Bordeaux is a wine lover’s dream and a beautiful city. I’ve been a big fan of Bordeaux since 2010. The 18th-century center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are also many upscale restaurants, wine bars, and shopping opportunities. This is a beautiful city. My favourite street in the country is located here.
Walking tours are a great way to discover this city’s history. Bordeaux offers a variety of food and wine tours that will enhance your experience.
Since not all walking tours are the same, I wanted to share some of my favourites. Here is my list of the top walking tours in Bordeaux.
Best Overall Tour
Take a Walk
Take Walks has been my favourite tour company for Europe. They offer access to places no other company can and have incredibly knowledgeable tour guides. The Ultimate Food Tour is a three-hour tour that includes three wine tastings in different regions, led by a local Sommelier. Over six stops, you’ll be able to taste nine different dishes while learning more about Bordeaux, its history, and how it became a world-renowned wine region.
Free Tours
Free Walking Tours Bordeaux
This is a daily tour that offers the best and most popular free tours in town. It’s a great way to get acquainted with Bordeaux. The tour lasts for two hours and includes all the highlights of Bordeaux, such as the Gothic Cathedral, the Neoclassical Grand Theatre and the Water Mirror. This is a great introduction for new visitors. Ask the guides for suggestions on where to eat or drink. Remember to tip the staff at the end.
Bordeaux offers much more than just the free and paid tours. Here are five more educational and insightful tour companies.
1. Office de Tourisme de Bordeaux
The official tourism office offers a few tours, but its walking tour is most popular with first-time visitors. This two-hour tour is led by a local expert who will help you get off the tourist track, highlight the scenic highlights, and explain the city’s history.
On their half-day tour, you can stop at one or two (depending on what day it is) wineries to learn more about the significance of wine in the culture and region. The tour will also include a look at the winemaking process, and you’ll get to taste some of it. This is a fun and affordable way to learn about Bordeaux’s vineyards.
2. France as a local
The 2.5-hour tour features stops at more than half a dozen bakeries and pastry shops, where you can sample fresh breads, pastries, and chocolate.
You’ll explore the historic city centre and see its many highlights. Because the tours are limited to 10 people, there will be plenty of time for you to talk to the guide and ask questions. You can also chat with the business owners and bakers you’ll visit.
3. My Urban Experience
If you speak French and are tired of the usual tourist attractions, you can explore Bordeaux’s art scene. My Urban Experience offers a 90-minute French street art tour that takes you from the port to the north of the city. It’s full of cool anecdotes, cool art, and neat stories. This is a great cultural experience that will complement the things you see and learn during a “general” tour.
There’s also a mystery tour in France that reveals the city’s legends, myths and haunting stories. This 90-minute tour is a mix of mystery and history.
4. Enjoy a wine tasting in Saint-Emilion
This winery picnic and tour is the ideal short getaway if you’re looking to get away from town. You can picnic in Saint-Emilion – a beautiful region located less than an hour away from Bordeaux – and enjoy a meal with wine before the tour. You’ll learn about the history of two wineries, one traditional and one modern, as well as their production methods. There will also be plenty of wine samples!
You will need to make your arrangements from Bordeaux to get to the starting point of the tour.
5. Wanderer Footsteps
Wanderer Footsteps has a few fun evening tours for night owls that will bring the city’s past and present to life. It runs a tour of the ghosts that explores a spooky side to things. As you walk through the city’s historic centre, you will hear stories about tragic lovers and ghosts. This is a fun mix of legends and history that can be added to any of our other walking tours.
The regular highlights tour is also available in the evenings. This is a great option because it allows you to do a winery visit in the morning when the sun is shining and then enjoy the highlights of Bordeaux at night.