City Rating: Bordeaux
Population: 250,000
Date of visit: May 2019
Attractions & sights: 3/5
Nightlife: 3/5
Safety: 4/5
Infrastructure: 4/5
Low budget factor: 2/5
Total: 👍👍👍/5
The city in a nutshell:
Bordeaux, France’s ninth largest city located near the Atlantic coast, is a solid option for a weekend trip. Although the number of sights is a bit limited, the city is lively (day and night), offers a variety of great restaurants and is also a good starting point for trips to the wine regions or the coast. All in all, a trip to Bordeaux is worthwhile, but the city can’t quite keep up with Paris, Lyon or Nice.
Where to stay:
The Saint Pierre quarter, the historical heart of the city, is certainly the best option. From there it is less than a ten minute walk to all the sights of the city. In addition, this quarter has the greatest charm of Bordeaux and also in the evening it is the most lively.
However, the Saint Pierre quarter is also the most expensive. Visitors, who want to save a few bucks, can stay a bit away from the center therefore, for example near the railway station Saint-Jean. From there it is only ten minutes by tram to the city center. Keep in mind that Bordeaux is a compact city, which means that all sights are relatively close to each other.
The Good:
Bordeaux has everything you need for a short city trip. The city has its charming corners, offers some interesting sights and also has a decent selection of good restaurants and bars.
A strength of Bordeaux, which is also a weakness, is the size of the city. You don’t have to worry much about transport or any routes, as practically everything worth seeing is located in the same square kilometer. Thus, visitors can easily see all sights in half a day.
The most fascinating sight in my opinion is the miroir d’eau, the world’s largest reflecting pool, in front of the Place de la Bourse. This water mirror should definitely be visited both during the day and at night. Especially after nightfall a spectacular picture emerges when the opposite buildings, the tram and the passing cars are reflected in the water.
Other attractions include the St Andre Cathedral, the Grosse Cloche, the Monument aux Girondins, the Pey-Berland Tower and the St Pierre quarter. As mentioned before, these attractions are all quite close to each other. So you can visit all of them on foot.
A highlight near Bordeaux is the Dune du Pilat, the tallest sand dune in Europe. The dune is 108m high and offers a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean. It takes about 1h45 by public transport (Bordeaux to Arcachon one hour by train, from there 30 minutes by bus) and less than an hour by car. A one-way train ticket costs about 9€ and the bus another 1€.
Of course, Bordeaux stands above all for wine, so that wine lovers will not be disappointed. A visit to the Cité du Vin is therefore almost a must for them, as this modern monument deals with everything related to wine. If that’s not enough, you can also take a trip to the beautiful wine regions outside Bordeaux. You can also consume or buy wine practically everywhere in the city center, be it in the restaurants or in the wine shops.
Bordeaux also offers culinary delights in other respects. The city is full of good restaurants, ranging from haute cuisine places to fast food stalls. Among them is a very high number of restaurants with international cuisine. Besides French restaurants there are also Indian, Thai, Oriental and many more. Variety is therefore ensured. Plus, Bordeaux has some famous desserts, especially the canelés, small pastries refined with rum and vanilla that can be bought in numerous bakeries. No trip to Bordeaux is complete without trying them.
The Bad & The Ugly
Due to the city’s relatively small size, Bordeaux can quickly become a bit boring. At least if you want to experience and see a lot. For people who like to stay 1-2 days without doing much or spend most of the time with wine tasting, this shouldn’t be a big deal. For all other travelers I would recommend Bordeaux for a maximum of two days. Ideally even for one day, so that you can use the second day for a trip to the Dune du Pilat.
In addition, Bordeaux is quite expensive as it is usual for French cities. Although you save money for transport (the tram is quite cheap, but you only need it if you don’t have the hotel in the center), food and drinks are anything but cheap. Also the hotel prices are definitely higher than for example in German cities.
For me personally, Bordeaux is a nice city, but the least spectacular compared to the other French cities I’ve been to. It’s good that I’ve seen it, but it’s unlikely that I’ll ever return. But this should not sound too negative, because Bordeaux is worth it anyway. I just prefer other French cities.
Find other City Ratings here.
