Bored? No!! This is Bordeaux! (Bordeaux)

Member Name: apuskiduski

Product:	Bordeaux
Date:	18/03/09 (242 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to get to, UNESCO World Heritage site, Transport system, Shopping, History, Culture and FOOD!

Disadvantages: Bus tour a bit tacky

Last year we were fortunate enough to have enough money to stay in Bordeaux for three nights as part of our fabulous fortnight in France.

We flew from Birmingham for £17 each way (plus the usuals) with BMI Baby. For five of us the airfare cost about £490, which was a bargain for August. A car was simple enough to hire for the fortnight, using a good comparison site and we booked a cheap Novotel room near the airport for 79 Euros a night inclusive of breakfast, which was probably cheaper than Youth Hostel prices. So we were all set!

We only had to persuade our friends from Edinburgh to come along too. That way we could palm one of our kids off on them, as they only have one daughter. Cheap skate I know but they went for it!

Getting back to the point then. The only other French city I've stayed in is Paris, but I had great expectations of Bordeaux from guide books, TV programmes and Sunday travel articles I'd read during the year. Bordeaux seemed to be featured quite a lot since being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We had two full days to explore the city before travelling south to Hossegor, so armed with a map, some information from the hotel reception and our trusty guide book we headed out into the unknown.

===Public Transport in Bordeaux===
The first thing that struck us was the reliability, simplicity and cleanliness of the public transport system. People were very polite and friendly too.

A bus that passed the hotel took us to our tram link into the city. I have to say the trams are sleek, minimalist and quite sexy as trams go. None of your gaudy consumerist advertising like you get on the Sheffield tram system. A very cool gunmetal grey looks very sophisticated indeed.

Tickets are sold from a machine on the platform and must be bought from here. They were Euro1.30 for an hour's travel, but we bought a carnet of 10 tickets to include our return journey- I can't remember the exact cost, but it was definitely cheaper than single tickets. You have to validate the ticket in the machine onboard the tram and your hour begins. We never saw a single ticket inspector on twelve tram journeys, but everyone validated their tickets. So, Bordeaulais are honest too!

There are three tram lines that link the suburbs with the city and it is well utilised. And, with about a dozen bus routes and some smaller electrical buses that run through the very narrow streets in the city centre, there's nowhere you can't reach. We never tried these tiny buses, however, as all eight of us would have taken up half the bus I think!

All in all you can have real confidence in the transport system.

===The best bits to see===

Because we only had two days, we carefully planned where we wanted to go in advance -mostly in the hotel bar the night before over a glass or two of the falling down water. It seemed to work though and here are the 'must sees'.

-----Something for the kids---
1. The most exciting feature of Bordeaux has to be the "Water Mirror" by French landscape architects, Claire and Michel Corajoud,
A giant granite rectangle has been installed opposite Place de la Bourse to replace the docks on the Garonne River.
Sounds a bit dull so far, right? The magic happens when just enough water is pumped onto the surface of the granite to create a reflection of the buildings, just like a huge mirror. It's staggeringly simple but absolutely awe-inspiring! Apparently, the scene at night is a photographer's dream.

But that's not the best bit, at timed intervals, the water drains away and then is pumped through tiny jets into the air to create a fog effect. Our kids spent a good half hour in here playing all kinds of hide and seek games (they're mostly teenagers too). The little kids were having a fantastic time and it was hard for parents to move on to the next thing on their list.

When you sit on the steps beside it and look out to the Garonne, the infinity pool effect is amazing. The best bit is, it's totally free, but remember to take a towel.


----Are you into your buildings?----
2. Bordeaux has been given a facial these last few years and the exfoliation has revealed buildings that are truly magnificent. They may be hundreds of years old but they look brand new and their gloriously sandy colour makes you feel that there's something very fresh and vibrant about the city.

Reflecting in the Mirror is an amazing piece of architecture that is the Bourse, the old Stock Exchange and the Hotel Les Fermes which now houses the Musee des Duanes (Customs Museum). We enjoyed these buildings from the outside only.

Standing on the far side of the Mirror, looking at the 18th Century buildings in its reflection and catching a 21st Century tram going past was well worth waiting for.

------Fancy a trip to the theatre luvvy?------
3. The Grand Theatre is another example of a most magnificent 18th Century building this time designed and built by Victor Louis. It stands on the site of a Gallo-Roman Temple and actually looks like one with its classical columns and statues of the nine Muses and the Goddesses Juno, Minerva and Venus.

It was fully restored in 1991 and still looked superb last summer when we sat awhile, with a beer and a croque madame, to rest our feet. Yes, you will need comfy shoes in Bordeaux as you will walk your legs off.

We sadly didn't have time to see the interior as time was pressing and we had new heights to reach!

--------Do you like heights?-------
4 and 5 on my list are two high points of our visit, literally. For some unknown reason our kids like to climb narrow spiral staircases to reach the highest point they can. They drag adults with them too, or start imitating domestic birds loudly. One member of the party did indeed chicken out but retreated honourably to a small coffee house in order to get the gossip on Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The first of these high spots is the Tour Pey-Berland which is a narrow 229 stepped tower that stands apart from the Cathedrale St-Andre building. It will cost you about 4Euros to put your fear of small spaces, steps and heights to the test. The steeple was reduced in height by a hurricane in the 18th Century but this worked out well in the end because it made room for the best part of the Tower in my opinion which is the golden statue of our Lady of Aquitaine at the top, which was restored this century. At 50m high, the view is also worth relishing.

