Discover the Charm of Bordeaux on a City Trip
Bordeaux is a fantastic city that is perfect for a short city trip. Are you planning a weekend getaway or do you have some days off and want to spend them at a special destination abroad? Then book a city trip to the French Bordeaux.
Bordeaux is an urban city where you can enjoy beautiful architecture, cozy streets, and lots of delicious wine. Bordeaux is known for its wine production and wine fairs. The largest wine fair worldwide, Vinexpo, is also organized annually in Bordeaux.
You visit Bordeaux if you love wandering through picturesque streets for hours, enjoy visiting art galleries, or discovering various sights by bike. Bordeaux is also a very romantic city. If you are looking for a destination to travel to with your loved one, think of Bordeaux.
How to get to Bordeaux?
Traveling from the Netherlands to Bordeaux is very accessible and budget-friendly. If you book three months in advance, you can already book a return flight for a maximum of €135.
If you book a last minute, the price depends on the season you are traveling in. If you travel in the winter months, you can often still find a return ticket for about €135. In the summer months, a direct last minute flight can cost up to €250.
The flight itself takes just under an hour and a half. Currently, only easyJet flies directly from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to the airport in Bordeaux.
From the airport in Bordeaux to the city
Once you arrive in Bordeaux, you have three options to travel to the city center. You can choose the regular city bus, a shuttle bus, or a taxi:
- A ticket for the city bus costs €1.50,
- The shuttle bus costs €7.50
- A taxi ride will cost between €40 and €65.
The ride to the city center takes about 45 minutes by city bus. If you travel by shuttle bus or taxi, you will save about 15 minutes, and the ride will take about half an hour. If you have plenty of time and don’t have much luggage with you, the city bus is definitely recommended. It’s a cheap option and almost as fast as the more expensive options.
Bordeaux, the cycling city
Like many European urban cities, Bordeaux is also a real cycling city. The city is flat and very bike-friendly. There are bike paths similar to those we know in the Netherlands, and it’s a city where other traffic is not very busy. So you can safely and comfortably explore the city by bike. Bordeaux is also a city with many different neighborhoods. Each neighborhood tells a different story. From very hipster neighborhoods to more modern ones, you can discover them all by bike.
By bike, you can easily move between all the sights and hotspots. If you don’t know the city well, first book a guided bike tour. With this guided bike tour, you can visit the main sights with an experienced guide. This way, you get a good first impression of the city and can explore on your own later.
You can book a bike tour that takes you past various sights at Baja Bikes.
Baja Bikes Bordeaux
Baja Bikes offers a highlights bike tour through Bordeaux. You will cycle with an experienced guide through the city. You will discover many different parts of Bordeaux, including the historical part of the city.
The historical part of the city is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list. The guide will tell you a lot about this special city. This way, it’s not only fun to visit sights, but you will also learn a lot about them.
The highlights bike tour with Baja Bikes lasts about 3 hours. During these 3 hours, you will visit, among others, the following sights:
1. Historical center
2. Cathedrals and churches
3. City parks
4. The opera
5. Garonne River
6. Saint Andre Cathedral
7. Darwin Project
8. Great Bell
9. Place du Parlement
10. Quartier Saint-Michelle
Why book a bike tour?
You can choose to rent a bike yourself and ride around the city. But did you know that renting a bike and booking a guided bike tour doesn’t differ much in price?
And with the guided bike tour, you will visit all the important highlights in one go. You can choose to revisit the sights that personally appealed to you later.
This way, you will immediately know what you liked, what appealed to you, and how to get there. You will also learn a lot about the places you visit, information you would otherwise miss.
You will also visit places you might not go to on your own. You will not only visit the historical part of the city with churches, cathedrals, and squares. With the guide, you will also cycle to the ‘new Bordeaux.’
The bike tour along the river also gives you a beautiful view. You will cycle to the harbor and to undiscovered areas in Bordeaux. Areas that are in development.
A cool highlight of the highlights tour is the visit to the Darwin ecosystem. This is a co-working space where different aspects come together. From professionals in the business world to creatives and street artists. It is a fascinating place and definitely worth visiting.
Strolling through markets and vintage shopping in Bordeaux
Are you a vintage lover and do you love strolling through markets for hours? Then Bordeaux is the place for you.
Bordeaux is a very trendy city with many authentic vintage shops. Various markets are also organized weekly where you can buy the most special items.
The district Les Chartrons is sometimes compared to Notting Hill in London. Only Les Chartrons is the French version. It is a vibrant district where you can find a lot of antiques and vintage. Once in Les Chartrons, head to Place de Langalerie. Every street around Place de Langalerie is full of the nicest antique and vintage shops.
Wine tasting in Bordeaux
If you are in Bordeaux, a wine tasting should definitely be on your to-do list. It is the wine city of France with wines from various French wine regions.
Wine tourism in Bordeaux is so big that various wine tours and wine walks are offered.
If you want to participate, go to Place des Quinconces. This is where all the wine warehouses used to be, and the location is now mainly used for wine tourism.
Most wine tours also provide vouchers where you can enjoy a delicious glass of local wine in various wine bars.
City trip Bordeaux: Budget-friendly or expensive?
When you want to book a city trip to Bordeaux, you might wonder about the costs on site. It is actually very comparable to the costs as we know them in the Netherlands.
Public transport and the supermarket are very similar to the prices here in the Netherlands. Food and drinks are also comparable, but in Bordeaux, you do have more cheaper options.
There are many local places where you can enjoy a good meal for a small price. You will also see that prices in the historical center are slightly lower than in the newer part of Bordeaux.
Accommodations are also very affordable. You can book a bed in a hostel for about €30, and a stay in a good hotel can be booked for €70 per night.
Many sights are free. Visiting museums costs an average of €15 per person, and other activities such as a bike tour or a wine tasting cost about €30 per person.