Things to do · Bordeaux · France
20 best things to do in Bordeaux
20 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Chabe01, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Bordeaux are Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau, La Cité du Vin and Cathédrale Saint-André and Tour Pey-Berland. Of the 20 picks below, 10 are free, 6 work on a rainy day and 5 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau
- Free sights
- 10
- Good on a rainy day
- La Cité du Vin
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau | Saint-Pierre | 30–45 minutes | Free |
| La Cité du Vin | Bassins à Flot | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Cathédrale Saint-André and Tour Pey-Berland | Hôtel de Ville | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux | Triangle d'Or and Quinconces | 1 hour | Mid-priced |
| Esplanade des Quinconces | Triangle d'Or and Quinconces | 20–30 minutes | Free |
| Porte Cailhau | Saint-Pierre | 30 minutes | Low cost |
| Grosse Cloche | Saint-Pierre | 15 minutes | Free |
| Basilique Saint-Michel | Saint-Michel | 45 minutes | Free |
| Musée d'Aquitaine | Victoire | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| CAPC musée d'art contemporain | Chartrons | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Jardin Public | Chartrons | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Bassins des Lumières | Bassins à Flot | 1–1.5 hours | Mid-priced |
| Pont de Pierre | Saint-Michel | 30 minutes | Free |
| Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas | Bassins à Flot | 20 minutes | Free |
| Marché des Capucins | Saint-Michel | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Garonne river cruise and BatCub shuttles | Riverfront quays | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Darwin | La Bastide | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Cap Sciences | Bassins à Flot | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| Basilique Saint-Seurin | Fondaudège | 45 minutes | Free |
| Palais Gallien | Fondaudège | 20 minutes | Free |
The 20 best things to do
Landmark · Saint-Pierre
1.Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau
The royal square built between 1730 and 1775 by the Gabriel father and son opens onto the river, with the Three Graces fountain at its centre. In front of it, the Miroir d'Eau is a granite reflecting pool of about 3,450 square metres covered by a couple of centimetres of water that alternates between a mirror and a cool mist. It is the city's signature view and is free.
Come at dusk, when the floodlit façades reflect in the water; the pool is usually switched off during the colder months.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Kids
- Photo spot
- After dark
- Couples
Museum · Bassins à Flot
2.La Cité du Vin
Opened in 2016 in a swirling gold-toned building on the Garonne, the Cité du Vin is a museum of world wine culture rather than a Bordeaux tasting room. The permanent tour uses audio guides, smell stations and films to cover wine history, regions and rituals, and the ticket includes a glass of wine on the eighth-floor belvedere with views over the river and the Chaban-Delmas bridge.
Allow at least two hours for the permanent tour before heading up to the belvedere, and arrive by tram B (stop La Cité du Vin).
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets can sell out on summer weekends and holidays; buy online a few days ahead.
- Iconic
- Rainy day
- Views
- Food
- Architecture
Religious site · Hôtel de Ville
3.Cathédrale Saint-André and Tour Pey-Berland
Bordeaux's Gothic cathedral, where Eleanor of Aquitaine married the future Louis VII of France in 1137, has a long, single nave and a richly carved north portal. Its bell tower, the Tour Pey-Berland, stands apart from the church and is topped by a gilded statue of the Virgin; the climb up its spiral stairs gives the best panorama of the old town's rooftops and spires.
The cathedral is free; pay separately for the tower and climb it in the morning for clearer light over the river.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Views
- Iconic
Architecture · Triangle d'Or and Quinconces
4.Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux
Victor Louis's neoclassical theatre, opened in 1780, has a portico of twelve Corinthian columns topped by statues of the nine Muses and three goddesses. Inside, the blue-and-gold auditorium and grand staircase influenced later opera houses, including the Palais Garnier in Paris. It is home to the Opéra National de Bordeaux and can be seen on guided tours or at a performance.
A ballet or opera ticket in the upper tiers is often the least expensive way to see the auditorium.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Architecture
- History
- Rainy day
- After dark
Landmark · Triangle d'Or and Quinconces
5.Esplanade des Quinconces
One of the largest city squares in Europe, the Esplanade runs from the river to the Monument aux Girondins, a tall column with dramatic bronze fountains of horses and allegorical figures commemorating the Girondin deputies of the Revolution. It hosts funfairs and the spring and autumn Foire, and the riverfront end has two rostral columns.
