A tower with a view: Pey Berland in Bordeaux

Stepping up all the 232 steps of the Pey Berland bell tower has been on my wish-list for a long time, so when Maria volunteered to join me, it was time to get to that fabulous view!

And when you're done, there are two superbe cafés to do excellent people watching from!

The bell tower is next to the cathedral Saint André. The bells were put in a different building so that the vibrations wouldn't hurt the cathedral...

Religious or not, this place is awe inspiring.

Did I mention the 232 steps?

But the view is worth it!

Saint Maria

Comptoir Cuisine, new restaurant in Bordeaux

Maria and Roy came to visit us this weekend. Maria is one of those friends who first moved to Sydney - darn her - and then just recently moved to England - bless her - so when I picked them up at the airport in Bordeaux, we took a quick trip to Bordeaux to have lunch and walk around. The Comptoir Cuisine is a new restaurant next to the Regent Hotel. Open cuisine downstairs and classic restaurant upstairs. We had todays menu; delicious salmon tartar, bass and pudding.

Then we walked around and admired a Bordeaux that is always lovely, even when the weather is very grey.

Modern style in the restaurant

Detail

The fountain at Place du Parlement

Before and after!

In front of Place de la Bourse

Jardin Public, a green oasis in Bordeaux

I love Bordeaux and its beautiful architecture, but sometimes you just want some shadow and grass, a bit of water and trees. That is when you go for a stroll in Jardin Public. It has a stream of water where you can go for a slow ride, a couple of play grounds for the children and a fabulous terrace at l'Orangerie. A must to stop for a coffee and watch the people jogging as you stretch out in the long chairs. The proprietor is new, so I can't say much about the food, but the coffee was long and lazy.

Article about Bordeaux in Washington Post

Enough of Bordeaux for a while! But I am making an exception to tell you about this article written by an American lady married to a Frenchman. More and more people are discovering the new Bordeaux... more lively, more outgoing, more fun than ever before.

Bordeaux in Washington Post

My weekend in Bordeaux - the Hot Dry Docks

Bordeaux was the most important harbour in France during the 17th century and using the Garonne River for transport was an important factor in making Bordeaux wines known world wide. Since then the activity of the harbour has declined a lot and the dry docks north of the centre had become a wild and partly abandoned area, with empty hangars and other storage buildings.

But now the docks are getting a new life as the hot spot for the festive part of the young Bordeaux people! Here you find some the hottest bars and dance places in town. Or at least that is what I had been told. So I suggested to our friends that we go there on a Saturday evening in May 2009.

We took the tramway to the last stop - bassins à flots - and got off. This is what we saw.

My friends and my husband looked very sceptically at me. Are you sure we aren't lost? Is this the hot party area you were talking about? I confirmed, but of course I was starting to wonder myself....

My weekend in Bordeaux - Brunch at the CAPC

An old storage building that is reused as a museum for contemporary art, that is the CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain. Incredible place with enormous volumes below old arcades, like a cathedral. It is also, on the top floor, a beautiful restaurant/café Café du Musée with a very charming terrace. We went there for brunch.... if I lived in Bordeaux I would go there every Sunday morning...

The permanent collection of the museum is of a very high quality and for free. There are continuously different temporary expositions. When we were there, one has just ended, so the locals were empty.

My weekend in Bordeaux - rive droite, the other side of the river

In Bordeaux, everything is about rive gauche, the left side of the river Garonne. That is where you have the old centre, most of the historic monuments and everything else. But I know of at least three reasons to cross the bridge Pont de Pierre and discover the other side, rive droite.

The first one is the Estacade restaurant. You see it from Place de la Bourse, a building set up on stilts above the water. We went there on a beautiful evening and had a very nice dinner indeed. The panoramic windows let you enjoy the view of the rive gauche, the left side, lit up at night. The specialties of the restaurant are fish and seafood. When we arrived the sun was still up, but the buildings across the river had a golden shimmer about them. Gradually it became darker and the buildings stood out beautifully with the artificial lighting.

The second reason to cross the river is a similar restaurant, Le Café du Port. I haven't been there myself, but Emilie said it is good. And the view of the Pont de Pierre is extra!

The third reason to go rive droite is Resto Guinguette Chez Alriq, a different place by the river. Hard to define, but a place where you can eat or have a drink and listen to music. Every night there is a different theme. The furniture is plastic and very kitsch, but the feeling here has something very authentic and good about it... a place where you feel at home. It is only open during spring and summer. When we went there, there was a fantastic concert with two Argentinean girls, Las Hermanas Caronni,  and a bit too chilly to sit outside, but in summer it must be so nice to sit outside next to the river....

