8 Reasons Bordeaux Is France’s Best-Kept Secret
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What happens when you take Paris—with all its famous fashion, swoon-worthy architecture, and romance—shrink it down, nix the tourist flocks, and quiet the bustle? Say hello to beautiful Bordeaux, aka the stylish local’s answer to a mini Parisian paradise. And while outsiders may know Bordeaux only for its namesake wine region, there’s far more to this riverfront city than a good glass of vino. With grand buildings, gorgeous gardens, trendy boutiques, cozy brasseries, and old-fashioned copper streetlights, this under-the-radar hot spot is a must-visit for authentic French charm and Parisian cool. Here, eight reasons you need to pack your bags and head to France’s stunning southwest.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Orma1/8History
Unlike nearly every European city with bite-size Old Towns, Bordeaux’s historic center is huge—you could spend days meandering its narrow cobbled streets, ogling its ancient stone buildings, and discovering delightful finds like Librairie Michele Masson’s rare bookshop, which carries texts so beautifully aged it doesn’t matter if you can’t read a smidge of French. Warning: Don’t be surprised if you catch yourself daydreaming about living in a Belle Epoque apartment above the fountain-strewn squares lined with umbrella-filled cafés.
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For an experience straight out of French fantasy, visit the six-room La Grande Maison, which opened in December, and lavish in the perfectly preserved 19th-century palatial exterior, idyllic grounds, and over-the-top suites decked in Napoleon III floral furnishings. For dinner, Michelin-starred chef Joël Robuchon turns French recipes into plate-licking art, like his signature duck foie gras with truffles. Or live like a local and move into a light-flooded designer Airbnb with industrial chic furnishings and original exposed stone walls. It’s just a short walk to Palais Gallien’s ancient ruins and Jardin Public.
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If you want to snag Parisian It-girl style, fashionable boutiques abound on every corner and hidden alleyway—independently owned with facades so old-world charming you can’t help but be drawn inside. Plus, there has been an influx of hip new haunts on the scene: Backstage, which opened in June, stocks well-curated vintage and secondhand designer frocks and accessories. Nearly one-year-old Petrusse is a must for wool and silk scarves in every shade and design. On recently revitalized Rue Saint-James near La Grosse Cloche, one of France’s oldest bell towers, Mieux is a one-stop shop for chic handbags, clothes, French stationery, and sundries à la mode. And newcomer Apache doubles as Bordeaux jewelry designer Charlotte Guillard’s workshop, where she weaves metal and cord into a rainbow of statement-making pieces with a Native American bent.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Orma4/8Gardens
A supremely picturesque garden, Jardin Public is a flower-filled fairy tale with 25 acres of impeccably manicured grounds, centuries-old trees, winding pebbled walkways, small ponds with quaint bridges, romantic fountains, and stone statues. It’s the ideal spot for an afternoon picnic followed by alfresco drinks at Restaurant L’Orangerie’s open terrace.
Photo: Courtesy of Mari / @bluebberyme5/8Antiques
Furniture, paintings, objets d’art, you name it: In the Chartrons district, the cobbled Rue Notre Dame brims with antiques galleries and bohemian shops. Highlights include Hello Vintage’s retro curiosities from the 1950s to the ’70s; Cabanes Chateaux’s wild mix of aircraft parts, taxidermy, and industrial furnishings; and O Design’s hub of pristine Scandinavian-meets-French finds. But the best part is just meandering the streets and soaking in the endless charm.