Is Bordeaux a good stopping point for a couple of days?
Depends on the rest of your trip. I spent 1 fun day there and it was enough for me. It was a convenient day trip in a southwest France trip. I would not go out of my way to go back.
We enjoyed Bordeaux in May 2023 for two full days, 3 nights. It was our European entry point. (We transited both LHR and CDG with short, tight layovers at each. ) Nice parks, wine museums, wine tasting experiences, churches and history. Nice architectural feel to the old central city core. The Musee d’Aquitane was quite good. The city streetcars were great.
For some reason, we had a terrible first dinner in Bordeaux. I thought you couldn’t get bad food in France, but somehow we did since our place of lodging had this klunker on its list of suggestions. Night 2 was better and dinner on Night 3 was quite good.
We also enjoyed the Public Garden, an in-town wine tasting & educational experience (we used Olala Bordeaux), and some history of wine at the Musee du Vin et du Negoce; we skipped the larger La Cite du Vin, which may have been a mistake. We also enjoyed a 1-1/2 hour walking tour of the city. You can certainly day trip to nearby wineries and sub-regions of Bordeaux such as Medoc or St Emillon and there are many day excursions that do so. We did not.
For us, Bordeaux was a landing spot, a brief 2-day acclimatization stay and a jumping off point for the Dordogne region. We spent 30 days in France on that trip, as we headed to the Loire after the Dordogne, then Chartres, Versailles and Paris.
Lonely Planet has a Bordeaux pocket guide that you may want to look at to get a better sense of Bordeaux. RS totally ignores Bordeaux for unknown and unstated reasons as far as I can tell.
maltxcpa,
I suggest you read a couple of guidebooks on France and see what they have to say. You haven't said what your interests are, the age and number of travelers, what kinds of things you like to do. Your question is too vague to give a useful answer. Stopping between which places? Car or public transportation? It sounds like you are seeking a general Google type answer.
Yes! But I am biased :-)
There is so much to do there...and not just wine! What time of year will you be there?
Lost in Bordeaux (www.lostinbordeaux.com) is a great research tool and provides complete, up to date information that both tourists and locals alike use.
Wine, of course, is fantastic. If you are staying in the city, visit La Cité du Vin, Musée du Vin et du Négoce, Bar à Vin (great wine bar), Château Pape Clément (a beautiful winery in the city)...I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of atm.
Perhaps if you give me some interests and time of year, I could offer up more specific suggestions.
I loved Bordeaux! I was there 2 nights on my own then joined a Road Scholar tour which used it for a base for 4 nights.
As others indicate, it’s hard to give recommendations without more info. I’m a museum person and loved the Museum of the Aquitaine, liked (not loved) the Musee des Beaux Arts, enjoyed the esplanade along the river. I had no idea until I got there that it’s so tropical so loved seeing the hibiscus, palms and banana trees. The cathedral is interesting and one wall of the nave is from the time of Alienor d’Aquitaine and her marriage to Louis VII in 1137.
I’m not much of a wine person.
We spent about 3 days (3 nights, parts of two other days) in Bordeaux 2 years ago, and loved it. We wished we had scheduled more time there, but of course, we feel the same way about just about every place!
Ditto what Pam said about the Musee d'Acquitane; it was outstanding. We also enjoyed the Musee des Beaux Arts, as well as the Cathedral. We were never bored, and never ran out of things to do.
We loved Bordeaux and would like to go back. One of the best things about it was the tram which runs through the old town and along the river. It was very reasonable with a daily pass. We ventured into neighborhoods and hopped off anywhere that looked interesting.. You can make arrangements in advance with the Visitors Center for a free-will tour of Bordeaux that will give you some ideas of what more you might like to see. When we were there, there was a Candlelight Queen vs. Abba piano concert in a theater as well as a light show concert in the church. I put myself through college working in a liquor store that specialized in wine, so a visit to the Cite du Vine was required. Be sure to stop in at the market across the street where you can peruse the stalls for all kinds of food. The Visitor Center can make arrangements for vineyard tours which they guarantee will always take place, but they are usually on a large bus. You can make your own arrangements in advance. We stayed at Hotel Madame which was well located, clean and very reasonable.