Things to Do in Bordeaux

The name Bordeaux most commonly passes our lips when we are talking about French wine, but the city of Bordeaux has more to offer than just its famous grapevines. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known as Port of the Moon, filled with stunning historic architecture largely unchanged for over two centuries.

There are over 350 buildings and monuments listed as Historic in the city and in the past decades a major project has been undertaken to clean the facades and put in a tram-service with no overhead wires to mar the beauty of the city.

Greeting arriving ships to the port is a one kilometer stretch of gracious historic palaces which line the quay built in the 17th and 18th century - even back then Bordeaux was keen to make a good first impression on visitors and it continues to do so today.

The language spoken is French but Bordeaux has many visitors so English is spoken in many shops and restaurants, although the French may be reluctant to use it.

Often considered to be the very birthplace of Bordeaux wine (with some vines being over 2,000 years old), Graves also happens to be the largest wine-growing area in all of France–120,000 hectares of vineyards to be exact. A top destination for wine aficionados!

It doesn’t come as a surprise that one of the most popular things to do in Graves would, understandably, be the wine route. Visitors from around the world flock to the area to taste new wines, discover the esteemed Grands Crus and talk all things epicurean with lively, passionate wine-growers. The wine route is not only an excellent opportunity to find out more about the longstanding craft of wine-making, but also to get a better grasp of the tremendous amount of work and expertise that is required to produce a good vintage, and of course to visit lavish French estates. Some of the most popular wineries to visit are prestigious Château Suduiraut, Château Carbonnieux, and Château Smith Haut Lafitte.

The Quinconces Square (known locally as the Esplanade de Quinconces) certainly impresses with its size - at 12 hectares (30 acres) it's one of Europe's largest squares. And it's impressively situated on the banks of the Garonne, laid out in a semi-circle with trees planted in geometric patterns based on the number five (it's these patterns that give the Esplanade its name).

Laid out in the early 1800s, the square is adorned by some massive public statuary. There are rostral columns, statues of Montaigne and Montesquieu, and an immense monument to the Girondists, who were executed during the Revolution. The monument is a riot of bronze horses and warriors. During WWII it was dismantled by the Germans and the bronze melted, but it has since been restored.

Pomerol is an undersized, wine-oriented village located about 45 minutes east of Bordeaux. But its relatively small size–just 2,000 acres–definitely isn’t an obstacle to quality; indeed, Pomerol has become one of the region’s most respected Appellations d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) over the second half of the 20th century, despite being slightly different from the strictly categorized, upmarket Bordeaux wines.

With a yearly production that edges about 3,000 bottles per winery, Pomerol wines find prestige in rarity. Most of them are produced on small farmlands and insist on remaining a high quality, low volume type of wine, a feature that is unquestionably reflected in their steep prices. With most wines in Pomerol being of the Merlot kind, the region is therefore a brilliant destination for wine neophytes with a large budget, as Merlot is one of the most palatable red wines present in France.

Located in the very center of Place des Quinconces in Bordeaux, this striking column was elevated in the late 1800s to commemorate the Girondists, a fervent republican political faction consisting of militants originally part of France’s Legislative Assembly, and one of the first group to openly denounce Louis XVI’s reign and the monarchy in general. Their 1793 mass execution, which was caused by their resistance against the rapidly increasing momentum of the revolution, is often considered to be the starting point of the Reign of Terror.

At 54 meters high, the Monument aux Girondins overlooks one of the city’s busiest squares and is adorned with an intricate bronze statue representing Lady Liberty breaking free of her shackles and gracing Bordeaux with her palm of victory. At the base of the column stands a colossal fountain and two basins, with dramatic bronze sculptures of charging horses, each signifying a different aspect of modern French society.

Bordeaux’s main shopping street stretches 1.2 km (0.7 miles) through the city center and is one of the longest pedestrianized shopping streets in Europe, only beaten by Strøget in Copenhagen and ul. Knyaz Alexander I in Bulgaria’s second city Plovdiv. It is bookended by the Place de la Comédie in the north, which is home to the city’s Neo-Classical Grand Theater, and the Place de la Victoire in the south, dominated by a pink marble obelisk and an 18th-century triumphal arch that marks the position of the city’s original gates.

Narrow and lined with majestic four-story townhouses, Rue Sainte-Catherine is a mecca for international, big-name and mid-range brands such as Zara, H&M and the Czech shoe chain Bata. There’s an Apple Store and a vast outpost of FNAC for DVDs, mobiles and kids’ toys, but the biggest draw along the street is the branch of Paris’s glamorous Galleries Lafayette, which sells everything from high-end designer fashion to gourmet olive oils.

The Basilique Saint-Michel is a Gothic gem built between the 14th and 16th centuries. Its charms include an altarpiece depicting the triumph of Michael, its patron saint, over the dragon and some fine stained glass (although a lot of its stained glass was destroyed in WWII). It's also a stop on the Santiago de Compostello pilgrimage.

But the church itself is overshadowed by its freestanding belfry, which at 114 meters (374 feet) somewhat grabs the attention. From June to September, it's possible to go inside the tower and climb to the top. It's worth it for the views over the river.

Bordeaux in southwest France was once a vibrant port city. The port itself was known as the Port of the Moon because it sat on a semi-circular part of the Garonne River. Historically the left bank of the port has been the center of commerce and culture. Throughout the past 2,000 years, the port has played an important role in shaping the city's history and its place as a world city of wine.

When the automobile became more prominent, the historical buildings in this area began to degrade and turn black. The roads were not meant for cars, and traffic jams clogged up the port area. The port's importance declined, and it was eventually moved downstream to the northern suburbs. In the 1990s great efforts were made to clean up the area, including the buildings, and the waterfront is now lined with pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths, shops, and museums. In 2007 the Port of the Moon waterfront was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The converging point of many of the city’s high streets, pedestrianized Place de la Comédie is an inevitable stop on any Bordeaux itinerary. This lively and elegant square dates back to Gallo-Roman times, back when it was still home to the busy forum of Burdigala, and visitors could be momentarily fooled into thinking they've actually traveled back in time thanks to the Grand Théâtre’s exceptional architecture. Designed in the neo-classical style, it features a 12-column Corinthian portico surmounted by statues that represent the nine muses and three goddesses. Nevertheless, it wasn't until the 18th century that Place de la Comédie gained its prestige.

Architect Victor Louis–who also conceived Paris’ Palais Royal and Théâtre Français–wanted Bordeaux to have a temple of the arts that would reflect the city’s newly found grandeur.