Bordeaux’s museums, from the port to wine and fine art
Bordeaux’s museums tell the story of a port: commerce, the slave trade, wine and the sea. Along the way you’ll meet great painters and a natural history museum that pleases small visitors as much as big ones. Almost everything can be done on foot or by tram.
Musée d’Aquitaine
The big history museum of Bordeaux and its region, from prehistory to the 20th century. Here you’ll find the Vénus de Laussel, a figure carved in stone in prehistoric times, then the 18th-century rooms on the port, Atlantic trade and the slave trade, which pull no punches. Allow two hours. Tram B, Musée d’Aquitaine stop.
20 cours Pasteur, 33000 Bordeaux
Coming up here: Exposition permanente du Musée d'Aquitaine : 400 000 ans d’histoire(s) (until 6 February), Exposition "Tremblez tremblez ! Les sorcières sont parmi nous" (until 23 May), Exposition "Un globe, des mondes" (11 November to 13 December)
Musée des Beaux-Arts
Two wings flanking the town hall garden hold European painting from the 15th to the 20th century: Perugino, Titian, Veronese, Rubens, Van Dyck, Chardin, Delacroix, Corot, Matisse, Picasso. You go in through the south gate of the town hall garden, which makes a pretty walk in itself. An hour and a half covers the essentials.
20 cours d’Albret, 33000 Bordeaux
Coming up here: Visites commentées 'Passions Collections' (12 November to 2 December), Appel à projets (11 November to 5 December), "Passions Collections, 10 ans d'acquisitions" au Musée des Beaux Arts de Bordeaux (11 November to 4 January)
CAPC, musée d’art contemporain
Contemporary art in the Entrepôt Lainé, a warehouse completed in 1824 to store goods from the colonies under customs bond. The great nave with its stone and brick arches makes an impression, whatever the exhibition of the moment. The building also says a great deal about the city’s colonial and slave-trading past. A short walk from the quays and the Chartrons district.
7 rue Ferrère, 33000 Bordeaux
Coming up here: Jour 1 du projet "Quoi qu'il en soit" (Thursday 12 Nov, 11 am to 11 pm), Exposition "Pollen" au CAPC de Bordeaux (until 20 June), Visite "Ensemble créons un musée accessible" (Saturday 5 Dec, 2 pm)
Muséum de Bordeaux
The natural history museum is housed in the Hôtel de Lisleferme, on the edge of the Jardin public. The visit is built around the Souverbie gallery, which looks at humanity’s place in nature. Under-6s have a space of their own, the Musée des tout-petits. A stroll in the Jardin public, right outside, follows on easily.
5 place Bardineau, 33000 Bordeaux
Coming up here: Exposition Félins (until 19 September), Central Parcs (Saturday 21 Nov, 2:30 pm), Exposition participative Miaou! au Muséum de Bordeaux (11 November to 3 January)
La Cité du Vin
On the banks of the Garonne in Bacalan, this building of golden curves is devoted to the cultures of wine around the world, far beyond the Bordeaux vineyards. You take the permanent exhibition at your own pace. On the 8th floor, the viewing deck offers a 360-degree view of the city, beneath a chandelier made of thousands of bottles. Allow two to three hours.
134 quai de Bacalan, 33300 Bordeaux
Coming up here: Saveurs de Thanksgiving et vins du monde (Thursday 12 Nov, 6:30 pm), Expo - Le tour du monde en 50 régions viticoles (11 November to 31 December), Concert Live - Caramellow (Saturday 14 Nov, 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm)
Musée Mer Marine
At the Bassins à flot, three floors and 7,000 m² given over to the sea. Historic boats, instruments and models trace seafaring from prehistory to the present day, one gallery brings together marine painters, and the top floor hands over to artists whose work is about the ocean. A good family outing. Tram B, Rue Achard stop.
89 rue des Étrangers, 33300 Bordeaux
Coming up here: Bleu Sauvage : le street art s'invite au Musée Mer Marine (11 November to 3 January), French Lines - Le Luxe à la Française (Saturday 14 Nov, 5 pm), Monet ! Monet ! Monet ! (Saturday 5 Dec, 8 pm)
Musée national des douanes
France’s national customs museum sits in the Hôtel des Fermes, on the Place de la Bourse, facing the Miroir d’eau reflecting pool. A small museum full of surprises: a monumental set of scales from 1783, a model of the slave ship L’Aurore, a stuffed lion and the egg of an extinct giant bird from Madagascar. An hour is enough, and it’s a chance to step inside a building you usually photograph from the quay.
1 place de la Bourse, 33000 Bordeaux
Coming up here: La douane aux frontières du large (11 November to 10 January), Salon Commerce Innov (Monday 16 Nov, 9 am to 6 pm), Ateliers de danse d'époque (18 to 25 November)
Updated 10 November 2026.