Bordeaux in under 24 hours - Magnifique
En route from Barcelona to our home sit near Bergerac we decided to stay one night in Bordeaux before boarding our train the next day. We’d never planned to be in Bordeaux and up until yesterday hadn’t planned on being in France so soon but with two confirmed home sits overnight, the plan to go ‘where the doors open’ was in motion.
We’d caught the bus from Barcelona and after 8 hours of a mostly relaxing drive over the Spain/France border and past the pretty green fields and vineyards, stopping briefly at Toulose, Agen and Pepignon we were in Bordeaux. I say mostly relaxing as it’s always a little tense being stopped by border police for passport checks. We knew we had our passports in order, being stamped on arrival in Spain as per Shengen requirements, but you do start second guessing visa requirements especially when the people ahead of you on the bus are being interrogated by 3 police officers in a language we do not speak. We were already nervous after witnessing a woman run for the on-bus toilet and hide while 2 others were taken off the bus for further questioning. All the while the bus driver tells you nothing (in English that is) and in fact the entire bus load of 40 people are dead quiet possibly for fear of being taken off next or imagining the woman in the loo is going to come busting out with guns blazing at any moment if the bus doesn’t get moving soon! No need for further dramatics as the police cleared the off-boarded passengers while forgetting to check Quiggy and me. The bus starts up and after half an hour we are back on our way. It would take a few kilometres before ‘loo woman’ would appear and while everyone looked at each other wondering what her story was, nobody said a word.
We were excited to be going to a new city that we knew nothing about and so unexpectedly. With only one night and a morning to explore we didn’t bother googling what to do rather we’d just walk the streets, grab some food and see what happens. As the bus neared the station we could view incredible palace like buildings line the Boulevard along the Garonne River, a really pretty sight even on this dull day. We were very surprised that the bus station (not to be confused with the train station which is beautiful) was nothing more than a small car park with no facilities or shelter and no information on where to go next. The bus station we had departed from, Barcelona Nord or Estació del Nord, was an impressive 100 year old building with information desks, shops and plenty of seating. Just as well we’d booked a hotel nearby, dragging suitcases around in cold, damp weather with a struggling gps is not a fun way to end an 8 hour drive.
It didn’t take long before we reached our hotel, a near new student accommodation building convenient to Victory Square 'Place de la Victoire', one of the main squares of the city of Bordeaux and where we’d spend the night exploring.
The first thing you notice about Bordeaux is the architecture, it’s old. Wikipedia tells me that - Bordeaux is home to one of Europe's biggest 18th-century architectural urban areas. The city is home to 362 historic monuments (only Paris has more in France) with some buildings dating back to Roman times. Bordeaux has been inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble". This is definitely a city you want to bring comfortable walking shoes to because like Barcelona, you can walk down lanes and be astounded by beautiful buildings that just keep appearing the more you walk. And the food, especially the pastries, entice you along the way.
Our morning, before catching the train to Bergerac, was spent walking down random streets following signs we couldn’t understand but leading us to surprising finds like the vintage flea market set up in front of the Gothic Basilique St-Michel which has a free standing belltower, ‘La Flèche’, built in the 15th century on an ancient burial ground.
Meandering further we turn a corner and see the Porte de Bourgogne, a landmark Roman-style stone arch built in the 1750s as a symbolic gateway to the city.
Through the arch we walk to the bridge ’Pont de Pierre’ connecting the left bank of the Garonne River to the right bank. Built in 1819-1822 the bridge has 17 arches commemorating the letters of Napolean Bonaparte who ordered it’s construction.
We took in the spectacular view, noted the time and headed back in the direction of our hotel. On the way we saw the ‘Grosse Cloche’ or ‘Big Bell’ forged in 1755 and weighing almost 8,000kgs. In its day the ‘Big Bell’ was the media. It warned the city of fires, announced time to harvest and when the King was angry and wanted to punish his people, he would take it down or break it. Inscribed is “J’appelle aux armes, j’annonce les jours, j’indique les heures, je chasse les nuages, je célèbre les fêtes, je pleure les morts” (I call to arms, I announce the days, I indicate the hours, I chase away the clouds, I celebrate the festivities, I mourn the dead).
Just when you think you’ve seen it all we turn another corner and walk straight into a student protest march. Hundreds of people holding placards (we can’t read French), lighting flares and chanting protest songs while being drowned out by police sirens. It was awesome and just what we needed to bring us back to the future and to the train station.
Unlike the bus station the Saint-Jean station in Bordeaux dating back to 1858-1860 has the largest railway canopy in Europe and a McDonalds! The one thing we really would have appreciated would be English speaking information assistants and signs. It’s nerve racking knowing you must be at a station you’ve never been (Bergerac), to meet someone you’ve never met (our home sit host), when you can’t understand the train line signs that get you there. When in doubt…follow the crowd…that’s what we did…and we made it!
#Back on the road
#Skip the time constraints
#Go see the sights in under 24 hours
*this article was edited 16/3/18 to correct the weight of the Big Bell from 800kgs to 8,000kgs.