The wine days take you out of the city, but most people give Bordeaux itself a day. You can see most of it on foot, and several of the sights cost nothing. Check the Bordeaux France ticket prices below before you plan, then save a day for Saint-Émilion.
| Sight | Where | Price | Opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water mirror | Opposite Place de la Bourse | Free | Daily 10:00 to 22:00, outside the winter period |
| La Cité du Vin | 134 Quai de Bacalan, tram B | EUR 23 with a tasting at the Belvédère | From 10:00 daily; closes 18:00 to 19:00 |
| Flèche Saint-Michel | Place Meynard | EUR 7; free under 13 | April to October, 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 |
| Grosse Cloche | 45 Rue Saint-James | EUR 6, guided visit | Ask the tourist office |
| Pey-Berland tower | Place Pey-Berland | Ask the tourist office | Every day except Monday |
| Porte Cailhau | Place du Palais | Free under 13 and first Sundays | Closed 25 December and 1 January |
| Monolithic Church | Saint-Émilion | At the Saint-Émilion office | Guided visit only, 45 to 60 minutes |
| Saint-Émilion bell tower | Saint-Émilion | EUR 2, minimum two people | Tickets at the Saint-Émilion office |
Prices are the sights' own, in euros. Where a sight does not publish a figure, the table tells you where to ask rather than guess.
UNESCO inscribed Bordeaux, Port of the Moon, in 2007. The listed city covers 1,731 hectares, inside a buffer zone of 11,974 more. UNESCO calls it an urban ensemble created in the age of the Enlightenment. It has more protected buildings than any French city except Paris.
You see the listing by walking it. The long stone façades on the quays are the 18th-century city. The older streets behind them run from the Roman grid to the medieval gates, so a morning on foot covers two thousand years of building.
Place de la Bourse was built from 1720, on the intendant Boucher's plan to open the walled city to its river. The Three Graces fountain has stood at its centre since 1869. Opposite, the water mirror lays 2 cm of water on a granite slab, fed from an 800 m³ tank below.
The mirror runs every day from 10:00 to 22:00 outside the winter period, and it is free. Come at dusk for the reflection, when the square is lit. A guided visit of the machinery underneath costs from EUR 10. The night walk meets at the fountain in the square.
The wine museum stands on the river at 134 Quai de Bacalan, at the tram B stop that bears its name. The permanent course with a tasting at the Belvédère costs EUR 23, or EUR 18.40 reduced. Young people pay EUR 9, and a family pass for two adults and two children is EUR 56.
It opens at 10:00 every day. Closing moves between 18:00 and 19:00 with the season, with 19:00 on Saturdays and in the school holidays. It closes on 25 December and at 16:00 on 24 December. The half day at an organic winery meets outside it, so you can pair the two.
The spire of Saint-Michel is the fourth-highest bell tower in France, at 114 metres, and it was finished in 1492. It reopened in June after restoration work from 2022 to 2025. You climb 230 steps to the top.
It opens every day from April to October, 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, with the last climb 30 minutes before closing. Entry is EUR 7, or EUR 5 reduced, and free under 13. A combined ticket with the Porte Cailhau is EUR 11. The bakery walk starts at the basilica's door.
The Grosse Cloche is one of the oldest belfries in France and the last piece of the old walls. Its bell, cast in 1775, weighs 7,750 kg. It rings six times a year at 11:00, and at noon on the first Sunday of each month. The gate also served as a prison, and you can visit its cells with a guide for EUR 6.
The Porte Cailhau, 35 metres high, was built between 1493 and 1496 by the river. Inside, four floors tell the story of medieval Bordeaux, and the top looks over the Pont de Pierre. The stair is narrow. If you cannot climb, a screen on the ground floor shows the visit.
The cathedral of Saint-André stands on Place Pey-Berland, facing the town hall. Eleanor of Aquitaine married the future Louis VII here in 1137. Its bell tower stands apart: the Pey-Berland tower, begun in 1440, with an 11-tonne bourdon hung in 1853.
You climb 233 steps to its 50-metre top for a view over the city. It opens every day except Monday. The daytime history walks meet at the cathedral's entrance, so you can climb the tower when your walk ends. For the fare, ask the tourist office.
The Chartrons, north of the centre, is the old wine merchants' quarter. Rue Notre-Dame is lined with antique and design shops. On Sunday the market fills the quays with about 60 stalls.
It is also where the e-bike ride to Saint-Émilion starts, at 16 Rue Notre-Dame, before riding all the way to the village. If you stay nearby, you walk to the start. More on the area is on where to stay in Bordeaux.
In Saint-Émilion, the Monolithic Church was dug out of the rock in the early 12th century. It is 38 metres long and 12 metres high. Its bell tower rises 68 metres, built from the 12th to the 15th century, and it is the highest point of the village.
You cannot walk in on your own: the tourist office allows guided visits only. The visit lasts 45 minutes to an hour and takes in four monuments: the hermitage, the Trinity Chapel, the catacombs and the church. It leaves from Place de l'Église Monolithe, with written translations in English. The bell tower is a separate ticket, EUR 2 a person for two or more.
Most wine days give you an hour or more in the village. Ask your guide whether the underground visit fits, or come back by train. See the visitor guide for the TER and the bus.
The canelé is Bordeaux's small fluted cake, caramelised outside and soft within. The bakery walk tastes pastries across the old town, and the DS convertible day sells a box of eight for EUR 15. You will find them in bakeries all over the centre.
The Pont de Pierre, the oldest bridge in the city, crosses the Garonne below the Porte Cailhau. Walk across it at sunset for the whole sweep of the quays and the listed façades.
City walks run $16 to $66 per person, by day, by night or by bakery.
Hours and prices come from each sight or its tourist office, the UNESCO figures from UNESCO, and the meeting points from each tour's own listing.
Two hours on foot from the cathedral door past the Pey-Berland tower, Porte Cailhau and the river front, fifteen people at most, with a guide who is also a sommelier and hands out restaurant tips.
From $28 per person
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Three hours on foot from the Basilique Saint-Michel, ten people at most, tasting pastries across the old town with a drink of your choice, all in the fare.
From $66 per person
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Two hours on foot after dark from the fountain on Place de la Bourse, in a small group, with one canelé in the fare. Wear shoes for a brisk pace.
From $31 per person
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