1.5 days in Bordeaux or some time in St Emilion as well?

I enjoyed Bordeaux a lot and found plenty of things to do over several days. I'd stay in town but I am also not much of a wine drinker. If you are museum goers the Museum of the Aquitaine was excellent. The big cathedral has one wall of the nave from the 1100's which was when Alienor d'Aquitaine was married there. I also did the Musee des Beaux Arts which was good. I enjoyed walking along the promenade by the Gironde and specifically went to find the statue of Modeste Testas, an Ethiopian woman taken into slavery, lived in Bordeaux and then was shipped to Haiti.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modeste_Testas

I did go to Saint-Emilion and the monolithic church was interesting. If you go, wear grippy shoes as the stones in the streets are very slick. I did a winery tour but as mentioned, I'm not much of a wine drinker.

leslietudor2,
You might enjoy the Bassin des Lumieres show.

Hi Leslie,

I think Saint-Emilion is certainly worth a visit. I would recommend going on Monday as weekends can be crowded and some wineries don't accept visitors on weekends. Don't miss the Saint-Emilion Underground tour. Tickets can be purchased from the tourism office (https://www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com/en/). If you are interested in visiting wineries, this website will be helpful: https://sauvistication.com/

Safe Travels,

Stefan

Hi Leslie! While I love St. Émilion (and live close to there), I think with only 1.5 days you should spend them in Bordeaux itself. There is so much to do in the city and you can even take the tram to visit wineries in town (Château Pape Clément is one such winery) should you want to add a winery to your list. Sunday afternoons and Mondays can be a bit quieter with some shops/restaurants being closed and May is the month of holidays in France so even more could be closed depending on your dates (May 1, 8, 20, 29). Since you arrive on Sunday, definitely stop by the Marché des Quais, which is the big Bordeaux Sunday market. I think it goes until 1pm. Additionally, if you are in town early in May, stop by one of the largest Antique markets in France: Bordeaux Quinconces which runs Friday 25 April to Sunday 11 May 2025.

If you choose to visit St. Émilion and Monday would be your day, just know that not everything will be opened but there should still be plenty to fill your time as well as wineries to visit. Book in advance anything you want to do. And if you visit the Monolithic Church (it's incredible!) make sure you book the correct tour for your language needs (there are only 2 offered in English--11am and 2pm.)

Have a great vacation and hope you love it in Bordeaux!

I visited St. Emilion in May during the week and found it overrun with tourists (it took me 1/2 hour to find a parking place, and was a little hard to get around the town with all the crowds). The town is beautiful, but you can say that about many towns in France. Especially if you are not that interested in wine, and have limited time in the area, I would recommend trying to do more activities in Bordeaux itself. Peter

Hi, Leslie:
I have been to both Bordeaux and St. Emilion. With your limited time, I would stay in Bordeaux. It is an exciting city. Bordeaux Tourism is excellent so be sure to check out their website in advance. I would buy the (2-day) City Pass which gets you into many museums, use of their train system and a city tour. We absolutely love their excellent wine museum, Cite du Vin, and highly recommend it. A river tour is a nice activity. There is an excellent (and affordable) wine bar right across the street from Bordeaux Tourism.

Thanks All for these great replies! Based on your excellent feedback, we have decided to spend all of our time in Bordeaux and check out the sites you have suggested. First time I have used this forum - so wonderful.