Combine it with the Grand Théâtre and the tourist office on Cours du 30 Juillet, all a few minutes apart.
- Time needed
- 20–30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Photo spot
Historic site · Saint-Pierre
6.Porte Cailhau
This turreted 15th-century gate, built in 1495 to celebrate Charles VIII's victory at Fornovo, once opened from the old town onto the river port. It looks more like a fairy-tale castle than a city gate, and a small exhibition inside explains the history of the medieval ramparts, with views of the Pont de Pierre from the upper windows.
Photograph it from Place du Palais, then walk five minutes to Place du Parlement for a coffee.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Historic site · Saint-Pierre
7.Grosse Cloche
The belfry of Bordeaux's former town hall is one of the city's oldest surviving monuments, a pair of round towers framing a large bell and a clock above the arch on Rue Saint-James. It marks the southern edge of the old town, and the streets around it have small bars and bakeries.
Walk under the arch and continue north along Rue Saint-James and Rue du Pas-Saint-Georges to reach Saint-Pierre's squares.
- Time needed
- 15 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
Religious site · Saint-Michel
8.Basilique Saint-Michel
A late-Gothic basilica with a free-standing bell tower, the Flèche Saint-Michel, whose 114-metre spire is the tallest in southern France. The square around it is the heart of the Saint-Michel neighbourhood, with café terraces, grocers and weekend bric-à-brac stalls, and the Marché des Capucins is a few minutes away.
Visit on a weekend morning, when the square is at its liveliest, then walk to the Capucins market for lunch.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- Photo spot
Museum · Victoire
1.Musée d'Aquitaine
The regional history museum runs from prehistory, including the carved Venus of Laussel, through Roman Burdigala to Bordeaux's port trade. Its rooms on the city's role in the Atlantic slave trade in the 18th century are among the most direct treatments of the subject in France, and help explain the wealth behind the riverfront façades.
Start upstairs with the 18th-century port rooms if your time is short; they connect most directly to what you see on the quays.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Art
Gallery · Chartrons
2.CAPC musée d'art contemporain
Bordeaux's contemporary art museum occupies the Entrepôt Lainé, an 1820s warehouse built to store colonial goods such as coffee, cocoa and sugar. The huge arched central nave is used for large installations, and the rooftop terrace looks over Chartrons towards the river.
Check the programme before you go; the main nave is sometimes closed between exhibitions.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Garden · Chartrons
3.Jardin Public
Laid out in the 18th century and later remodelled as an English-style park, the Jardin Public has lawns, a winding stream with ducks, a botanical garden and playgrounds. The Muséum de Bordeaux – sciences et nature, the city's natural history museum, is in a mansion on its edge and has a dedicated space for young children.
Pick up pastries on Rue Notre-Dame or Cours de Verdun and picnic on the lawns, which are open to sit on.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Experience · Bassins à Flot
4.Bassins des Lumières
Inside the concrete submarine base built during the German occupation in the 1940s, four vast water-filled bays have become a digital art centre. Large-scale projections of painters' work move across the walls and reflect in the water, with a soundtrack, and programmes change each year.
Visit on a hot or wet afternoon; the bunker stays cool, and weekday mornings are quieter.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Buy timed tickets online for weekends and school holidays.
- Art
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Landmark · Saint-Michel
5.Pont de Pierre
Built between 1810 and 1822 on Napoleon's orders, the brick-and-stone bridge was for decades the only crossing of the Garonne in the city. Its 17 arches are lit at night, and with private cars now largely kept off it, it is a pleasant walk to the right bank with views of the Place de la Bourse skyline.
Walk across at sunset and continue along the right-bank Quai des Queyries for the classic panorama of the left bank.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Couples
- After dark
- History
Architecture · Bassins à Flot
6.Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Opened in 2013, this vertical-lift bridge has a central deck that rises between four tall pylons to let cruise ships and tall ships reach the Port of the Moon. It is one of the longest lift bridges in Europe and is lit in changing colours after dark.
