Is Three Days Enough Time for Bordeaux, France?

Passionate about Wine? A vinophile or oenophile, as they say – or just someone who enjoys a glass now and then? Are you looking for a base to explore the Garonne Region and the southwest of France and wondering many days do you need to explore Bordeaux? Is a weekend, an overnight enough? Should three days enough for Bordeaux? Find out how we spent our time in this beautiful city to help you decide. But first, fill your wine glass. . .

Bordeaux is More Than What’s in Your Wine Glass

As a student in the 90s I only knew Bordeaux as “where they make the wine” and knew nothing of its medieval gates, cathedrals, and art museums. Nor the public gardens or pedestrian paths that line the curving river quays. In fact, most of the rest of world didn’t know this gem either. It wasn’t until the late 90s that the Mayor of Bordeaux began a renewal program, incentivizing the Bordelais (Bordeaux residents) to clean the building facades – which were black with soot from decades of an industrialized river harbor. The overwhelming response has brought back the the bright and beautiful limestone facades. The result is so significant that UNESCO named the city a World Heritage site in 2007 and Bordeaux is often referred to as petit Paris. “Little Paris”. Put that your wine glass and drink it!

Speaking of wine, (you should at least try some wine when you’re here) Bordeaux is the Wine Capital of -THE WORLD-. Yes, the world. And they don’t take that lightly as a glass of Bordeaux Rose. This region produces more merlot and cabernet sauvignon than anywhere else and has since Roman times. But we’re not here for history… or are we?

Day 1 – Wander with purpose (and a guide)

Whenever my hunky husband and I plan on spending some time in a new city or region, we like to hire a local guide to give us the historical lay of the land. Yes, we do all our research and watch our youtubes, make a list of our “must-sees” but it just isn’t like you really get to KNOW a place without the conversation or the personality of someone who LIVES the city/region/country.

Which Local Guide?

Enter in Sophia from the Bordelais, with whom we reserved a private 3 hour walking tour of the city. We spent three hours with this lovely person on a walking tour of Bordeaux. Since the trip was our own, I asked that we start the tour with a coffee and pastry, since we’re always looking for second breakfast! You’ll see in the photos below that we were in for a treat! What followed was a great introduction to the city, it’s history but also a few great food recommendations, too! We left Sophia exhaused, but more empowered to explore Bordeaux on its own and weave our own path through this beautiful city.

With Sophia we had a 10 am start time and these were the main sites on our walking tour:

• Opéra National de Bordeaux – Grand-Théâtre
• Saint-Andre Cathedral
• Hôtel de ville de Bordeaux
• Palais de Justice
• Place de la Bourse
• Grosse Cloche
• Our bittersweet departure on was on Rue Sainte-Catherine, Sophia propping us up to face the right direction back to city center

We wandered, feeling like we just left our new best friend, star struck and slightly dazed (but not confused :)) and followed our stomachs back to the square near La Porte Cailhau where we had sunshine, a glass of wine and lunch, at 2 pm- just like locals. The photo gallery below shows how we spent what was left of the afternoon (post wine) . . .

Day 2 – Art, WWII history and wine

When the Hunk reserved tickets for this morning, I was a bit skeptical. Art in an WWII German submarine base? What? We’ve seen some pretty amazing art installations but water? concrete and dark? That’s exactly what the Bassins des Lumieres “Pools of Lights” is, an immersive digital exhibition that is literally in a concrete submarine base. When the lights go down you are captured inside some of the world’s great artist’s works and contemporary creations. We sat through the show more than once. Check out my IG post below:

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We stumbled out of dark Bassins des Lumieres into a sunny and cool mid-day. We had planned lunch at the Les Halles de Bacalan and it was an enjoyable walk along the quay. This food market is a great place to fill up, many options and varieties of foods and drinks, the majority of makers direct from the region. With the Cite du Vin in our view, we enjoyed lunch with Wine (me) and Coffee (he) and listening to the locals. I am so excited for you to see this entire museum of WINE!

La Cite du Vin – Bordeaux’s Wine Museum lives up to it’s name as a wine interactive and sensory experience. You’ll Fly over vineyards and experience the world of wine from Terroir to the Vine, physically walk through wine’s historical beginnings in the Near East to meeting growers of today. Take a deep dive into winemaking, from grape to fermentation to bottling – with an opportunity to participate in a group “crush” in attempt to produce the most wine. My favorite was the Buffet of the Five Senses, I’ve always wanted to dig into what the heck I’m smelling and tasting in wine and find the words to define these senses. I never had so much fun smelling old books, leather, mint and honey individually on the buffet, bring on the sticky socks next!

The pièce de résistance was the free glass of wine at the rooftop bar with circular terrace to enjoy – not only a favorite of what you had found in your new knowledge of wine, but also the spectacular views of Bordeaux. For us, it was sunset – photos below do not do justice.

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Day 3 – More wine, history and more wandering

After a leisurely breakfast- because of rain (and ticket times), we head off to the local Musée du Vin et du Négoce de Bordeaux and it’s showcase of the 2000 years of wine trade in the Bordeaux region. This museum is a gem. Not only is it a deep dive into wine traded directly on the banks of the Garonne River- the Port de la Lune, it is housed in a merchant cellar giving you personal context and atmosphere of the wine trade. The location is literally a block off the tram stop, Chartrons down Rue Borie.

Feeling good after two glasses of wine before lunch from our tasting at Musée du Vin we set off down Rue du Notre Dame towards city center. The area is filled with Antique shops, wine merchants and art galleries. The casual bohemian feel invites faisant du lèche-vitrine with plenty of stops for coffee, patisserie or boulangerie.

Final Stops

Having our fill, we hopped on a tram back to revisit Saint-André Cathedral and the Pey Berland Tower. The views did not disappoint in the late afternoon sun and we happily pointed out all of our favorite stops from above.

Where to Stay in Bordeaux

There are a multitude of hotels in Bordeaux. Pick the one that will be in a district central to your excursions. The Old town neighborhood does get busy at night with all the restaurants – but maybe you want to be at the center of that activity. We chose the Hotel Vatel in Chartrons because we are comfortable with public transportation and liked the local vibe. It was very convenient for our wanderings in any direction and super close to the docking location of the next portion of our trip.

Some things I considered when booking a hotel:

• Our hotel room had a fridge, and we bought breakfast stuffs from the Carrfour to avoid the Hotel’s high breakfast costs.
• We chose a Hotel close to a tram stop and pedestrian areas with plenty of restaurants and patisseries.
• The hotel was owned and operated by a French company with local staff. We want to make sure our tourism is truly supporting the local economy.

Notes on Bordeaux

• Despite how many days you spend exploring this amazing city, Bordeaux is a great base for exploring the region. So many wine tours – in any direction. Pick a wine tour here>> and go! Cheers!

• There is a Bordeaux City Pass, which we did not purchase. From our perspective, you really had hit a bunch of sites to make it worth it. Check out the Bordeaux City Pass here>> and see if it’s for you>

• Getting around Bordeaux is easy with the Tram and River Taxis. There are only 4 Tram lines and they basically follow the four directions, North, South, East and West. Ticket purchase is easy from the TBM App>> or at the stations.