8 Best Day Trips from Bordeaux

Bordeaux is the capital of New Aquitaine, a region that hides villages and landscapes of great beauty. But it is also the wine capital of France. For this reason, many of the excursions you can take from this city will take you to visit vineyards and wineries.

If you plan to spend several days in the city, one of the best things to do in Bordeaux is to set aside at least one of the days to explore the surrounding area. You will discover fascinating places. To give you a little idea, here are some of the most interesting walks to do in Bordeaux.

Saint-Émilion is a beautiful walled medieval village listed as a World Heritage Site. It is less than an hour from Bordeaux and its cobbled streets, its golden stone buildings and its charming atmosphere will seduce you from the very first moment.

However, in addition to the above, this small village hides many other treasures that you should not miss. For example, here you will find the largest monolithic church in Europe. To give you an idea, the Church of Saint Émilion is 38 metres long and 12 metres high and was carved entirely out of the rock in the 12th century.

It is not only this church that is carved out of the rock, but also the 200 kilometres of underground galleries in the town, and there is a reason for this: it is one of the largest wine-growing areas in Bordeaux and wine was matured in these passages. If you like the world of oenology, you should definitely book an excursion to Saint Émilion. Some of the tours include, in addition to a visit to the village, stops to admire the vineyards and to visit a winery. In these cases, you will usually be able to enjoy a wine tasting.

Interesting details

• Price: from 103 € per person for a half-day visit.
• Duration: approximately 4 hours.
• Advantages of this option: it provides an insight into Bordeaux wine culture in one of the most important wine-producing areas.
• Disadvantages of this option: tours with winery visits do not usually allow participants under the age of 18.

If you are going to spend at least three days in Bordeaux and you want to discover an incredible place, I recommend you to book the excursion to Arcachon and the Dune of Pilat. In the Bay of Arcachon you will discover a place to enjoy with all five senses. And it's less than an hour's drive from Bordeaux.

Do you know what this bay has to offer? 76 kilometres of beaches, endless forests, the second largest lake in France, the longest pier in the country and the highest dune in Europe. The latter, the Pilat dune, is almost 3 kilometres long, more than 600 metres wide and at some points reaches a height of 110 metres. For all these reasons, this is one of the most entertaining excursions you can enjoy with children. The little ones will feel like real adventurers as they climb the immense dune or run along the beaches of the bay.

The town of Arcachon is another little treasure. On the one hand, for its beautiful Art Nouveau architecture. On the other hand, because if you have a gourmet palate, here you can taste the delicious oysters that are raised in the waters of the bay and are renowned for their quality.

Interesting details

• Price: from €303 per person.
• Duration: around 9 hours.
• Advantages of this option: you will tour one of the most scenic areas in France.
• Disadvantages of this option: it is not accessible and requires a certain level of fitness to climb the dune.

If you are interested in learning all about Bordeaux wines, my advice is not to miss this experience. Margaux is famous for its magnificent stately mansions overlooking vineyards and where wines have been produced for centuries.

Among them all, the Château Margaux stands out. In fact, this building has been christened the "Versailles of the Médoc". And it is not only important for its architecture, but also for the quality of the wine it produces.

If you book an excursion to Margaux, you should know that the tours do not usually include a visit to this chateau, but they do include a visit to another winery where you can take part in a small wine tasting session and take away a great taste of your visit to Bordeaux, from which this area is just over 30 kilometres away.

Interesting details

• Price: from 89 € per person.
• Duration: around 4 hours.
• Advantages of this option: it is a tour that allows you to learn how some of the world's best wines are produced.
• Disadvantages of this option: only part of the Médoc, one of the largest wine-producing areas in Bordeaux, is visited.

The Dordogne is one of the most interesting regions in the country. It is dotted with medieval villages that will make you fall in love at first sight. In fact, some of them are included in the list of the most beautiful villages in France.

But its territory hides countless places of great interest. This is the case of the Lascaux cave, where valuable examples of cave art have been found. And it is also the case of the Périgord, with four different and equally beautiful natural regions.

If you book a private excursion to the Dordogne, you will obviously not be able to enjoy everything this region has to offer. But it is a good way to get to know it, to discover some of its treasures and, perhaps, to make the decision to visit it at a later date.

Interesting details

• Price: from €1,183.
• Duration: around 8 hours.
• Advantages of this option: a visit to a very different region from New Aquitaine, of which Bordeaux is the capital.
• Disadvantages of this option: only interesting if you have already done another tour around Bordeaux.

The Médoc is one of the most fascinating areas you can visit less than an hour from Bordeaux. On the one hand, it is bathed by the waters of the Gironde estuary, considered a marine nature reserve. On the other hand, there are the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. And in between, a territory planted with pine trees and, above all, vineyards.

This is one of the largest wine-producing areas in Bordeaux. In fact, it is here that some of the most internationally renowned wines of excellent quality are produced. That is the reason for most of the excursions to the Médoc: to see how the excellent wines are produced in one of the many cellars.

But the Médoc offers many other attractions. And some of them can be enjoyed on excursions from Bordeaux. This is the case of a variety of landscapes that few regions in France can match, or those chateaux, which are more like mansions surrounded by vineyards than wineries.

