Sightseeing in Bordeaux
Sightseeing in Bordeaux
Bordeaux’s historic core is compact enough that its best sights sit inside a single UNESCO perimeter, the 1,810-hectare “Port de la Lune” district recognised in 2007 for its curve of 18th-century limestone facades.
Place de la Bourse and the Miroir d’Eau
Royal architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel designed this square in 1749 for Bordeaux’s merchants; the buildings facing the river are the Hotel des Douanes and the Hotel de la Bourse. Directly opposite, the Miroir d’Eau, added in 2006, is a 3,450 square-metre granite slab holding 2cm of water that cycles between a still reflecting pool and a rolling mist, best seen either early morning or after dark.
Cathedrale Saint-Andre and Tour Pey-Berland
Consecrated in 1096 by Pope Urban II, Cathedrale Saint-Andre is where Eleanor of Aquitaine married the future Louis VII of France in 1137, and the cathedral forms part of the UNESCO-listed Routes of Santiago de Compostela through France. Its free-standing bell tower, Tour Pey-Berland, has 231 spiral steps to two viewing terraces; tickets are timed, online-only, EUR 6 full and EUR 4 reduced, free under 18. For a guided walk that takes in both, browse Bordeaux walking tours on GetYourGuide .
Grand Theatre de Bordeaux
Victor Louis’s 1780 neoclassical theatre carries a peristyle of 12 Corinthian columns topped by statues of the 9 muses and 3 goddesses, and still hosts the Opera National de Bordeaux and its ballet company. A 50-minute guided tour of the vestibule, grand staircase, and auditorium runs Tuesday to Saturday on non-performance days, EUR 10 full, EUR 8 reduced, EUR 6 for ages 5 to 12; check current run days before booking, since opera performances bump the tour off the schedule.
Monument aux Girondins and the medieval gates
The 54-metre column at Place des Quinconces, crowned by the bronze Angel of Liberty breaking its chains, was built between 1894 and 1902 to honor the Girondin deputies executed in the Revolution; its bronze fountain basins have galloping sea horses worth a slow look. Two medieval gates round out the old quarter: Porte Cailhau, built in 1494 to mark Charles VIII’s victory at Fornovo, and the Grosse Cloche, a 15th-century twin-towered belfry carrying a 1759 astronomical clock and a 7,700kg bell known as Armande-Louise.
Quartier des Chartrons
North along the river, this former enclave of 18th-century wine merchants keeps its cobblestone streets, private limestone mansions, and antique shops along Rue Notre-Dame, plus the Musee du Vin et du Negoce inside a set of historic wine warehouses explaining two centuries of the negociant trade.
Read more: Walking Tours in Bordeaux links several of these sights into four set routes on foot.
Plan ahead: book Tour Pey-Berland and the Grand Theatre tour directly through pey-berland.fr and bordeaux-tourisme.com , or check Viator’s city tour listings for a guided option that bundles several of these stops.