Bordeaux, France - September 2025

 We didn't have a smooth start leaving Philly for Bordeaux. Because of a "crew" issue in Philly, our flight was delayed for a few hours at first and eventually pushed back a full 24 hours. We stayed overnight in Philly, hoping to catch the same flight to Madrid the next day. American Airlines comped us at a rather seedy little hotel called Waterfront Inn, a few miles from the airport. Still, when morning came, and the fog lifted, the view from our balcony did not look too bad! We walked to the local restaurant for breakfast. The pleasant weather made the stroll surprisingly enjoyable. Around noon, we caught the shuttle back to the airport and tried again.

Not Bordeau...but the view of our Waterfront Inn room is not too bad! A small marina sits along the Delaware River just beyond the balcony.

 

We spent a long day in Madrid waiting for our short connection to Bordeaux, and by the time we finally arrived - 24 hours later than planned - it was late in the afternoon on our second day. We were tired and exhaust, but after checking into the hotel we decided to take a walk to the riverfront, which wasn't too far away. It felt good to get a sense of where we were before figuring out our dinner plans. 

Porte de la Monnaie - Bordeaux Arch. There is a Vietnamese restaurant "Dat Viet" at the left of the arch where we had our first dinner in Bordeaux.

Gare St. Jean, Bordeaux central train station. From here, we took Bordeaux city tram which covers the city, the riverfront and tourist attractions. 

Place de la Bourse.

Place de la Bourse.


Pedestrian street in Place de la Bourse with shops and resturants.


Clock Tower - Place de la Comedie (Comedy Theater).

                        Walking through a quiet alley to visit the Notre Dame of Bordeaux.

Notre Dame of Bordeaux.

Inside the church.

Monument aux Girondins.

Bordeaux Maritime Museum .

On the bridge over the Garonne River with Cite du Vin Museum in the background. 

In front of Cite du Vin.

Port de Bordeaux with Pont Jaques Chaban-Delmas in the background.

Pey-Berland bell tower of the St. Andre Cathedral.

St. Andre Cathedral.

Inside the cathedral.

Back side of St. Andre Cathedral @ Hotel de Ville plaza.

Hotel de Ville of  Bordeaux.

We took the tram to cross the Garonne to visit the Bastide district on the right bank.

The right bank of the Garonne - Pont de Pierre in the background.

The Blue Lion sculpture in Place de Stalingrad on the right bank.

Pont de Pierre connects the left bank (city's historic center) and the right bank (La Bastide district) of the Garonne River.  

Back to the left bank to spend the rest of the evening in Bordeaux.

Porte de Bourgogne.

St. Catherine Promenade.

Place Camille Jullian in the historic center.

Return to Dat Viet restaurant for a glass of wine and appetizers.

Porte Cailhau.

Place du Palais at Porte Caihau.

We wrapped up our last evening in Bordeaux at Place de la Bourse, which had also been our first tram stop earlier that day.

Twilight at Place de la Bourse - With the reflecting pool beautifully illuminated.

Our visit to Bordeaux was enjoyable even though we lost one full day there. We hope to return someday to explore Saint-Emilion's medieval village and its world-famous wineries. Goodbye for now, Bordeaux!

On our way to Paris.

                                                                   *****