Visiting Bordeaux in One Day - Itineraries, Tips and Advice
Visiting Bordeaux in one day, mission impossible? What to do in Bordeaux in one day? If the Gironde capital is full of so many treasures to explore, visit and taste that one could spend weeks enjoying it, the available time is sometimes short and making the most of it becomes a necessity. But far from organizing one’s holiday as one organizes one’s work, here are three tips to plan your day and an itinerary to let yourself be carried along without missing anything. Challenge accepted?
The 3 tips to visit and enjoy Bordeaux as much as possible at a lower cost
When you have only one or two days on site, how to optimize your travel, route but also waiting time to book and pay? It’s simple, here is the solution.
Optimize your expenses
Firstly, there is the essential Bordeaux CityPass. It allows you to visit more while spending less over a given period: 24h, 48h or 72h consecutive, and that, at a of course reduced rate.
Organize your movements
Second tip, plan your activities neighborhood by neighborhood to avoid needless back-and-forth north-south / east-west. With the CityPass in hand, goodbye to lost time buying a transport ticket every time you move!
Manage your timing
Finally, regarding activities and visits, one will know how to make choices, yes, but from a well-selected list which allows flexibility. All without spending hours searching. For that, one will make sure to retain among the thirty or so activities offered by the CityPass those that interest us the most. There will remain only to place them strategically in our schedule and that’s it, done.
What to do in Bordeaux in one day?
La Cité du Vin, the Bassins des Lumières, the marina, anchor at Bacalan!
A true urban hornet’s nest made of steel and gray port vestiges there only 15 years ago, the historically rich district of Bacalan is afloat again. It is even becoming more beautiful. The basins of the future marina are today surrounded by pleasant paved promenades dotted here and there with authentic historic cranes, works of art, many restaurants and places of conviviality, such as the Halles.
But above all, it is there that you will find the emblematic Cité du Vin, 4th most visited museum in France, but also the Bassins des Lumières, recognized as the largest digital art center in the world and which occupies the impressive submarine base.
Spirits lovers will also take a look at the surprising Moon Harbour Distillery which produces an unexpected whisky in a bunker. We will awaken our curiosity and that of our children in the playful Cap Sciences or also set sail at the Mer Marine Museum.
Museum-Sciences & Nature, antiques dealers, Quinconces, between village and metropolis in the heart of Bordeaux
Coming down toward the heart of the city, forgetting to pass through the historic district of the wine merchants who made Bordeaux’s fortune: Les Chartrons, would be a punishment. One will visit the Wine and Trade Museum but also the Maritime History Museum before strolling among the pretty shops and antique dealers of the delightful Rue Notre Dame.
One will take a break in the verdant Public Garden before going to meet the wildest animals in the rehabilitated Museum. To finish, one will penetrate into the arcs of the symbolic Monument to the Girondins of the Quinconces or into the emblematic Grand Théâtre, unless one prefers the creative subjectivity of the CAPC Contemporary Art Museum.
Panoramic view, palace, Girondine stone and historic cobblestones in the city centre
The historic centre of Bordeaux is full of treasures and anecdotes within reach, and yet difficult to spot. That is why the best way to discover it is to let oneself be guided by the stories of a guide through the most beautiful alleys of the Gironde capital. To each their preferred theme of visit.
To take height, one must not miss climbing up the Pey-Berland Tower to admire the view over the city and over the magnificent Palais Rohan, the city hall which is open to visits.
Saint-Michel Spire, flea markets and art in the bubbling Saint-Michel district
The historically popular district of Saint-Michel is a sparkling mix of flavours, mixed cultures of architecture, places of conviviality and paved streets. We will sit down on the joyful Place Meynard, at the foot of the immense spire of the basilica. The most athletic will admire the unassailable view it offers of the river. While strolling toward the station, one falls under the charm of Camille Sauvageau Street which leads us to the Church of Sainte-Croix, former Benedictine monastery.
We will then push toward Euratlantique to walk through the excellent architecture of the Méca, which houses the FRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine: 1,300 works, exhibitions, not forgetting a pleasant rooftop.
Street art, alternative places and gardens, facing toward the right bank
After watching it from above, we will cross the Garonne either via the sumptuous stone bridge, or by boat via the river shuttle to discover the pleasant right bank. Verdant to the last degree, we will walk along the Parc aux Angéliques up to the former military barracks rehabilitated into an eco-responsible convivial space combining street-art and alternative activities: Darwin.
Between two guinguettes, we will then descend via the botanical garden before continuing under pergolas covered with wisteria on quai Deschamps.
Hop-on Hop-off double-decker bus, a unique view of Bordeaux crossing the whole city
Why settle for discovering only one district when you can see the whole city in one activity? With the Visiotour Hop-on Hop-off, discover Bordeaux at your own pace. Get on and off at stops that please you, unlimited over the day.
Enjoy a panoramic view while letting yourself be carried by the audio-guide commentary: now all that remains is to relax! With its electric roof to shelter in case of rain or high heat, the Visiotour is the perfect way to satisfy both children and adults.
To go further: Visit Bordeaux over a weekend
And for the lucky ones who visit Bordeaux over the course of a weekend, there is also a CityPass for 48h and 72h. One can then allow oneself to sail further via cruises on the Garonne, but also to escape into the vines in search of some wine treasures, visit the incredible citadel of Blaye or even enter the undergrounds of Saint-Emilion.
