Holidays In Bordeaux France
Bordeaux France: Best Places to Stay, Shop and Eat
Bordeaux is one of France’s most interesting and graceful cities.
With fantastic shopping, gourmet food stores, museums, and all sorts of wine related activites, you could easily spend a very enjoyable day or two here.
So before heading off to the famous wine estates of the Medoc, have some fun in the city of Bordeaux!
The Tourist Office (12 cours du XXX Juillet) is a good place to start if you’d like to pick up some maps, book a tour or simply to find out more about the city and surrounding wine region.
The Maison du Vin de Bordeaux (The Bordeaux House of Wine), just across the street from the tourist office, has short wine tasting courses in English and French which is a great introduction to Bordeaux wines.
If you’d like to go wine shopping, don’t miss the beautiful L’Intendant, on 2 allées de Tourny, which stocks thousands of bottles.
And how about a honey and wine wrap, or a Cabernet scrub? Yes, you can literally bathe in wine, if you want to! Les Sources de Caudalie, a luxury hotel south of Bordeaux, is the pioneer of vinotherapy and offers lots of delicious wine spa treatments (see our hotels in bordeaux page for more information.)
Art and Culture in Bordeaux France
One of the most interesting museums in Bordeaux is the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum). The museum has a fantastic collection of paintings – one of the best in France, in fact – dating from the 15th through to the 20th centuries (20 Cours d’Albret, Jardin de la Mairie).
The opulent Grand-Théâtre is one of the most beautiful buildings in Bordeaux and has been hosting musical performances for almost 250 years. You can book tickets online for ballet, opera and other concerts here.
Shopping in Bordeaux France
If you’d like to hit the shops, the most expensive and fashionable boutiques are within the golden triangle, between Allées de Tourny, Cours de l’Intendance and Cours Georges Clemenceau.
One of the best places for chocolate in Bordeaux is Cadiot-Badie, 26 allées de Tourny, which has been in business since 1826.
For amazing cheeses visit the Fromagerie Jean D’Alos on 4 Rue Montesquieu; Baillardran has several stores in the city and is famous for canelé, a moist cake caramelised with rhum and vanilla (try their boutique on 55, cours de l’Intendance).
Bordeaux has many excellent markets, too; you could try the Marché Saint-Michel which is held every Tuesday and Saturday morning right near the Saint Michel Cathedral, or the organic market held in front of Saint Pierre church every Thursday, in the Saint Pierre Quarter.
Eating
The Saint Pierre quarter has a wide choice of restaurants to suit every taste and budget.
Two of our favourite restaurants in Bordeaux include the cosy and homely La Tupina, at 6 rue Porte de la Monnaie (00 33 5 56 91 56 37); for something more upmarket, try L’Estacade, quai de Queyries, which overlooks the river and is known for modern, ‘fusion’ type food.
Bordeaux Wineries
And last but not least, head out and explore the Bordeaux wine region and world-famous Bordeaux wineries and chateaux.