My weekend in Bordeaux - Place de la Bourse and the quays

My absolute favourite part of Bordeaux is along the quays. We spent several hours there during our weekend. The beautiful 17th century fronts, the water mirror, the renovated hangars, the gardens... but also the people and the atmosphere. Everybody walking or on rollers or a bike. Picnics in the grass, Sunday dressed children mixed with chic French women in heels and sunglasses, families and old ladies. Lots of terraces along the way. When it's sunny, it is hard to beat. Bordeaux lives along the river Garonne. 

Place de la Bourse

A group of dancers on the Water Mirror in front of Place de la Bourse

The statue Les trois grâces in front of Place de la Bourse. My husband and our friends.

The gardens along the quays.

Shrimps from the Sunday morning market along the quays, Marché des quais

Local sing star

Picnics on the grass

You know that Bordeaux is a commercial harbour I guess. But cruising ships come in here too.

Cafés and restaurants in front of the renovated hangars - more about them when I talk about shopping!

View from the hangars back to the centre.

My weekend in Bordeaux - shopping

For my weekend in Bordeaux I was lucky to bring my friend Armelle. She has a black belt in shopping. Together we made for a dangerous shopping team! Clothes and shoes were our main objectives. Do I need to tell you we succeeded in our mission?

Porte de Dijeaux, this is where the shopping begins after a coffee outside in the sun. We started with the classic shopping area, rue Dijeaux, rue Saint Rémy. My favourites! Then we made the famous rue Sainte Cathérine, the main shopping street and the longest in Europe. About a kilometre I think. Here you find many of the most known brands, but not the small shops.

We also took a stroll along Cours de l'Intendence. It belongs to the famous Golden Triangle, formed by Allées de Tourny, Cours Georges Clémenceau and Cours de l'Intendence. Here you find all the famous brands like Versace, Gucci, Marni, Stella McCartney... Vuitton, Hermès, Saint Laurent...  you get the picture. A lot of fun just looking at the shop windows even if you don't have the money to go inside!

But the best shopping is nowadays found along the quays. It is called Les Hangars or Quai des Marques and consists of a line of harbour warehouse buildings that have been renovated and remade into shops. They sell branded clothes from last year's collection to fabulous prices, but also kitchen equipment, china, shoes and other things. Good to know: it is open on Sundays. Shopping here was so good, Armelle needed some persuasion to stop for lunch... a short break, no more.

If you are interested in art and crafts, the old centre Saint Pierre is a good choice with lots of small shops. Saint Michel is good for antiques and flea market bargains with many small shops held by immigrants, like a bazaar.

If you are unlucky enough to be there on a rainy day, there is plenty of covered shopping! First of all Galéries Lafayette, a high end department store with several floors - actually a must even if it's not raining! You can also try the department stores Marché des Grands Hommes or Centre Commercial Mériadeck.  In Saint Michel you find Passage Saint Michel, like a big covered flea market with antiques and bric-a-brac.

There are also commercial centres by the rocade, the bypass road that makes a circle around Bordeaux. Not so much fun, but practical. I know the ones in Mérignac, Bègles, le Lac but I am sure there are others.

My weekend in Bordeaux - walking around the centre

Last year we spent a marvellous weekend in Bordeaux with another couple of friends. Beginning of May, sunny and warm. We had left the children with their grandparents and were free as the wind to enjoy the big city! We had such a good time...

The old centre of Bordeaux is really small, so you can do a lot of things just walking around or taking the tramway. It is filled with beautiful architecture, squares with terraces... a mix of majestic avenues and small paved streets. I had refused to take my comfy sneakers, I wanted to be chic like the French women! But we spent so much time just walking around that by the end of the weekend my feet were in agony! Next time I bring the sneakers and change for going out in the evening!

Just one of all those beautiful details... a lamp ...

... or impressive architecture. Here Porte d'Aquitaine at Place de la Victoire 

Place de la Victoire, always animated with lots of students, bars and cafés

La Grosse Cloche Saint Eloi, the big bell. 

 

Detail from the Saint André Cathedral. On the right, before cleaning, on the left, after cleaning!

The square below the Saint André Cathedral

Camillan Julian Square, a favourite place. Always full of people. 

 

Cosy street at night time

I am preparing other posts to tell you all about this weekend. Check under the Bordeaux label!