Bordeaux

TRIP TO BORDEAUX

Bordeaux

The city of Bordeaux is among France's most exciting, vibrant, and dynamic cities. The city boasts beautiful boulevards, restored neoclassical architecture, and a high-tech public transport system. Half of the city (18 sq km) is UNESCO-listed, making it the largest urban World Heritage site. There are many famous places worth visiting, such as the Herzog & de Meuron stadium, the decanter-shaped La Cité du Vin, and the Jean-Jacques Bosc bridge across the Garonne River.

Pont de Pierre

Connecting the left and right banks of the Garonne, the "pont de pierre" was commissioned by Napoleon and inaugurated in 1822. It was the first stone bridge ever built in Bordeaux. Until then, it was necessary to cross the river by boat. The bridge has 17 spans, which is also the number of letters in the name Napoleon Bonaparte. The "pont de pierre" was the only bridge to connect the city's historic center on the left bank and the La Bastide district on the right bank for nearly 150 years. Today, it is crossed by an ultramodern tramway and is one of half a dozen bridges. The "pont de pierre" nevertheless has a special place in the hearts of the Bordelais, who admire its elegance.

Basilica of St. Michael

The steeple of St. Michael’s Church should have stood out above all the others, but history decided otherwise. The planned ‘monument of triumph,’ at 134 meters high, remained at a mere 24 meters. In 1828, the unfinished tower finally acquired a closed roof. The church contains numerous paintings and sculptures by famous masters, including ‘Christ on the Cross’ by Anthony Van Dyck.

The Grosse Cloche of Bordeaux

The Grosse Cloche de Bordeaux is all that remains of an ancient entrance into the city. In years past, the bell rang for important events, such as the coming harvest or to alert the populace to a fire. The bell has always been important to the citizens. When Henry II wanted to punish them, he took the bell away.

Tour the ancient gate, the bell (this version was cast in 1775), and an astronomical clock that was added in 1759. While the bell doesn’t ring often, it offers visitors a striking sight in the heart of the city.

Porte Cailhau

Despite its age (just imagine – it dates from 1494!) this large, beautiful monument remains practically unchanged. It was built to commemorate Charles VIII's victory at Fornovo (Italy). This French king has left his mark on the tower since his likeness decorates a niche on the river side and a notice asks visitors to pay attention to the lintel reminding them that Charles VIII died from walking quickly into just such a lintel. The Porte Cailhau, thirty-five meters tall, was integrated into the city walls. In 1864, it was rented by a public letter writer and a person whose job was to weigh salt. They were both evicted in order to renovate the monument. There is a magnificent view of the oldest bridge in Bordeaux, the Pont de Pierre, from here.

Place de la Bourse

It took 20 years of hard work in the 18th century to build what has since become the city's huge symbol! The square represents a break with medieval Bordeaux surrounded by walls for centuries. Intendant Boucher had tried to convince the town aldermen and the parliament to create the square and open up the city walls since 1720. He decided to entrust Jacques Gabriel, Louis XV's "First Architect" with designing this rectangular square with beveled corners, as well as constructing the famous buildings decorated with mascarons and wrought iron.

Miroir d'eau

With help from fountain designer Jean-Max Llorca and architect Pierre Gangnet, Michel Corajoud’s 3,500 m² pool provides a breathtaking reflection of the Palais de la Bourse, one of the city's most beautiful monuments. This reflecting pool has also become a major attraction because of the way it changes. The water periodically recedes underground and returns in the form of a cloud of mist. Weather permitting, it is a favorite place for both the Bordelais and tourists to meet. When it's very hot, children can spend hours here, fascinated by the mist, laughing until they drop with fatigue after having run across the pool dozens of times.

Cathedral Saint-André

Obviously, it is not like the cathedrals in the Paris region. Although it is not easy to compete with Amiens, Chartres, or Reims, Saint-André's heterogeneous style is nevertheless unexpected and endearing, especially because of its freestanding bell tower. Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII, the future king of France, were married here in 1137, as were Anne of Austria and Louis XIII. The cathedral was used to store fodder during the French Revolution, a sad fate for this monument that also suffered a devastating fire in the 19th century. All of the furniture was replaced with that taken from other churches. The well-restored royal entrance in the north wall of the nave epitomizes 13th-century French Gothic architecture. Like many other cathedrals, sculptures were painted in bright colors at the time to attract worshippers.

Pey Berland Tower

The Pey-Berland Tower was for a long time one of the tallest buildings in the city. Unfortunately, a storm in 1617 ripped out the rostrum and this was replaced with a cross. In 1853, a huge tenor bell was attached to the bell tower's beams. Weighing 11 tonnes, it is the fourth largest in France. You need a good pair of lungs to walk up the 229 steps to the top of the tower (50 meters), but this is well worth the effort because the view of Bordeaux and its monuments is outstanding.

Monument aux Girondins

Located just across from and quite close to the river, there are two rostral columns topped with statues dedicated to Bordeaux's maritime and commercial activities. On the side of the Quinconces closest to the city center, you can find large statues of the Bordeaux philosophers Montaigne and Montesquieu. Looking westward, the Monument aux Girondins consists of bronze fountains and a column with a statue of liberty breaking its chains on top. This bears witness to the Girondin political faction during the French Revolution. Of course, this has nothing to do with the Girondins football club.

Grand Théâtre of Bordeaux

Of all the public buildings in Bordeaux, the Grand-Théâtre is unquestionably the most well-known and appreciated. It stands on the site of a former temple (Les Piliers de Tutelle) that was once in the middle of a Gallo-Roman forum. The Grand Théâtre's construction was made necessary by the destruction of a performance hall in 1755. The latter was located in the outbuildings of the former town hall, near the Grosse Cloche. Architect François Lhote, assisted by Soufflot, initially proposed a project that was not accepted by the city aldermen. Eventually, Marshal de Richelieu, governor of the province of Guyenne, imposed the Parisian architect Victor Louis (1731-1800). In order to pay for the construction, the land located on the southern glacis of the Chateau Trompette was sold. It took more than five years to build the Grand Théâtre and, after many vicissitudes, it was inaugurated in 1780 with a performance of Athalie, a play by Jean Racine.