Hi all,
Going to Bordeaux in October and wanted to know any activities, wine bars, museums, or restaurants worth seeking out. Will be there for five days with a couple day trips to Sauternes, St. Émilion, etc. We’ll be staying near the Jardin Public.
Thanks.
Hi, several recent threads on this. Have a look. Happy to answer any specifics.
We were in Bordeaux area last year. I loved the town, we took walking tour, but mostly enjoyed atmosphere. Then we went to Dordogne region and stayed near Sarlat la Caneda. It was truly amazing. As far as wine, on the way from Bordeaux to Dordogne we visited this place in St. Emilion and had fantastic tasting:
Also had lunch at the restaurant at this hotel which was amazing experience:
Your recommendations two years ago for Soif and Ressources were spot on. Thank you!!
Went to Soif twice and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I’d visit weekly if we lived there! The husband and wife are wonderful folks.
Restaurant Gabriel is excellent. it’s fun to just walk around town.
Chef has just changed (again) though IIRC.
+1 on Ressources. We loved it.
Thanks all.
I was thinking more things to visit and such. Looks like we’re doing a day trip through Graves and Sauternes. Another day trip to St. Emillion, leaving about three days in the city. Hotel is right by the Jardin Public, so a lot to do and eat within 5 blocks.
As for activities, Looking at Cite du Vin museum and a lot of walking around. While I like exploring, I also like to have some pins in the map to wander towards. 
Is the Bordeaux CityPass worth it? It seems to be, but first hand recommendations are always better.
Thanks again.
We spent a week on a Bordeaux river cruise and then a week staying in downtown this past May and much to my surprise loved every minute of it.
We stayed in an AirBnb right across from the Opera House, not far from Jardin Public, great location.
We booked Henri Challeau for a day trip to the Medoc, if you can get him, do it!
Cite du Vin was a lot of fun but it’s a little bit out of downtown, requires a bus or Uber ride to get to but worth it. We bought the 7 day TBM (local bus) ticket and used it quite a bit.
Favorite wine bar was basically across the street from our place near the Opera House - Le Bar à Vin.
The Marché des Capucins is the largest market in Bordeaux. We had a great lunch at Bistro Poulette that served mussels and frites.
Don’t know about the CityPass.
You’re going to have a great time.
Thank you all so much. The trip is coming together.
We have tastings lined up at Yquem, Malartic, Smith Haut Lafite, and Les Carmen’s HB. I’ve inquired about Mon. Challeau as a driver for one of our “exploration” days. Still planning the St. Emillion day.
I will let you all know how it goes.
And?
I have a writeup I need to post. Just no time. We had a great visit – great wineries and restaurants. My goal is to have it done (with photos) by BD.
I have a more detailed writeup coming with notes from the wineries (and pics) but here were my general observations about Bordeaux:
Bordeaux is very walkable. Stay near the middle and you can walk everywhere downtown.
Bordeaux is very undrivable. LMHB was only a couple miles from our hotel and took 45 minutes to drive there. Once outside of town, navigating is easy. But in-town, the one way streets, streets that end to become shopping promenades, construction, and weird roundabouts with bypass flyovers and center lanes just made quick navigation difficult, especially with traffic.
I found myself more drawn to the Right Bank wines after this trip. I had more experience with the Left Bank previously, but the Right Bank won me over. I found most of the wines more approachable when young, less expensive (despite smaller yields), but also well-structured and fabulous once the tertiary flavors age in.
Cité du Vin is an interesting museum. Worth going to once. Tres modern. Displays everywhere, have to get the translator headset to listen to any video. However, it had some interesting history and interactive bits like aromas of wine and showing the different colors. The bar on the top floor for your “free” glass of wine has a great view and has decent wines to choose from. Again, not the greatest museum but worth a visit for a couple of hours.
Wine shipping. Even with a favorable exchange rate and assuming no duty/tariffs, I found it was cheaper to buy the wines we were tasting in the US rather than buy in Bordeaux and ship. I could have lugged around my 12 bottle suitcase and paid for an extra bag, which would have maybe broke even. If you see wines you can’t get in the US from very small producers or old vintages not available, I guess that math changes (or if you’re buying much larger quantities). That said, I did break down and buy at one winery with disastrous results (see below).
I bought a case of Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc at the winery and had them ship it to my work. That was in late October (2025). It is now mid-January (2026) and the package is still stuck in FedEx customs in Memphis. The original delivery date was to be November 5, and a friend in our party bought a similar quantity and it was delivered within a week. My package, however got stuck in customs hell. The winery and shipper have been responsive, but since it’s confirmed to be “in customs” there’s not much they can do. I check once a month but mentally I’ve written off the money and won’t ever buy wines direct in Europe again. I’ll let the importers deal with these headaches.
Winery and restaurant notes coming soon.
Yikes! Was it much cheaper buying it directly at Smith Haut Lafitte? I’m guessing they subtracted out the VAT.
My brother and I will be visiting Bordeaux next month. Usually on wine centric trips I bring my WineCheck suitcase; however, the poor exchange rate and availability of Bordeaux in the US (often at comparable prices) has me less inclined to do so.
It was about $1k for 6 bottles shipped from the winery after currency conversion, you can get it for $900 in the US from an online distributor (not counting coupons or free shipping). So, just not worth it. At best, it’s the same price. At worst, you’re waiting 3 months for you package to clear customs and get delivered in an historic cold spell. (that just happened, I’m hoping they arrive intact).
Bordeaux has always been a pretty poor place to buy Bordeaux if you have access to London/NY/HK etc.
There are exceptions but not many.
I bought Chateau St. Christoph at the winery 20% more expensive than in NY/NJ area. Same I saw for other wines. Only if you want to buy something that is not imported or want to show some gratitude for exceptional service.
I highly recommend taking a look at Sauvistication if you are visiting Bordeaux. The website specializes in navigating Bordeaux’s wineries. It is very helpful for planning a trip.
You all have probably seen this on the main forum, but here’s the thread talking about the wineries and restaurants.