Bordeaux’s parks and gardens: where to find some green in town
Bordeaux has kept its great 18th- and 19th-century gardens and gained kilometres of walks along the Garonne. All of these places are free to enter. Wear good shoes: the quays are long, and you’ll soon be tempted to push on to the next bridge.
Jardin public
Created in 1746, it was the first garden in France designed from the outset to be open to the public. Laid out in the English style, it has a large river-shaped pond, wrought-iron bridges, an old-fashioned carousel, a puppet theatre and the historic botanical garden. The natural history museum occupies the Hôtel de Lisleferme, at the edge of the lawns.
Cours de Verdun, 33300 Bordeaux
Parc bordelais
Bordeaux’s largest park, 28 hectares in Caudéran, opened in 1888 on the model of the great Paris parks. A grand promenade, a pond of more than a hectare, 3,000 trees, a thousand of them more than a century old, and a small oak wood. Children get playgrounds, a little train, merry-go-rounds and a puppet theatre, and sheep graze in a meadow.
Rue du Bocage, 33200 Bordeaux
Jardin botanique de la Bastide
On the right bank, the botanical garden showcases the plants and natural habitats of the region, with a large water garden, cultivated plots and shady paths. The outdoor gardens are free to enter; the glasshouses and exhibition rooms are a separate visit. From the ponds you can see the Saint-Michel spire on the other side of the river.
Esplanade Linné, 33100 Bordeaux
The quays, from the Miroir d’eau to the Chartrons
On the left bank, the Promenade Corajoud runs along the Garonne in front of the 18th-century façades. On the way: the Miroir d’eau reflecting pool opposite the Place de la Bourse, the Prairie des Girondins facing the Quinconces, gardens and the Chartrons skatepark. Open day and night, it’s the easiest walk in Bordeaux, and best at the end of the day.
Place de la Bourse, 33000 Bordeaux
Coming up here: La douane aux frontières du large (11 November to 10 January), Paul Barreyre (Friday 13 Nov, 8:30 pm), Salon Commerce Innov (Monday 16 Nov, 9 am to 6 pm)
Parc aux Angéliques
On the right bank, 3.5 km of riverside walk along the Garonne between the Pont Saint-Jean and the Pont Chaban-Delmas, with views across to the façades on the quays. Lawns, trees and basketball courts. The name comes from the estuary angelica, a protected plant that grows in only a few French estuaries. Cross the Pont de pierre and you’ve done the loop of both banks.
Quai des Queyries, 33100 Bordeaux
Parc Rivière
A 4-hectare park near the Chartrons, laid out in the garden of an old bourgeois house. Century-old trees, a bald cypress officially listed as a Remarkable Tree of France, the ruins of a château now home to beehives, and a big wooden playground. Squirrels often show themselves to patient walkers.
174 rue Mandron, 33300 Bordeaux
Coming up here: L'eau: une ressource vitale (11 November to 5 January), Les écureuils au parc rivière (Saturday 21 Nov, 10 am), Jardiner au naturel à la Maison du Jardinier à BORDEAUX (Saturday 12 Dec, 10 am)
Réserve écologique des Barails
In the north of the city, the old floral park and the Bois de Bordeaux form a 156-hectare reserve: woods, meadows, wetlands and ponds. You follow 6 km of trails, walk beside a recreated Pyrenean mountain stream and, with a little patience, spot the cistude, a small freshwater turtle. A real nature outing without leaving Bordeaux.
Avenue de Pernon, 33300 Bordeaux
Updated 10 November 2026.