Where to stay and what to do in Bordeaux

Maybe you’re looking strictly at the city of Bordeaux, but we stayed a but to the north, in Saint-André-de-Cubzac. We had a rental car, and visited south of Bordeaux, driving past iconic wineries (but didn’t look into visiting any, or exploring wine tastings), southwest to the Dune du Pilat at the edge of the Bay of Biscay, the highest sand dune in Europe, and east to Saint-Émilion, where we did taste (and buy) wine.

greenmargo33,
In the last six months there have been several entries on the forum regarding Bordeaux. Put Bordeaux in the search bar above, filter for travel forum, then filter for 6 months or less. I just did that, and fifteen discussions came up. Rather than repeat what has been mentioned before, try doing a forum search. Lots of info and recommendations there.

Hi there. Lots of things to do and good places to stay. As one poster mentioned, do a quick search in the search bar using "Bordeaux". There has been a lot of good info shared recently.

As I no longer operate my business in Bordeaux, I think it's now okay to offer myself as a resource, having lived here for the summer and provided tours of the city and adjoining wine regions and châteaux. Feel free to message me, particularly if you're interested in better understanding wineries that offer good visitor experiences.

I think it's important to point out that Lost in Bordeaux is a trusted and valid resource for the greater Bordeaux area. Locals and visitors alike find lots of good information from this blog on events happening in the area for all types of events, not just wine. Not everyone may chose to use it, which is fine. But just know that it is a trusted resource.

I'm not much of a wine person. I really enjoyed the Museum of the Aquitaine which was awesome and I thought handled the slavery issue pretty well (Bordeaux traders were involved in the slave trade between Africa and the Caribbean).

I also enjoyed the Cathedrale Saint-Andre where Alienor d'Aquitaine married her first husband in who became King Louis VII 2 weeks later in 1137. I was told that only one wall of the current nave was from that time period.

I did the Musee des Beaux-Arts which was good but not great (I am not an art critic, lol!) but enjoyable and uncrowded.

I liked walking along the Esplanade beside the River Garonne and sought out the statue of Modeste Testas who was an Ethiopian slave woman who lived in Bordeaux for a while and was then shipped to Haiti. One of her descendants became President of Haiti.

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

The reflecting pool is lovely as well!

greenmargo33,
Look into seeing the Bassins des Lumieres, an artistic light show in the old WWII bunkers. Definitely worth your time.