Travel to Bordeaux

Flying to Bordeaux

Airlines offering flights to Bordeaux from the UK include British Airways, Flybe, Ryanair and easyJet. Cheap flights to Bordeaux are available from low-frills airlines year-round (booking well in advance during the summer months is recommended). 

Flight times

From London - 1 hour 40 minutes; New York - 10 hours (including stopover); Los Angeles - 15 hours (including stopover); Toronto - 10 hours 30 minutes (including stopover); Sydney - 28 hours (including stopovers).

Travel by road

Traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age in Bordeaux and in France is 18 years. Speed limits in and around Bordeaux are 130kph (81mph) on motorways, 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways, 90kph (56mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. A national driving licence, the car's registration documents and a red warning triangle must be on hand at all times. Although helpful, a Green Card is not compulsory if bringing your car from another EU country.

Emergency breakdown services

ADS (Aquitaine Dépannage Service) (tel: +33 5 5686 6170). On motorways, dial 112.

Routes

Bordeaux is well connected, with major highways running through the city. The A10 connects Bordeaux with Paris, via Poitiers, Tours and Orleans. The A62 connects with the Mediterranean via Toulouse and Agen and the A63 runs to Spain via Bayonne and Dax. The A89 connects with the east via Lyon and Clermont Ferrand. All of these highways connect with Bordeaux's ring road ('la Rocade').

Coaches

The main bus terminal in Bordeaux is the Halte Routière, allée des Chartres, off Esplanade des Quinconces. Citram Aquitaine (tel: +33 974 500 033; www.citram.fr) operates buses in the Gironde region, and has an office at the bus station. Eurolines (tel: 0892 899 091, in France or +33 1 4186 2421; www.eurolines.fr) runs coaches to the main cities in Europe from its office opposite the railway station on rue Charles Domercq.

Time to city

From Paris - 6 hours; Calais - 8 hours 15 minutes; St-Malo - 5 hours 15 minutes; Nantes - 3 hours 20 minutes.

Travel by Rail

Services

The SNCF Gare Bordeaux-St-Jean, rue Charles Domercq, is located in the city centre, at the end of cours de la Marne. Bordeaux is connected to other major cities via France's reliable, high-speed TGV network.

Operators

SNCF (tel: 3635, in France only or +33 892 353 535; www.sncf.com) is France's national railway service provider.

Bordeaux is served by direct high-speed TGV trains to Lille, Paris Montparnasse and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Regular trains (SNCF) go to Marseille, and regional trains (TER) serve destinations in southwest France.

If travelling from the UK, the easiest way to reach Bordeaux by train is to take the Eurostar from London and then connect to the TGV at Lille.

Journey times

From Lille - 5 hours 30 minutes; Paris - 3 hours 20 minutes; Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport - 4 hours 20 minutes; Marseille - 6 hours 10 minutes.