Interesting details

• Price: from €100 per person for half-day visits and around €160 for full-day visits.
• Duration: between 4 and 9 hours, depending on the chosen option.
• Advantages of this option: a great experience for wine enthusiasts.
• Disadvantages of this option: the experiences with wine tasting are restricted to adults.

This is one of the best things to do in Bordeaux with children. On board a small boat, you'll sail along a stretch of the Garonne River, one of France's greatest natural treasures. What's more, you have several options to choose the one that best suits your plans or the time you'll be staying in the city.

The shortest Garonne river cruises will only allow you to admire the beauty of the city of Bordeaux. You will also be able to admire the magnificent bridges that allow you to cross the river nearby, such as the Jacques-Chaban-Delmas drawbridge or the Aquitaine suspension bridge.

If you have time, my advice is to choose a longer cruise. Some of them include snacks, lunch or brunch. The advantage is that you will be able to see the impressive Gironde estuary and also the beauty of one of Bordeaux's wine-growing areas: the Médoc. Don't hesitate to include it in your plans in Bordeaux in May or in the summer months when the temperatures are warm enough.

Interesting details

• Price: from €58 per person.
• Duration: between 2 and 3 hours, depending on the type of cruise chosen.
• Advantages of this option: this excursion is recommended if you are travelling with young children. There is no age limit.
• Disadvantages of this option: it depends on weather conditions.

Blaye is a place you will really enjoy if you like history and, above all, military architecture. Here stands an impressive citadel designed by Vauban, an outstanding 17th century engineer whose works are now on the World Heritage List.

The citadel of Blaye, with its ramparts and bastions, was the guardian of the port of Bordeaux. If you want to enjoy great views of the Gironde estuary, this is one of the best places to do so. But the excursion to Blaye will also allow you to discover the vineyards of this area and some of the wines produced there.

Blaye can be reached from Bordeaux by cruise ship or by the Corniche scenic road. Both possibilities offer unbeatable views of the Gironde estuary before reaching the town. Which one you choose depends on your preferences.

Interesting details

• Price: from €70 per person.
• Duration: around 3 to 4 hours, depending on whether the excursion is done by river or by land.
• Advantages of this option: it combines history, nature and the wine-making tradition of the area. The cruise option is ideal if you are travelling with children.
• Disadvantages of this option: short time to fully enjoy the landscapes or visit the citadel.

The French Basque Country is a land of contrasts, elegant cities and idyllic landscapes. From Bordeaux you can discover some of its most beautiful spots on an intense but unforgettable day trip.

These tours usually stop in glamorous Biarritz, with its idyllic beaches, beautiful harbour and mansions. You won't be the only thing you'll see, but you'll also visit two postcard-perfect towns: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Espelette.

Interesting details

• Price: from €590 for groups of up to 8 people.
• Duration: about 12 hours.
• Advantages of this option: discover the stark contrasts between this area and the rest of the New Aquitaine region.
• Disadvantages of this option: it can be tiring due to its length.

Any of these excursions will provide you with unforgettable moments, but it is important that you also bear in mind a few tips to make the most of the experience:

• Ideally, you should wear comfortable clothes and shoes, especially on excursions that include visits to vineyards. If you are planning to visit Bordeaux in October or later, you should also be aware of the likelihood of rain, so pack some waterproof clothing.
• The weather may affect some of the excursions. In any case, you will always be able to change the date at no cost or get your money back.
• If you are travelling with children, check in advance the minimum age for the excursions you are interested in. There are similar options where the age limit varies slightly.
• Boat trips tend to be in high demand, so it is important to book as early as possible to avoid missing out.
• In some cases you can visit two areas of interest in one tour, such as the Saint Emilion and Médoc tours. It is possible to do them separately or in a single tour.
• These are just some of the excursions you can do from Bordeaux. If your stay allows it, there are other places of great interest nearby, such as Angoulême, the Cognac area or the Landes de Gascogne Nature Park.

One of the advantages of tours from Bordeaux is that they allow you to see so many different places. Many of them focus on wine tours and will take you to places where you will discover the whole wine-making process, from the field to the table.

But this is only a part of what you can discover on tours from Bordeaux. You can also visit historic sites, surprising monuments, areas of great natural and scenic value or villages where time seems to have stood still.

And all of this, seasoned not only with good wines, but also with a special gastronomy in which meat and seafood products play an enormous role.

Bordeaux is well connected to the surrounding area for the best things to do in Bordeaux. Thanks to this, you will be able to reach the places of interest close to the city without difficulty by public transport. However, you will be dependent on timetables and transfers can be time-consuming.

Guided tours pick you up in the centre of Bordeaux and take you directly to those places worth visiting. This way you can get the most out of your stay in the city. And, on the other hand, you won't miss any places of interest, as the guides will show you the best things to see in each of the towns or places you visit.

You should also bear in mind that there is a wide range of excursions available from Bordeaux. You will always be able to find one that suits your preferences and the time you are going to spend in the city, with the convenience of not having to worry about organising anything at all.