Bordeaux is booming, with a high-speed train connection from Paris taking barely two hours, and visitors drawn here by a vibrant restaurant scene, some of the world’s most famous wines and the towering futuristic Cité du Vin. But this revitalised city has a lot more than food and wine, with an exciting alternative arts and music scene to discover.
I Boat
Moored in the docks by the Cité du Vin, this former ferry begins the evening as a cool hangout for sunset drinks and dinner. Bands perform from 9pm – anything from heavy metal to electronic dance – and the place really comes alive after midnight when it transforms into a club until sunrise. I remember one really wild set by local hiphop star Senbei, when the whole boat seemed to be swinging and we all thought it would float away. In summer, the other big rendezvous is La Guinguette Chez Alriq, right on the bank of the Garonne river, perfect for sunset views and live concerts.
• Quai Armand Lalande, iboat.eu
Mathieu Perrein, producer at indie record label Banzaï Lab
Darwin Eco-système
This is the arts and culture project that has put Bordeaux on the international map. It has turned what we call a friche industrielle, a vast complex of abandoned warehouses and barracks that I remember as a ruined wasteland, into a dynamic hub spanning the arts, eco-sustainable start-ups and an urban farm. Darwin is a paradise for graffiti artists, with skateboard parks, arts ateliers for schools and venues for live music and DJs, proving old industrial areas can be revitalised, not just pulled down.
• 87 quai des Queyries, darwin.camp
Jean-François Buisson, monumental sculptor and founder of the cultural complex Les Vivres de l’Art
Aux Quatre Coins du Vin
Wine bars are everywhere today in Bordeaux, though personally I miss the old days when each street corner had a buvette, a rough-and-ready wine cellar where you filled up your bottle to take away and had a quick ballon de rouge at the bar. Aux Quatre Coins is just round the corner from my fish restaurant, Le Petit Commerce, and with over 800 bottles on its wine list and a wide selection available by the glass (from €4), it has become the place to go for wine lovers in the city. For those interested in organic, biodynamic and artisan natural wines, check specialist watering holes like Les Trois Pinardiers and the funky Vins Urbains.
• 8 rue de la Devise, aux4coinsduvin.com
Fabien Touraille, owner of fish restaurant Le Petit Commerce
Au Bistrot
The two most authentic parts of Bordeaux are Les Capucins food market and Saint Michel flea market, with Au Bistrot sitting right between the two. This has been a popular neighbourhood eaterie for over a century, and the chef cooks at an open kitchen, creating old-fashioned dishes like boeuf braisé (€19) simmered for hours, right in front of diners sitting around the bar. There’s a terrific wine list, and for dessert don’t miss the classic tarte tatin or île flottante. The Capucins neighbourhood is still a favourite late-night haunt of chefs, waiters and restaurant owners and, at 4am, the market bar Chez Christophe is already opening and ready to fry a thick entrecôte. FT
• 61 place des Capucins, +33 6 63542114, on Facebook
La Base Sous-Marine
This huge concrete bunker, a maze of 11 submarine channels, was built by forced labour during the second world war to repair Germany’s U-boat fleet. Abandoned for decades, it is now an immense venue for visually stunning exhibitions, mostly projections of digital art, and breathtaking concerts, dance and theatre performances. Before embarking on the Vivres de l’Art project, I started my first atelier here, and it was these towering spaces that inspired me to work in monumental sculpture. Now I have a dream to go back and create a nightclub that can be Bordeaux’s version of Berlin’s legendary Berghain. J-FB
• Boulevard Alfred Daney, on Facebook
Il Teatro
If you know where to look, there is a vibrant underground music scene in Bordeaux. Start by checking announcements at the legendary record store Total Heaven (6 rue de Candale), where DJs and record diggers gather. Local websites bdxc.fr and clubsetconcerts.com have music listings, and look out for late night parties in cafés associatifs, alternative cultural centres, like L’Antidote. And there are lots of bars that transform into live, usually free, music venues, like Il Teatro. Genial Italian owner Italo hosts two bands on Thursday nights, and the place starts to heave after 9pm, when happy hour kicks off, with pints at €5. MP
• 13 place du Maucaillou, on Facebook
Le Garage Moderne
Le Garage Moderne is a huge industrial garage, originally used to construct airplane wings. Today, it has a contract with the town hall to work hand in hand with the local community as a cultural association that includes a DIY repair shop for cars, bikes and scooters, while also using its unique space as a venue for art, sculpture and music. Come during the day and this chaotic space is filled with amateur and professional mechanics surrounding jacked-up cars and stripped-down Vespas. Return in the evening and there may be the presentation of an avant-garde video installation, a flamenco concert, or cheap and cheerful home-cooked dishes at the retro canteen. J-FB
• 1 rue des Etrangers, legaragemoderne.org
Le Comptoir de Bègles
Sport is a big part of most people’s lives in Bordeaux, with both the football and rugby stadiums pretty much in the city centre, easily accessible by tram. I’m a rugby man and would encourage any fan to come and see a Bordeaux-Bègles match to get a real feel for local life, especially if you stop off for a hearty meal nearby at Le Comptoir, whose owner is the father of France’s current scrum-half, Maxime Machenaud. Meat-eaters will love dishes like a juicy onglet de boeuf (hanger steak) and a mountain of frites, while non-meat-eaters will be surprised by lighter recipes pairing chunky cod with thinly sliced vegetable tagliatelle. FT
• Three-course menu €17.50, 64 avenue Jules Guesde, Bègles, 33 5 57913710, on Facebook
L’Annexe B
Visitors interested in discovering the local art scene should head to Annexe B to see something really alternative. In the modern Grand Parc quarter, surrounded by high-rise flats, this demolition-bound high school has been given over to around 30 artists who have made their studios in the old classrooms. Although the artists can be seen on Facebook and contacted beforehand, there is no real need to make an appointment – just wander in and knock on any of the studio doors to see who is home. J-FB
• 1 rue Jean Artus, on Facebook
L’Univerre
I take my hat off to the owners of Univerre, opening this amazing wine cellar and bistrot in one of the most improbable parts of the city – not far from the town hall but hard to find for locals, let alone tourists. The wine list stretches to a phenomenal 1,300 bottles, and though you can end up spending a lot of money on the wine, there are bargains, too, while the young chef proposes a short but creative daily menu, a modern take on traditional French fare: cottage pie with beef cheeks and sweet potatoes; a classic stuffed cabbage; line-fished pollack with a parsnip mousseline. FT
• Lunch dish of the day €11, evening €20-22, 44 rue Lecocq, univerre-restaurant.com
Getting there
Eurostar trains from London (from £58 return if booked well in advance) connect in Paris with high-speed trains to Bordeaux (from €19 one way, en.oui.sncf). EasyJet, Ryanair and Flybe fly to Bordeaux from various UK airports.
Where to stay
Right in the centre, there’s the family-run boutique Hôtel de la Presse (doubles from €89 room-only). The Philippe Starck-designed Mama Shelter has doubles from €79 B&B. The Central Hostel is scheduled to open in mid-July, with dorm beds from €19.
Further information
