Bordeaux is known for its booze but its beauty is just as impressive. Its beautifully-preserved 18th century architecture has earned it Unesco heritage status, and it has a lovely riverfront to promenade along and admire. If you can tear yourself away from the river, then there’s plenty more to see in its narrow winding streets and photogenic avenues. Read on!
We flew into Bordeaux early and while we waited for my sister Zoe and her boyfriend Tom to arrive, Joe napped and I explored.
We were staying near the middle of town, by the Pont de Pierre, which turned out to be a great location. Bordeaux’s old town has some beautiful winding streets and we made a point of taking a different route each time, which led to us stumbling on some gorgeous buildings.
The Basilique Saint-Michel, very close to our apartment
Tour Pey Berland: hot tip, check opening times before deciding it’ll be fine to climb it tomorrow :S
We were visiting Bordeaux mostly to catch up with Zoe and Tom, who were living in Lyon, so we didn’t feel the need to do a lot, other than our wandering – and of course a day trip to wine country (post coming soon!). As a city, Bordeaux seemed the perfect place to relax. It’s not super touristy, so we didn’t get the sense we were missing out on all sorts of attractions by kicking back in a cafe for an hour. The centre of town is also pretty compact, so we were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go – ideal for getting the sense of a place!
One of my favourite squares
Of course, we made sure to sample the wine!
Kicking back in our beautiful Air BnB with a rather large bottle – I promise I didn’t finish it myself!
Bordeaux’s Cite du Vin – we didn’t visit the wine museum, opting to head to the source the next day instead
The joys of being an early riser!
Although it’s Bordeaux’s 18th century buildings that get a lot of the press, some of my favourite sights were far older. This is Porte Cailhau – built in 1495 it was once the main entrance to the city, and is just a block from the river. Prime position!
The immense Place de la Comédie
Our favourite coffee spot was the adorable Verde Nero Café. Great coffee, food and check out that decor! The sofas were comfy and alluring, it was definitely tricky to tear ourselves away.
So photogenic!
I loved the contrast between the old and new street signs – vive la Révolution!
Given the weather was so gorgeous, it was a no-brainer for us to head for the park to soak up more sunshine. The Jardin Public (literally, public garden) may be simply named but it’s a huge and beautiful sprawl of green space to the north of the old town. There were daffodils and ducklings – trés charmant!
If you’re wanting somewhere relaxed, historic and fun for your next weekend away, with great food and wine, check out Bordeaux! And make sure you check back soon for my next post where we head straight to the source of some of that delicious red wine – Saint-Émilion!
Have you visited Bordeaux? Do you prefer a relaxed city-break, or a busy city with loads to do?
