Anja Tufina

Things to do in Bordeaux

Walk around the city

Half of the whole town is a World Heritage Site so you can’t go wrong just walking for hours. Starting with the three main streets Cours Clemenceau, Cours de l’Intendance, Allées de Tourny then moving into the backstreets where you’ll be amazed by the neoclassical buildings.

A walk on the riverfront

The Garonne river has been one of the most important sites for the city of Bordeaux with its port that would connect the town with the World and be the main drive to economic development. The old port isn’t there anymore, but walking up the Pont-de-Pierre you can see how rich this town was from the architecture of the waterfront 18th-century buildings.

Cité du Vin

Opened in 2016 with a modern architecture  Cité du Vin is the biggest cultural center dedicated to wine. They don’t have one of these in Tuscany, so maybe the French are right, Bordeaux is the world capital of wine. With tasting rooms, 800 different types of wines and lots of wine history exhibitions it is a unique place for wine lovers.

Food

I can’t suggest a specific place because everywhere I ate it was a delicious experience. The city is very close to the Atlantic ocean so fresh oysters are a must try, but Bordeaux is a carnivore town and its most famous dish is entrecôte marchand de vin, also called entrecote a la bordelaise. This dish is a rib steak cooked in a rich gravy made from Bordeaux wine. The typical sweets are called Canelés, tiny round cakes soaked in rum which used to be made by the nuns of the convent of Annonciades in Bordeaux.

Antique Shopping

Twice a year, in Spring and Autumn, the Foire à la Brocante des Quinconces is the appointment of all vintage and antique lovers who live in the region. I stayed at an Airbnb and the lady who owned the house had decorated it all from pieces found at this market.