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Bucket list trip:

Bordeaux 3-day Itinerary

  • France

Last updated: 07 June, 2024

Where to go and what to see in Bordeaux to get the most from your trip – a 3-day itinerary from destination expert and travel writer Dana Facaros.

Editor note – Dana has not included specific recommendations of where to stay each day unless it’s necessary. Instead, see the ‘Where to stay’ section in our Bordeaux destination guide.

Day 1

7

Begin in Bordeaux’s medieval and 18th-century core, with a look at the cathedral, Grand Theatre, Porte Cailhau and Porte de la Lune – famous for its massive mirror of water.

Then catch the Bat3 catamaran up the Garonne to the Halles de Bacalan for lunch before visiting Cite du Vin (Wine City) – which will inspire your wine tasting at Max Bordeaux.

Have dinner at the charming, old-fashioned Brasserie Le Noailles.

Bordeaux Cathedral

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

The exterior of the cathedral and its two spires

Experience

Bordeaux’s enormous Gothic Cathedrale Saint-Andre is the city’s most majestic medieval landmark; the church dates back to 814 AD, but it was predominantly constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries. Don’t miss the sculptures of the Porte Royale and a climb up the Tour Pey-Berland belltower for a bird’s-eye view over the city centre.

Good for age: 18+

Grand Theatre of Bordeaux

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

The grand theatre in Bordeaux, a building with many pillars.

Experience

Designed by the great Parisian architect Victor Louis (1731-1800), this neo-classical beauty features 12 columns with twelves statues, representing the nine muses and three goddesses. It’s equally grand inside, with heart-stopping frescoes and a grand staircase. First inaugurated in 1780, today’s it’s home to the National Opera of Bordeaux.

Good for age: 18+

La Porte de la Lune

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Exterior of Palace de la Bourse, doubled in the reflection of a puddle

Experience

Set on a crescent-shaped bend in the Garonne, Bordeaux’s riverfront port is a work of art. The kilometre-long, UNESCO-listed façade of 18th-century buildings by Jacques Gabriel is breathtakingly illuminated after nightfall. The stunning Place de la Bourse is reflected in an enormous mirror of water from 900 misting jets.

Good for age: 18+

Porte Cailhau

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Porte Cailhau, a castle-like monument that used to be the gate to the city

Experience

This beautiful monument was built in 1494 as a triumphal arch to commemorate Charles VIII’s victory at Fornovo. It was later integrated into the city walls and today forms one of the gates to the old city from the port. You can go inside for an exhibition on how it was built, and for views from the tower.

Good for age: 18+

Halles de Bacalan

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Exterior view of the building, with slatted wooden roof and the Wine City Tower behind

Experience

Although it only opened in 2017, this vast new food hall by Wine City has become one of the most popular foodie hangouts in the city, with a mix of stalls run by farmers, chefs and producers.

Good for age: 18+

Max Bordeaux Wine Gallery

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Inside the gallery, where there are racks of wine bottles

Experience

Bordeaux’s world-famous Grands Crus are expensive, so you want to be sure you’re buying a wine you really like. At this high-tech wine gallery, you can sample a sip from 48 of the finest bottles – each of which has been allowed to breathe to perfection.

Min age 18

Good for age: 18+

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Exterior of Wine City building on a sunny day

Bucket List Experience

Wine City

Designed by Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazieres, Bordeaux’s spectacular Cite du Vin opened in 2016 – its curvaceous, spiralling 55m glass tower evoking wine swirling in a glass. Far more than simply a wine museum, it offers a total, immersive wine experience, packed with 19 permanent exhibits that tickle all five senses.

This fascinating, in-depth, high-tech history of winemaking around the world culminates in the building’s spectacular rooftop belvedere, where guests can join in with a wine tasting. The frequent, changing exhibits make the Cite du Vin just as popular with the Bordelais locals as with visitors to the city.

The architecturally-striking building, designed by architects XTU, ‘does not resemble any recognizable shape because it is an evocation of the soul of wine between the river and the city.’

Adult price: £18

Good for age: 18+

Day 2

2

Spring for a full-day tour of the Medoc, the most prestigious of Bordeaux’s wine areas – or hire a car to do it on your own, although note you often need to book visits in advance. The Cafe Lavinal in Pauillac has a good set lunch menu.

Top the day off with dinner at Bordeaux’s fabulous rococo Chapon Fin, founded in 1825.

