Bordeaux

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'Aquitane; 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.

We spent five nights in Bordeaux a couple of years ago and loved it.

There is so much great wine and food.

Like fred did in an earlier post, we did a full day of winetasting with Ooh La La Bordeaux. We did Le Medoc in the morning, returned to their office for lunch, then St. Emillion for the afternoon. It was a fabulous day.

We did go to Cite du Vin and that was the only thing I wouldn't recommend. It was far too crowded and simply not very good.

Unfortunately even with five nights we ran out of time for the Museum of Aquitaine, which is a great shame and might make be go back.

As for reading a guide book, unfortunately I have Rick Steve's France and he doesn't lower himself to mention the city, which is extremely strange.

In the past Rick’s original Europe Through the Back Door book made some caustic observations about cities where he didn’t think travelers should waste their scarce vacation time. He said that Bordeaux must mean boredom in French, and that Geneva is a big city on a nice lake — like Buffalo is. I don’t know if he still says that in the latest edition, but there you have it, he is selective about what he includes in his guides and he is open about that, not so much that places like Bordeaux are awful, but that the other places that are in his book are more interesting for his demographic, the American visitor with limited time, in his opinion. I’ve never been to Bordeaux but I hear that it offers more for the visitor than it used to in the past. Maybe if Rick gave it another chance he’d like it more. Or maybe not. And he does sometimes add new cities he’s come to appreciate, such as Hamburg to his Germany book.

There’s a proximity thing here too. For those with a car, the Dordogne is one of the most lovely places I’ve ever visited. I’ve spent 13 nights there and could spend more. To me, Bordeaux is a city that has some fun sites. The basins lumiers was my favorite we visited in Bordeaux. However, when I make choices about where to spend my time, I’m going to prioritize the Dordogne over Bordeaux.

On the trip that we visited Bordeaux, it was part of 4 nights in Arcachon. Essentially one day spent in Bordeaux (we took the train in for the day), one day at the Dune de Pilot and one beach day. I contemplated flipping it (stay in Bordeaux, day trip to Arcachon) but lodging costs were double, we would have had to find parking for our car, and we weren’t sure what to do with a 2nd day in Bordeaux that would be better than a beach day.

We spent 1 day in Bordeaux last Fall on our way to the Dordogne and now wish we'd spent more. The Museum of the Aquitine is one of my favourites in France.

We spent a total of almost two months in Bordeaux this past summer. And I'm planning to move there in 2026 to start a business. So I'd say yes, it's a great place!

Yes, it is a good stopping point for a couple days. If you like wine, it’s a good stopping point for a week.

I’d recommend you use Sauvistication to plan (www.sauvistication.com). In my opinion it’s the best website for navigating the wineries.

Some must see attractions include the Cité Du Vin, Saint-Emilion, and Arcachon.

Bordeaux is the wine capital of the world. That should be your prime decision maker on whether to go or not.

A lot of information was provided to you in previous comments. The only thing I will add is to look at The Wine Cellar Insider. It's the most detailed website for Bordeaux.

Be cautious with the blogs Lost in Bordeaux and Bordeaux Travel Guide. They use affiliate links in partnership with Rue des Vignerons and thus have a financial incentive that may skew their winery recommendations. You’ll want to cross-check their suggestions.

We love the region North of Bordeaux! We highly recommend Le Chateau de la Grave, near Blaye…about 20 minutes north. In the heart of wine country,

Bordeaux is the wine capital of the world. That should be your prime decision maker on whether to go or not.

Not necessarily. We enjoy wine, yes, but the three days we were there, we did not visit any of the wine sights or vineyards.

I mention this only because some people shy away from some regions or tours, the RSE Eastern France tour, for example, because they don't enjoy wine. There is so much more to see and do in this region! We enjoyed museums, churches, the huge market, and just wandering around soaking up the atmosphere.