For a change, in Bordeaux we treat ourselves once again to a campsite for a few days. So, we can do the postponed housework in the van again. Yes, also in a van there are small jobs like laundry or cleaning, which would like to be done nevertheless again and again.

But enough of that: Bordeaux – The capital of the red Bordeaux wine is the subject of this blog post. With the well-developed public transport network, by streetcar we go right into the center of Bordeaux. The city tour starts for us at the Monument aux Girondins.

For a day ticket for the entire public transport network, we pay 5 euros per person. A parking lot in the city center would not be much cheaper for a whole day.

Monument aux Girondins

The Monument aux Girondins is a memorial column commemorating the deaths of deputies from the Gironde district during the French Revolution. In the center stands a tall column with an angel at the top. Surrounding the base of the column is a fountain basin with many groups of figures cast in metal.

The Place des Quinconces adjacent to the monument is filled with a craft and antique market during our visit in early December. Market tradition is obviously still held in high regard here in Bordeaux.

Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux

We walk slowly towards the old town of Bordeaux and pay a short visit to the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. We do not attend a performance and thus do not get inside the building, but the main facade, which faces the Place de la Comedie, is already a feast for the eyes. A flight of five steps leads to the colonnade, which forms the entrance portal. Twelve columns with beautifully formed capitals form the colonnade and above each of the twelve columns is a statue: that of the nine muses and the goddesses Juno, Venus and Minerva.

Rue Sainte-Catherine

Bordeaux has the longest shopping mile in Europe: Rue Sainte-Catherine. It is a pedestrian street about 1.2km long and accordingly many shop windows are to be admired on the left and on the right. But we are mainly interested in the buildings and the atmosphere, less in the many individual stores. The street is to a large extent still a cobblestone street and also the sidewalks and adjacent houses are mostly kept in an older style to preserve the cityscape. After a large part of the shopping mile, we stop at a small café, because such a long window-shopping excursion makes us a little thirsty.

Cathédrale Saint-André

No visit to the city with Mimi without a visit to the church. The Gothic Cathédrale Saint-André is with 124m length the largest church in Bordeaux and really worth a visit. We liked the filigree facade almost more than the interior.
The highlight, however, is the free-standing bell tower Tour Pey Berland on the southeast side of the cathedral. At 66 meters tall, the tower offers the highest viewing platform over Bordeaux. From here you not only have a great view of the cathedral, but also a gigantic overview of the whole city.

October – May: daily 10.00-12.30h and 14.00-17.30h
June – September: daily 10.00-13.15h and 14.00-18.00h
Entrance fee: 6Euro/Adult, children free

Porte Cailhau and Grosse Cloche

Most visitors do not know that Bordeaux once had an old medieval city wall, no wonder, it was demolished long ago in favor of large squares and new houses. Today, only two imposing gates remain: the Porte Cailhau and the Grosse Cloche. Of course, we took a look at both of them during our tour of the city and found that walking through the gates should be part of every visit to Bordeaux.
The castle-like Porte Cailhau is just as impressive as the Grosse Cloche with its two bell towers.

Place de la Bourse and Miroir d’eau

We continue with a beautiful square with historic buildings. The city tour takes us to the Place de la Bourse right on the Garonne River. The adjacent houses are historic buildings that form a semicircle around the Place de la Bourse. This looks great and is impressive!

Just on the other side of the big street leading past the square towards the river Garonne would normally be the Miroir d’eau. A large artificial water surface, which remains mirror-smooth by the small depth, only a few centimeters. In this water would then also reflect the scene of the Place de la Bourse and thus allow artful photos. Well, unfortunately, but the area is not filled with water in December. We can already understand that, the city probably does not want to produce an uncontrolled half-frozen ice surface in the middle of a pedestrian zone. Understandable, but also a little disappointing. In summer, the Miroir d’eau would certainly be a highlight!

Small river trip

The advantage for us of the above detour to the Garonne is that we find out that boats on the river are also part of the regular public transport network of Bordeaux. Nice – and we directly catch another ride when we arrive at the quay. We go two, three stations downstream before we complete our little river trip with the return trip in the streetcar to a city tour. That’s a great thing to do. So, if you like boat trips as much as we do – treat yourself to this little river trip at no extra charge!

Christmas Market in Bordeaux

Thanks to the Christmas season, we round off our city trip through Bordeaux with a cozy Christmas market visit. The Christmas market is not much different than in Switzerland – there are many culinary as well as handicraft things to buy. Of course, the expressions are slightly different and more regional. But all in all, we enjoy the different scents and impressions of the Christmas market before our tour of Bordeaux also ends.