A perfect day in Bordeaux: Food and wine

Julie B. Christensen
for 12 minutter siden
4 min lesing

If you love food and wine, Bordeaux has to be on your bucket list. I am Julie, and I am currently on a road trip through France, to learn more about my French boyfriends culture. This time we spent the day in Bordeaux and I have so many recommendations for you! Let's just dive right into it. Hope you're hungry! You can find the link to my Google Map on the bottom of this post.

Bordeaux is obviously famous for wine, but I think it deserves to be talked about just as much as a food city. Beautiful old streets, proper French bistros, markets, bakeries, really good coffee and about a million opportunities to stop for a glass of wine and charcuterie.

It is also a very easy city to explore on foot or bike, so my preferred Bordeaux itinerary is basically: walk/bike, eat, coffee, walk, wine, repeat.

Lets begin with a COFFEE

Black List Café:

Right by the cathedral and a great coffee stop while exploring the centre. Black List opened in 2014 and calls itself Bordeaux's first specialty coffee shop. They use locally roasted beans, make their pastries in-house and also serve brunch.

Try the new pistachio cake!

Gravaine café/ coffee shop

One of the newer coffee shops in Bordeaux, in Chartrons. Minimalist, slightly Japanese-inspired interior, lovely light and a calmer neighbourhood vibe.

Proper coffee, matcha, pastries and a small sweet/savoury food menu.

FOOD

Au Bistrot

This was exactly the kind of restaurant I wanted to find in Bordeaux: old-school, rustic, French and completely unpretentious. It's located by Marché des Capucins and the menu revolves around proper French bistro cooking and whatever is good at the market. They serve hearty dishes, with lots of flavour, sauces, meat, vegetables and classic desserts. We sat by the counter to watch the chefs in action and had s a blast!

I am just really drawn to these kinds of spots lately over fancy fine dining. If you agree, I think you will like it.

Casa Sudette

A completely different vibe and one I really liked. Casa Sudette is in Nansouty where we were staying for the night, and feels more like a sunny neighbourhood hangout: coffee in the morning, Mediterranean-inspired food for lunch and the perfect apéro later in the day.

Les Halles de Bacalan We had such a fun lunch here in this huge food market. This is a modern covered food market right across from Cité du Vin so it is perfect to combine the visits. There are more than 20 stalls with food, cheese, meat, wine, baked goods and dishes to eat there, and most of the produce comes from Southwest France.

Much more fun than choosing one restaurant for lunch.

CANNELÉS / BAKERY

Cassonade Cannelés & Spécialités

You cannot go to Bordeaux without eating a canelé.

These little cakes have a dark, caramelised, almost crunchy outside and a soft custardy centre flavoured with vanilla and rum. Cassonade specialises in them and bakes theirs in traditional copper moulds. I would absolutely eat one while it's fresh.

A little Bordeaux food trivia: canelés are closely tied to the city's wine and port history. One traditional explanation is that egg whites were used to clarify wine, leaving yolks available for baking, while ingredients such as vanilla and rum arrived through Bordeaux's busy port. Cool right? Boulangerie "Au Pétrin Moissagais"

One of the oldest in the city: Very old-school, lots of proper bread and none of the shiny chain-boulangerie feeling.

Their speciality is traditional Gascon-style bread, but you'll also find baguettes, croissants, brioche, gâteau basque and other French bakery essentials.

WINE AND APERO

Julo

My kind of wine bar: small, casual, great service, good cheese.

Julo is part wine bar, part bottle shop and part deli, with hundreds of wines from Bordeaux and the rest of France plus cheeses, charcuterie and other things to snack on. It's in Saint-Michel, which is also a great area to wander around before or after. And the outdoor seating is so nice right under a beautiful church!

ACTIVITIES

Cité du Vin

Yes, it's touristy, but so fun!

This huge museum is basically an introduction to the entire world of wine, history, grapes, terroir, winemaking, culture and wine regions around the world, presented through interactive and sensory exhibits. We tried the Sensoria experience where we tried wines in different "seasons" and it was pretty cool.

And conveniently, as mentioned, Les Halles de Bacalan is right nearby, so this is an extremely easy wine museum + long lunch combination.

Bassins des Lumières

One of the coolest things to do in Bordeaux that has absolutely nothing to do with eating or drinking. (I CAN'T BELIEVE I SAID THAT) And it is also super close to Cite Du Vin!

An enormous former submarine base has been transformed into an immersive digital art space, with artworks projected across the giant concrete walls and reflected in the water of the old basins. It opened as an art centre in 2020 and is now one of the world's largest spaces of its kind. The show lasts around 1 hour and I found it truly mezmerizing.

For all the spots mentioned in this itinerary, find my Google Map HERE.

Thank you for checking out my post, I hope you find it useful! Follow along my Instagram julie.b.christensen for more recommendations and have a tasty trip