What can better illustrate the harmony between nature and urbanization than a city and its river? We can see it with Bordeaux and the Garonne, one of the most important emblems of the town. To be honest, the Garonne is not one the most beautiful rivers: the proximity with the estuary causes a strong current, mud and debris. However, it gives charm to the city.
The left bank is the most important and here can be found the city center (we talked about it in our last article). The left bank is naturally renowned for its quays that are ideals for wonderful walks along the Place de la Bourse, Place des Quinconces and the famous Miroir d’eau. The quays are very well converted and have amazing regularly maintained gardens that are perfect for picnics.
The Miroir d’eau is a unique experience: do not hesitate to remove your shoes to get your feet wet and cool, to enjoy the children’s laughs when they play in the water and admire the reflection of the Place de la Bourse. This place directly leads you to the center city thanks to the small streets. The Place des Quinconce is noticeable thanks to the huge imposing and admirable fountain.
To join the right bank, you just need to take a boat (TBM tickets to cross the river are the same for the bus and the tramways) or walk on one of the city’s bridges such as the Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge) which is to our mind one of the most beautiful ones. The legend says that the number of this bridge’s arcs equals the numbers of the letters of Napoleon’s name, but this is probably just a coincidence.
On the right bank, Darwin quarter is not to be missed: it is an ancient military barrack appropriated by artists and it is currently the subject of a conflict between the city’s urbanization wills and groups who want to keep this place an artistic expression site. Today, Darwin is also a place dedicated to ecology, art and hobbies. You will find exhibitions in the different buildings whose aim is to make people aware of the global warming, open-air mural paintings, an organic café, a skate park, a second-hand objects market, a tramway fitted out like a living room… We really encourage you to have a look and experiment an alternative way of life in Bordeaux.
Near Darwin, you can found the botanic garden that you can admire by walking on the right bank.
You will also find, in the Parc of the Bastide riverbanks, a statue of Toussaint Louverture, main figure of the Haitian independence, in tribute to the abolition of slavery. This slave past is also evoked on the left bank with Modeste Testas Statue, a former slave, inaugurated in 2019. This life-size statue seems to look at Toussaint Louverture’s bust on the other riverbank. Many parks are located near the Garonne, they are very pleasant to walk and to have viewing points on the left Bank and the Place de la Bourse. You can come very close to the Garonne and take wonderful pictures (be careful, don’t test your swimming skills in the river). We recommend you to wait for the evening and take superb pictures while the Garonne is illuminated by the last sunrays and the lights of the city.
Our story in Bordeaux has lasted two years and has been a very important chapter of our life: there we met, we did our first travels together that are the origins of this blogs (but this is another city’s story). The feeling of leaving Bordeaux is the same as the one of leaving a city after a trip: leaving a place that sounds familiar to you, without coming from it. But this departure is different for us: we leave a city that will always have an important place in our hearts, in our story, a home far from our home. We will obviously come back to discover others places in the city, its big attractions as well as its secrets. If we may twist a quote from the famous movie Casablanca: “We will always have Bordeaux”.
2 Steps Abroad 