Place du Parlement

Baroque square in the Saint-Pierre quarter, surrounded by café terraces

Sight
19

Palais Gallien

Ruins of a 3rd-century Roman amphitheatre — the only surviving trace of Roman Bordeaux above ground

Sight
20

Quai de la Douane Waterfront

The restored 18th-century waterfront — the defining walk in Bordeaux

Sight
21

Bacalan

The post-industrial northern waterfront, home to the Cité du Vin and the emerging creative quarter

Neighbourhood
22

Base Sous-Marine

Bordeaux’s enormous wartime submarine base, reused for exhibitions and immersive digital art.

Museum
23

Darwin Ecosystème

Upcycled Caserne Niel military barracks turned alternative cultural and food complex on the Right Bank

Sight
24

Les Quartiers Modernes Frugès

Le Corbusier-designed housing estate in Pessac, part of the architect's UNESCO-listed work.

Sight
25

Musée des Arts Décoratifs et du Design

Decorative arts from the Middle Ages to today in an 18th-century hôtel particulier

Museum
26

Grande Synagogue de Bordeaux

One of the largest synagogues in France, reflecting Bordeaux's historic Sephardic Jewish community

Sight
27

Musée des Beaux-Arts

Napoleonic-era collection of 300 European paintings

Museum
28

Esplanade des Quinconces

Europe's largest public square with dramatic Girondins monument

Sight
29

École du Vin de Bordeaux

One-hour to half-day tasting workshops at the Bordeaux wine trade school

Museum
30

Museum of Bordeaux - Science and Nature

Renovated natural history museum beside Bordeaux's public garden, with major science collections.

Museum
31

Musée Mer Marine

Maritime museum in the Bassins à flot district, mixing ships, ocean science, and art

Museum
32

Palais Rohan

The 18th-century Archbishop's Palace that became Bordeaux's City Hall

Sight
33

Strange Fruit

Sculpture memorial to the victims of Bordeaux's slave trade, installed near the Garonne riverfront

Sight
34

Jardin Botanique de la Bastide

Modern right-bank botanical garden exploring Aquitaine landscapes beside the Garonne

Sight
35

Musée du Vin et du Négoce

Small museum in a 17th-century Chartrons chai covering the history of the Bordeaux wine trade

Museum · Chartrons
36

Musée National des Douanes

Customs museum on Place de la Bourse, set inside Bordeaux's old royal customs house

Museum
37

Jardin botanique de Bordeaux

Bordeaux's older botanical garden began as a medicinal herb garden in the 17th century, with the present garden dating from the 1850s. It is …
38

Rue Sainte-Catherine

Europe's longest pedestrian shopping street, running 1.2km through the heart of old Bordeaux

Sight
39

Piliers de Tutelle

Fragments of a 1st-century Roman colonnade, preserved behind a courtyard near the Grand Théâtre

Sight
40

Mériadeck

Bordeaux's unloved 1970s administrative quarter — a useful counterpoint to all that 18th-century perfection

Neighbourhood