Bordeaux Transportation

Some part of the old railtracks in this area have been converted into cycling paths. Cycling highway, a really nice experience...

Some years ago (I guess it is still the case), you could get a free map (Gironde - Carte des pistes cyclables) by sending a (snail) mail to
La maison du tourisme de la Gironde (21 cours de l'intendance - 33000 Bordeaux)

Our trip to Bordeaux was the most memorable. A 10 hour train ride from Nice was easily turned into 22hours of hell by huge storms in southern France. We had to catch a train to Paris then change to one heading to Bordeaux.
Car is definitely the go. Just don't park like this guy here!

The TGV, the French Intercity Train, is a good way of getting about France. If you book at least thirty days in advance you can buy a Joker 30 ticket which is far cheaper than the normal price. There is also a Joker 8 ticket if you book eight or more days in advance. If you can't book in advance to somewhere like Paris you may well be better off getting a cheap internal flight. You can also get a Carissimo pass which for 195F gives a 50% discount on four (single) journeys.

As a student you can use the cheaper Tarif Réduit tickets but you need to have a Carte Bordeaux Etudiant which costs 30F for the year. If you do the language course you may get one when you register; otherwise you need to go to one of the offices of the CGFTE, the bus company, with your university student card and a passport photo. The tickets are very cheap and you buy them in advance in strips of ten at newsagents. Ask for un carnet de tickets de bus 'au tarif réduit'. You can get copies of the timetables from the CGFTE shop or from the roving information bus.
When you get on the bus you have to stamp your ticket in one of the orange machines. This puts the time and date on the ticket. You can stamp the same ticket up to four times, to change bus, provided that the last time stamp is within an hour of the first stamp.
There are no individual ticket inspectors, but every now and then a whole group get on the bus at once to check tickets. If your ticket hasn't been stamped, is invalid or you don't have the Carte Bordeaux Etudiant and the talon that comes with each strip of tickets then you get an on the spot fine of 100F. You don't have to pay the fine, but if you decide not to, you will be dragged off the bus and marched into the police station.

more information about the bus system in Bordeaux in http://www.netbus-bordeaux.com/ (only in french)

Bordeaux is situated in the South West of France.

International cities are served daily
Abidjan / Amsterdam / Barcelona / Bilbao / Brussels
Casablanca / Dakar / Geneva / Lagos / Lisbon / London
Madrid / Milan / Munich / Rome / Tunis...

Increasing to 20 during the summer
Athens / Djerba / Fez / Fort-de-France (Martinique)
Ibiza / Marrakech / Moscow / Montreal / Toronto...

Airlines serve Bordeaux
Air Afrique / Air France / Air Liberte / Air Littoral
British Airways / Crossair / Lufthansa
Proteus Airlines / Regional Airlines / Royal Air Maroc / Sabena / Tunisair

Contact your local travel agent for more details
(or Bordeaux Merignac International Airport.
Tel : 33 (0) 5 56 34 50 50)
Bordeaux Airport http://www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr

Bordeaux has excellent rail links with the rest of France and Europe.
Information: SNCF 33 (0)8 36 35 35 35
(2.23 F/minute) http://www.sncf.fr

I recommend the TGV from Paris. It 350 miles from Paris so lets not spend all day on a train, so take the fastest one. Buy your rail passes from home not when you get there. It's less expensive and then you are guaranteed a seat.
The bus is ok. It seems like a long ride from the train station to the more central 'downtown'. A tour guide is ideal but mostly we walked. Just accross from where we were staying they offered horse drawn winery tours which looked neat. A bicycle may not be a bad idea. You can rent them down at the wharf pier area not far from the retired warship to explore the water front.

Costs 7E each way. Leaves on 45min frequency BUT never ran on schedule for us! Maybe due to the myriaof red lights encountered on the journey - unbelievable! Allow lots of time!!

From Paris we can take fast train, just took 2 hours and arrive in Bordeaux train station 'Gare St. Jean'