The much higher of the two towers is Tour St-Michel which stands aside the Basilique St-Michel. This is an older tower, built in the 15th Century and is hexagonal in shape. My hubby, the civil engineer, loved this one. He walked around it several times hand to his chin thinking about the technology involved in 15th century building. Or maybe he was just trying to get out of paying the 5Euros or whatever it was to go up it.

At 114m/ 374ft tall it stands the highest church tower in southern France and second in height to Strasbourg cathedral at 142m/468ft.
Towards the top, under the spire, is a circular crypt which seemed a bit strange to be honest. Why would anyone want to climb the 300+ steps in the tower to bury someone? But worry ye not and enjoy the truly spectacular view of Bordeaux and even the Tour Pey-Berland below you, before returning to ground level, still spinning. Both towers had spectacular religious buildings that were well worth a visit and we sat down in both for a quiet moment of reflection and respite from the rushed itinerary.

--------Some retail therapy, anyone?--------

6. Rue St Catherine is apparently the longest pedestrianised shopping street in Europe at about 1km long. It has every type of shop you could drool over, from the very expensive designer types at one end (including Galleries Lafayette) right down to the cheap and cheerful studenty type shops at the other. Along the way there are some quaint little arcades that are highly decorated and well worth a visit.

It took us a couple of hours to saunter from one end to the other, buying baguettes, cookies and icecreams along the route. Oh, and a few speciality chocs from Jeff De Bruges which cannot be missed in my opinion.

There was something for everyone here, including the water sports fans amongst our party. Plenty of Roxy, Animal and Quicksilver to be had as well as a couple of budget sports shops where we found some really cheap wetsuit liners that we needed while in Hossegor. Oh what a lovely time we had. But I'd better move on.

--------Get your knitting needles out girls, it's guillotine time!-----

7. So, not only has Bordeaux got the best tram system, longest shopping street, highest tower in southern France and most arty pavement, it's also got the largest square in Europe (12 hectares/30 acres). This is a huge rectangular block that would have been used for all kind of gatherings, including the odd execution here and there. We sheltered under one of the many trees there, in the unseasonal rain, and imagined what such a gathering would have been like. Then, we snapped out of it and went for a beer!
Seriously, though, this area of Bordeaux looks a little uncared for but it's in line for refurbishment and if the rest of the city's anything to go by it should be a success.

8. At the other end of the Esplanade, away from the mirror, there is the Monument to the Girondins - in honour of the people of Bordeaux who were guillotined in 1792, believe it or not. So, you chop their heads off then build a statue for them. Isn't history fascinating?

This is not just a monument though; as we're in France, remember. It is a fountain with incredibly complex statues (65m long, 44m wide and 50m high) that ooze allegory. Liberty, Ignorance and Deceit are amongst the figures represented and you could spend a good while reading the information provided, working out which bit is what. It was a winner with everyone.

-------I'm tired mum, I need a rest mum, can we slow down mum, please mum?-----

9. The answer to that was obviously, "no, go moan to your dad" and ever onward we trotted. But, their begging was not in vain as I walked straight over to an "Open air bus tour" shop and booked us a few tickets for that.

It wasn't entirely an open-air bus. It had a bit of a crummy plastic roof that seemed to spoil the effects of my photos and there were some windows to keep the wind and rain out. It was August remember!

The tour was useful for two reasons. We got to see a lot more of the city, and on both sides of the river, crossing the Pont de Pierre that had caught my husband's eye. We also learned a lot more about the commercial history of the city and about its trade links, being a port and all.

I wouldn't say it was amazing, but the kids would, because they got to go to sleep for an hour. It cost about 10 Euros and 7 Euros for children and I would say that it served a purpose but wasn't particularly good value.

10. Finally, the best part about Bordeaux would have to be the food and wine. I don't think I have to say any more. We ate in several places and drank in several others in our three days. In fact, the tour that we had planned was rapidly modified to revolve around eat and drinkeries. We found that there was something for everyone, even the younger members of our party. We tried steak, chicken, duck, pork and salmon between us, as well as the pizza and pasta that most restaurants seem to serve as a back up anyway. Everything we ate was tasty, not too overpriced and best of all, filling! With cheese to die for, even the non- dessert fans were happy!

I hope I have given you a 'taste' of Bordeaux through some of the things we enjoyed. Of course, Bordeaux has much more to offer its visitors including a vast array of museums, ranging from the one dedicated to wartime resistance to the museum of modern art. There are gardens and quiet spots to enjoy amidst all the activity too.

Bordeaux was a wonderful city, very friendly and welcoming I felt, although, according to the seasoned traveller we returned with, it hasn't always felt that way. There's no doubt about it, the listing as a UNESCO world heritage site will bring millions of visitors to the city (hopefully) and the Bordeaulais seem up for it I'm pleased to say. Until I see you again Bordeaux - at Easter, yippee- I'll love you and leave you.

The best place to visit on the internet is http://www.bordeaux-tourisme.com/ and this provides links to everything you need.

There are lots of great guide books including an in-depth, more sedate Michelin Atlantic Coast book priced at £14.99 ISBN: 2-06-711921-4

There's also a useful Dorling Kindersley book entitled Dordogne, Bordeaux and the South West Coast at £13.99. ISBN: 1-4053-0818-4

Summary: Bordeaux, a jewel in Aquitaine's Crown