The golden building
A golden twist on the river suggesting a swirling glass — Bordeaux's new icon.
Chris06 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Shiraz Minassian — CC BY-SA 4.0 · PA — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zairon — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Cité du Vin is Bordeaux's great modern museum of wine as civilisation: a twisting golden building on the Garonne bank, designed to suggest liquid moving in a glass, opened in 2016 and instantly the city's new architectural icon. The permanent exhibition is an interactive journey through twenty themes: six thousand years of cultivation, the world's regions from Georgia to Chile, and the trade that built Bordeaux itself — via giant screens, scent stations and sensory games, with an audio guide in many languages, Arabic included. The visit works perfectly for non-drinkers: the subject is historical and cultural, the technology dazzling, and the closing tasting in the panoramic dome swaps happily for grape juice — with the eighth-floor view of city and river for everyone.
A golden twist on the river suggesting a swirling glass — Bordeaux's new icon.
History, geography and trade in dazzling interactive staging.
The eighth floor's circular view of city and river.
134 Quai de Bacalan, 33300 Bordeaux
Bordeaux Maritime History MuseumA museum of Bordeaux's maritime history, in the wet docks area north of the city4 minutes walk4.2
Cap SciencesAn interactive science centre on the bank of the Garonne in the docks area north5 minutes walk4.4
Pont Jacques-Chaban-DelmasThe newest bridge over the Garonne at Bordeaux, opened in **2013** north of the 6 minutes walk4.4
Musée Mer MarineA relatively new museum — opened in 2019 — in a large contemporary building on a7 minutes walk4.1
Bassins des LumièresThe world's largest digital art centre lives in the strangest possible place: a 13 minutes walk4.8Clearly yes — by design: the exhibition is about civilisation, trade and science rather than drinking, the interactivity entertains everyone, and the tasting is optional with a juice swap. Many non-drinking families visit it as an excellent science museum.
Two comfortable hours for the exhibition, three with dome and surroundings. Tram B runs straight from the centre in fifteen minutes, and the Bacalan food halls opposite make the perfect lunch after.
Yes, usually free to a certain age, with a simplified family route. Screens and scent games hold them an easy hour — beyond that depends on their ages.