It's wine o'clock! 10 Tips for a weekend in Bordeaux

If you don't really like wine, then Bordeaux probably won't become your favourite destination. In this French city, it's all about it. We spent 3 days there and enjoyed it very much - the city with its beautiful sandstone houses,the little shops, restaurants and wine bars is worth a visit. Here are some tips to spend a fantastic weekend in Bordeaux, the epicenter of French wine. 

1. Stroll along the beautiful streets 

If a city doesn't have an old town with beautiful alleys and little streets, then I probably won't like it. I could spend hours just strolling around those streets, drinking coffee, watching people passing by and enjoying the atmosphere. In Bordeaux you can do this - the old town which is completely built in sandstone offers little streets, a lot of beautiful shops, hipster-ish coffee shops and great restaurants. 

You will also find some places that will remind you of Paris, for example the Place de la Bourse with huge and royal looking buildings. Unfortunately, the "Miroir d'eau" wasn't active at the time we were there. It would offer you a great reflection of the big building in front of you.

Place de la bourse without the famous "Miroir d'eau"

2. Eat, eat, eat!

Eating seems to be one of the most important things in France and so it is in Bordeaux. We found a lot of fantastic restaurants and it was hard to choose the best one. We just didn't have enough time to try them all! If you want to taste fantastic, traditional French cuisine with a hint of new things, then I recommend you "Bistrot de tutelle" (Rue des piliers de tutelle). We had a fantastic dinner there and felt very welcome. 

In Bordeaux, it's great to buy food at one of the local markets and then do a picnic somewhere outside with some good bread, cheese - and please don't forget the wine if you want to do it the French way! 

3. Drink, drink, drink!

Bordeaux wouldn't be Bordeaux without the wine. Not so surprising when you think of the region - Bordeaux is so near to St. Émilion or the Médoc region where some of the best (and most expensive!) wines come from! So please make sure you get a glass of wine for every meal - you can start at lunchtime with it. In the city there are plenty of winebars and the staff can tell you which wine fits best. 

Those who prefer coffee won't suffer either, there are plenty of beautiful, little cafés in the old town. Make sure you try one of the "Canelles", the famous little cake that is so famous for Bordeaux. I was told that the best ones are from Baillardran. 

Coffee and Canelle

4. Rent a bicycle

Bordeaux is the perfect town to rent a bike. You don't even have to go to a bike rental as there are public bike stations everywhere. The process is very easy, it doesn't cost you more than 4 euros for one day and you can drop off your bike wherever you want and take another one wherever you want. Bordeaux is not too big but we were still happy that we didn't have to walk all the way. Just make sure you don't drink too much wine along the way! :-) 

5. Visit the local markets

We found several local markets and loved them all. The most beautiful one was along the Garonne river on Sunday morning. Everyone seemed to be out, buying fresh bread and cheese, picnicking and enjoying life. I have to admit that I had quite an olive-overdose afterwards, but it was still worth it! 

6. Enjoy an open-air-siesta

After your picnic and wine you probably fancy a siesta. So do it like the locals and just lay down in the parc. It's great! 

7. Taste Bordeaux nightlife

Bordeaux has some fantastic bars and pubs where you can spend your evening. Especially around the Place du Parlement you will find great options. Sit outside the bar "L'ombrière" and observe the nightlife while drinking your glass of wine, you'll love it! 

8. Learn all about the wines

You won't be able to avoid the wine-thing in Bordeaux, so you better embrace it. Cité du vin is a fantastic museum where you can learn a lot about wine and experience it. There is also another museum in town which I heard should be good. Or just do "learning by doing" and check out all the winebars in town. 
You can also book official winetours that take you to Saint-Emilion for example. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to do it, but I'm sure it's worth it! 

Cité du vin

9. Visit a chateau (and find out that you're not welcome)

To get the full wine experience, we wanted to visit some of the famous chateaux in town. But unfortunately we had to find out that we are not very welcome there. Other than in Italy or South Africa where everything seems open for visitors and for every budget, the chateaux seemed to prefer people with fuller pockets and spontaneous visits were not accepted. We checked out two chateaux by bike and had the feeling that we don't really belong there. Don't get me wrong, the two chateaux (Les Carmes Haut-Brion & Pape Clément) and the surroundings looked amazing, but we couldn't ignore the feeling that we were ignored ourselves. So we drove back to town and enjoyed the wine bars, which seemed to be much more "down to earth". So my recommendation for your chateau-visit: do a pre-booking, dress fancy and don't expect that they give you the most expensive Grand Reserve wine for degustation. Then I'm sure it will be a great experience! :-) 

Chateau Pape Clément

10. Go shopping

Shopping in Bordeaux is good fun. And you have a lot of options! Check out the trendy shops in Rue Sainte-Catherine, go for antiques in the Chartrons neighborhood, buy some art in Rue des Remparts or try your luck at the Flea Market in the Saint Michel neighborhood. You can easily spent a day like that. 

There would be much more to do, e.g. climbing one of the clock tower, visiting Saint-Emilion or doing a boat cruise on the Garonne river - I'm sure you'll spend a fantastic weekend in Bordeaux! Cheers!