La Cité du Vin
Bordeaux’s landmark museum of world wine culture, a curving gold-toned building on the Garonne with an interactive permanent tour in eight languages and a glass of wine with a panoramic view in the Belvédère on the eighth floor.
France
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is the wine capital of the world and one of the most elegant cities in France, a sweep of pale limestone facades curving along a crescent of the Garonne that gave it the name Port of the Moon.
Its 18th-century heart, listed by UNESCO, runs from the grand Place de la Bourse and its famous water mirror to the Gothic cathedral and the soaring Pey-Berland bell tower, with the long pedestrian Rue Sainte-Catherine and the café-lined squares in between. Downriver, the old wine merchants’ quarter of the Chartrons leads to La Cité du Vin, the striking museum of world wine culture, and to the Bassins des Lumières, a digital art centre inside a wartime submarine base. Beyond the city lie the vineyards that made its name: the medieval hilltop village of Saint-Émilion on the right bank and the grand châteaux of the Médoc on the left, both an easy day trip with a small-group tour. This guide books the wine experiences and museums worth booking, flags winter hours and seasonal closures, explains when the Bordeaux CityPass pays off and matches you to the right hotel, from a grand palace facing the opera house to a Starck-designed hotel near the cathedral and a smart base in the Chartrons wine warehouses.
Don't miss
La Cité du Vin
Bordeaux’s landmark museum of world wine culture, a curving gold-toned building on the Garonne with an interactive permanent tour in eight languages and a glass of wine with a panoramic view in the Belvédère on the eighth floor.
Les Bassins des Lumières
A vast digital art centre inside Bordeaux’s wartime submarine base, where immersive projections of great painters glide across concrete walls and reflect in the water of the old basins, currently showing Matisse and Frida Kahlo.
Musée du Vin et du Négoce
A small, characterful wine museum in the vaulted 1720 cellars of a Chartrons merchant house, telling three centuries of the Bordeaux wine trade and ending with a commented tasting of two or three wines.
Place de la Bourse and the Miroir d’eau
Bordeaux’s signature view, an 18th-century royal square opening onto the Garonne, with the world’s largest reflecting pool in front of it; the water mirror rests from November to April, but the square is magnificent all year.
Things to do in Bordeaux
Saint-Émilion Village Full-Day Wine Tour from Bordeaux
A small-group day trip from central Bordeaux to the UNESCO-listed hilltop village of Saint-Émilion, with a guided walk through its medieval lanes and three tastings at classified wineries, led in English with no more than eight guests.
Médoc Full-Day Wine Tour from Bordeaux
A small-group day along the Route des Châteaux north of Bordeaux, with visits to three Classified Growth or Cru Bourgeois estates, three expert-led tastings and free time in the riverside wine town of Pauillac.
Les Bassins des Lumières
A vast digital art centre inside Bordeaux’s wartime submarine base, where immersive projections of great painters glide across concrete walls and reflect in the water of the old basins, currently showing Matisse and Frida Kahlo.
Guided Cruise on the Garonne
A 90-minute guided boat trip on the Garonne from Quai Richelieu, with live commentary in English and French, passing the 18th-century facades of the Port of the Moon, the Pont de Pierre and the giant Chaban-Delmas lift bridge.
Bordeaux CityPass
The official city pass, valid for 24, 48, 72 or 96 hours, with unlimited trams, buses and the river shuttle, entry to La Cité du Vin, the Bassins des Lumières and the main museums and monuments, plus one guided city tour.
Musée du Vin et du Négoce
A small, characterful wine museum in the vaulted 1720 cellars of a Chartrons merchant house, telling three centuries of the Bordeaux wine trade and ending with a commented tasting of two or three wines.
FreePlace de la Bourse and the Miroir d’eau
Bordeaux’s signature view, an 18th-century royal square opening onto the Garonne, with the world’s largest reflecting pool in front of it; the water mirror rests from November to April, but the square is magnificent all year.
30-60 minutesDetails →
Tour Pey-Berland and Cathédrale Saint-André
The free-standing 15th-century bell tower of Bordeaux cathedral, 50 metres tall with more than 200 steps to the top and the best panorama over the city’s rooftops, next to the vast Gothic Cathédrale Saint-André, which is free to enter.
Musée d’Aquitaine
Bordeaux’s great history museum, recently refurbished, telling 400,000 years of the region’s story from prehistoric art and Roman Burdigala to the port, the Atlantic trade and the Second World War, with free entry on the first Sunday of the month.
Where to stay
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$InterContinental Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel
Golden Triangle (Place de la Comédie)
Bordeaux’s grandest address, an 18th-century palace by Victor Louis facing the Grand Théâtre, with 130 rooms, Gordon Ramsay’s two-Michelin-star Le Pressoir d’Argent, a Guerlain spa with a pool and a summer rooftop bar.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Hôtel de Sèze
Golden Triangle (Allées de Tourny)
A stylish four-star boutique hotel on the Allées de Tourny in the Golden Triangle, with 55 rooms including three suites, a spa with jacuzzi, hammam and sauna, and the Comptoir de Sèze restaurant and bar.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Mercure Bordeaux Château Chartrons
Chartrons
A four-star hotel set in converted wine warehouses on the edge of the Chartrons, with 215 rooms, a glass-roofed restaurant opening onto a patio, a garden, private secured parking and easy access to La Cité du Vin.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Mama Shelter Bordeaux
Old town (Saint-Christoly, near Pey-Berland)
A playful four-star design hotel on Place Saint-Christoly in the old centre, with 97 rooms decorated by Philippe Starck, a lively restaurant with a covered terrace, a rooftop terrace with city views and private parking.
Rates on Expedia →
$ibis Bordeaux Centre Mériadeck
Mériadeck
A dependable budget hotel in the Mériadeck business district, a ten-minute walk from the cathedral, with air-conditioned rooms, Le Bistrot de Mériadeck with a bar and rooftop, 24-hour snacks and an undercover car park.
Rates on Expedia →Bordeaux guides
First Time in Bordeaux: What to Book, How to Get Around & How Many Days
The practical primer for a first visit to Bordeaux: what to book ahead, winter hours and Monday closures, getting around by tram and on foot, and where La Cité du Vin, the old town and the Saint-Émilion and Médoc day trips fit into three days.
Where to Stay in Bordeaux: Golden Triangle, Old Town or the Chartrons
How to choose your base in Bordeaux, from a palace facing the Grand Théâtre to a boutique spa hotel on the Allées de Tourny, a wine-warehouse hotel in the Chartrons, a Starck-designed favourite near the cathedral and a budget pick in Mériadeck.