Watch a lift from the Cité du Vin belvedere or the quays if a large ship is due; lifts are announced in advance by the city.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- After dark
- Photo spot
Market · Saint-Michel
7.Marché des Capucins
Bordeaux's main covered food market, nicknamed the belly of Bordeaux, has butchers, cheese stalls, fishmongers and oyster bars. On Saturday mornings it is packed with locals eating Arcachon oysters with a glass of white Entre-Deux-Mers at the counters.
Arrive before 11am on Saturday to get a stool at an oyster bar; weekday mornings are calmer for shopping.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Shopping
- Off the beaten path
Experience · Riverfront quays
8.Garonne river cruise and BatCub shuttles
Sightseeing boats leave from the quays near the Place des Quinconces for cruises past the 18th-century façades, the Pont de Pierre and the Chaban-Delmas bridge. The BatCub river shuttles, part of the city's TBM transport network, follow part of the same stretch for the price of a transit ticket.
Ride the BatCub from Quinconces to Stalingrad on the right bank for a cheap mini-cruise, then walk back across the Pont de Pierre.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Views
- Couples
- Outdoors
Experience · La Bastide
9.Darwin
The former Niel military barracks on the right bank now house a large alternative complex: an indoor-outdoor skatepark, street-art-covered warehouses, co-working spaces, an organic restaurant and grocery, and weekend events. It is free to wander and shows a very different side of the city from the stone centre.
Combine it with the Jardin Botanique de la Bastide and a walk back along the right-bank quays at sunset.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Food
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Bassins à Flot
10.Cap Sciences
A hands-on science centre in a former riverside hangar near the Chaban-Delmas bridge, with changing interactive exhibitions on technology, the body and the environment and a dedicated area for younger children. Most visitors are local families and school groups.
Check which exhibition is running; the programme rotates and some are aimed at teenagers rather than toddlers.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
Religious site · Fondaudège
11.Basilique Saint-Seurin
One of Bordeaux's oldest churches, Saint-Seurin is listed by UNESCO as part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. Its crypt holds Merovingian sarcophagi, and an archaeological site beneath the neighbouring square reveals an early Christian necropolis. It sees few visitors compared with the cathedral.
Walk on to the Palais Gallien Roman amphitheatre ruins, about five minutes north.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Free
- Off the beaten path
- Architecture
Historic site · Fondaudège
12.Palais Gallien
The arches of a Roman amphitheatre from Burdigala, as Bordeaux was called in antiquity, rise unexpectedly between townhouses north of the Jardin Public. Only fragments of the outer walls survive, but they give a sense of the scale of the Roman city, and they can be seen from the surrounding streets.
Pair it with the Basilique Saint-Seurin and the Jardin Public for a quiet half-day loop away from the crowds.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Free
- Off the beaten path
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | La Cité du Vin, Musée d'Aquitaine, CAPC musée d'art contemporain and Bassins des Lumières |
| History | Cathédrale Saint-André and Tour Pey-Berland, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Esplanade des Quinconces and Porte Cailhau |
| Views | La Cité du Vin, Cathédrale Saint-André and Tour Pey-Berland, Pont de Pierre and Garonne river cruise and BatCub shuttles |
| Outdoors and nature | Jardin Public and Garonne river cruise and BatCub shuttles |
| Food and markets | La Cité du Vin, Marché des Capucins and Darwin |
| After dark | Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Pont de Pierre and Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas |
| With children | Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau, Jardin Public, Bassins des Lumières and Garonne river cruise and BatCub shuttles |
| On a rainy day | La Cité du Vin, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Musée d'Aquitaine and CAPC musée d'art contemporain |
What to book ahead
- La Cité du Vin: Timed tickets can sell out on summer weekends and holidays; buy online a few days ahead.
- Bassins des Lumières: Buy timed tickets online for weekends and school holidays.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Bordeaux?
Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau. The royal square built between 1730 and 1775 by the Gabriel father and son opens onto the river, with the Three Graces fountain at its centre.
+What can you do for free in Bordeaux?
Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau, Esplanade des Quinconces, Grosse Cloche, Basilique Saint-Michel and Jardin Public. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Bordeaux when it rains?
Head indoors to La Cité du Vin, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Musée d'Aquitaine and CAPC musée d'art contemporain.
+What is there to do in Bordeaux at night?
Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Pont de Pierre and Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas are best after dark.