Le Chapon Fin

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Interior of a large restaurant with classic decor

Experience

Since 1825, the ornate rococo dining room and glassed-in garden have welcomed the beau monde of Bordeaux and the world, with a formidable wine list to choose from, famous for classic cuisine and over 200 wines by the glass.

Good for age: 18+

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Close up of grapes hanging from a tree

Bucket List Experience

Bordeaux Wine Region

A must-see for wine lovers from around the world, Bordeaux’s fabled wine estates are fascinating to explore.

There’s plenty to discover (and taste): the region is divided into 57 appellations, with over 8,500 wineries (or châteaux) producing some 800 million bottles a year.

Some 89 percent of these are red wines, including the legendary, stratospherically priced Grands Crus or ‘First Growths’ of the Médoc, Graves and Saint-Emilion. Meanwhile, the sweet, golden Sauternes rules the whites.

Adult price: £40

Good for age: 18+

Day 3

7

Head to the ocean, with a half-day tour to the Dune de Pilat, Europe’s biggest sand dune and oyster tasting around Arcachon.

In the afternoon, visit one or two of Bordeaux’s museums – Aquitaine history, Fine Arts, Decorative Arts or Contemporary Art, before aperos at the Bar du Vin and dinner nearby at Le Quatrieme Mur, next to the Grand Theatre (reservations essential).

  • La Teste-de-Buch, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

A large dune with greenery on one side and the sea on the other

Bucket List Experience

Dune of Pilat

Europe’s biggest sand pile, the Dune du Pilat (or ‘du Pyla’) towers near the mouth of Arcachon Bay.

Standing 107m high, stretching 6km in length and with a volume of 20 million cubic metres of sand, it’s an extraordinary sight.

The view from the top is breathtaking, too – on a clear day you can see all the way to the Pyrenees. After, cool off on Pyla-sur-Mer’s golden-sand beach.

Good for age: 4+

Aquitaine Museum

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

A statue of a figure reclining

Experience

This compelling history museum is home to over 1.3 million artefacts that document the history of Bordeaux and the entire Aquitaine region, from prehistory (including Paleolithic Art and the Lascaux Cave) to the modern day.

Adult price: £4

Good for age: 18+

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Inside the elegant Palais Rohan, the museum displays works by some of Europe’s finest painters, including Titian, Perugino, Rubens and Van Dyck, as well as famous local artists from various periods.

The south wing is devoted to art from the 16th to 18th centuries, and the north wing focuses on the 19th and 20th centuries.

Adult price: £4

Good for age: 18+

National Customs Museum

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Exterior of a beautiful building

Experience

This museum is the only one of its kind in France: exhibits cover the history of customs and taxes, including smugglers and counterfeiters. The bizarre mix of fascinating curiosities – including maps, musical instruments and opium pipes – date back to the 18th century.

Adult price: £3

Good for age: 13+

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Set in a striking, 19th-century vaulted warehouse, the groundbreaking CAPC houses one of France’s most important collections of modern and contemporary art, collected from around the world.

The museum’s diverse program features temporary exhibitions, installations, performances, and multimedia works, fostering a vibrant and ever-evolving cultural dialogue. The CAPC’s Permanent Collection features a diverse range of artworks from renowned artists. The collection spans various mediums and styles, providing insight into the evolution of contemporary art over time. It also hosts temporary exhibitions on specific themes.

With a focus on promoting emerging artists and pushing the boundaries of artistic practices, CAPC offers a thought-provoking and immersive experience that celebrates the evolving nature of contemporary art.

Adult price: £6

Good for age: 18+

Museum of Decorative Arts, Bordeaux

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

The exterior of the museum on a sunny day

Experience

Bordeaux’s Musee des Arts Decoratifs contains a series of period rooms from different design eras, filled with historic objects and artefacts, offering an insight into aristocratic living in the last two centuries. It’s set in an immaculately-preserved, 18th-century Bordeaux mansion – one of the most beautiful townhouses in Bordeaux.

Adult price: £4

Good for age: 18+

Le Bar a Vin

  • Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Red wine being poured into a glass

Experience

Exceptional wine bar in an 18th-century prow-shaped townhouse run by the Bordeaux Wine Council, with 30 wines by the glass served by knowledgeable young wine students, along with cheeses, cold meats and chocolates.

Min age 18

Good for age: 18+