Bordeaux is fully prepared for the summer with plenty of events for adults and kids. So if you didn’t leave for your  summer vacation yet, take advantage of all the things the city has to offer this weekend: plenty of sportive, music and cultural activities along the quais, a food truck festival in a beautiful château, electronic music in the park and more.

Here is the list of things to do this weekend in and around Bordeaux (July 20-22):

Events in Bordeaux Metropole

The summer pavilion on the right side of the river

Every summer in the last four years the Orangeade association opens its summer pavilion on le Quai Deschamps (in the Bastide neighborhood) with great weekly events that all music and gastronomy lovers will appreciate. The association calls their summer village “un espace de bonheur partagé  (a space of shared happiness) and invites you every Friday and Saturday until September 22 to a musical and culinary journey. Look at the program for this Friday (July 20) and for this Saturday (July 21). All the events are free.

When:  July 20-21, from 6pm
Where: Quai Deschamps, 33100 Bordeaux, Franc

Dansons sur les Quais is a series of dancing classes and events where people gather to dance together and learn a variety of dancing genres like Tango, Salsa, Bollywood, Forro, Hip Hop, Street Jazz, Zumba, Country and more. These activities will be guided by professional dancers from different dance schools in Bordeaux and they are completely free, so this is a great opportunity you don’t want to miss. The dancing events will take place on the quai almost daily from July 14 to August 19. For more details and the full program check out the website of Dansons sur les Quai.

So what is waiting for you this weekend? Reggaeton, Swing, Salsa, Balkan dance, Jazz dance, Zumba and a Latin night- see the full program.

When:  Daily from July 14 to August 19
Where: Quai Louis XVIII, 33000 Bordeaux

Bordeaux Open Air 

The second part of the third edition of the Bordeaux Open Air festival will take place on July 22 in Jardin Public and will include a lineup of four djs. Bordeaux Open Air is a series of summer free electronic music events, all set in different locations and with a great city vibe to them. The third part of the festival will take place on August 12 in Parc Palmer.

See more info about the event on their website.

When:  July 22, from 3pm to 8pm
Where: Jardin Public, 33000 Bordeaux, France

Urban Legends Exhibition

Legendes Urbaines, an exhibition that hosts more than 50 street artists, will be presented from June 21 to September 16 at La Base Sous Marine, one of the most unique places in Bordeaux. The exhibition follows the evolution of street art from the 80s until today and presents different styles from graffiti, to video art, vitrage paintings, works on wood, fabric and much more. This is a must for any street art lover.

For more details check out the facebook page of la Base Sous-marine.

When: June 21 – September 16
Where: La Base Sous Marine, Boulevard Alfred Daney, 33300 Bordeaux

Quai des Sports

This is the 11th edition of this fun sportive event that takes place every summer (July 14 to August 12) at Parc des sports Saint Michel.  The program for this month is extremely varied  and includes things like climbing for kids, beach volleyball, basketball and more. The festival will be accompanied by artistic and music events.

So what’s on  this weekend? Kids can enjoy activities like table tennis, rollerblading, athletics, karate, boxing, football and more. For adults some more relaxing activities are offered, among them meditation, massage and Pilates.  Check the full program here.

When: Daily from July 14 to August 12
Where: Parc des sports Saint Michel

Relache Festival

Relache Festival, created by the Allez les filles association, is a series of free concerts taking place at different venues and dates during this summer. The 9th edition of this festival will last about 3 months (May 30 to August 31) with performances by both local groups and international acts in many genres of music. The next evening will take place this Friday (July 20) at Square Dom Bedos and  Saturday (July 21) in Sortie 13 in Pessac. Take a look at the full program of events on their website.

When and Where: July 20 at Square Dom Bedos and July 21 in Sortie 13 Pessac

Bordeaux Metropolitan Summer

Like every year Bordeaux Metropolitan invites you to discover the city and the area around it through a series of cultural events and activities. More than 100 activities of music, dance, public reading, theater, circus and gastronomy will take place between July 8 and September 25.  These events are so widely spread across the metropolitan area of Bordeaux that you are guaranteed to discover places (especially parks) that you have never heard of before. Some of the activities proposed this weekend are:

• Tour in the observatory of Floriac – Saturday at 10:00 (July 21)
• Gastronomy event at the  Marché Place du Centre in Bourg – Saturday at 11:00 (July 21)
• Sound laboratory – learn how to be a dj in Le Dôme in Talence – Saturday at 16:00 (July 21) – for more info and reservations click here.

Check out the full program of events here.

When: Daily from July 8 to September 25
Where: Bordeaux Metropolitan – check out the exact location of every event in the program.

Skating in Darwin

Summer is a fun time for roller skating and if you’re not familiar with that sport, Darwin’s Roller Derby Bordeaux Club will introduce you to it with its weekly introductory sessions to roller skates. Until the end of August, Darwin will host skating sessions on Wednesdays (19:30 to 22:00) and Saturdays (10:30- 13:30). For tickets and more info check out the site and the facebook of the event.

When:  Saturday July 21 – 10:00
Where: Darwin (rive droite – 87 Quai de Queyries, 33000 Bordeaux

Summer Braderie

During the next three days several streets in the city center will be filled with stands of clothes, shoes, toys, house supplies and more – this is the annual Bordeaux summer Braderie. If you are in town for summer sales (which will last until August 7), take the opportunity to check out the stands of more than 250 merchants on rue Porte Dijeaux, rue Sainte Catherine and rue des Trois Conils.

When:  July 19-21
Where: Center of Bordeaux: rue Porte Dijeaux, rue Sainte Catherine and rue des Trois Conils

Listen to a Jazz concert at the Caillou

A jazz concert and a drink in an outdoor bar is a great thing to do on a summer night and Bordeaux has the Caillou bar especially for that. Like every summer, the Caillou had set up their summer stage and presents a long list of performances that will take place every weekend and some weekdays until the end of the summer. For more details and the full program check out their facebook page.

When:  July 20-21
Where: Caillou Du Jardin Botanique, 33100 Bordeaux, France

Fête Champêtre in Bassens

Three festive days are about to take place in the sports center of Griffons Séguinaud in Bassens with a vide grenier,  a market, sports activities, funfair, activities for kids, a mini farm, escape games and plenty of music concerts. The grande finale of this festival will be a musical fireworks show on Sunday evening. See the full program here.

When:  July 20-22
Where: Chemin du grand came 33530 Bassens

En Plein Arts Festival 

The city of Talence invites you to the annual festival in the Thouars forest (around the Dome) that will take place this Saturday (July 21). Come with your family and take part in many cultural and artistic activities such as a puppet theater, beatbox, acrobatics, music concerts and much more. For more info check out the facebook page of the event and for the full program click here.

When:  July 21
Where: Avenue de Thouars, 33400 Talence (next to the Dome)

Events around Bordeaux

Bordeaux Food truck Festival

This is the biggest gathering of food trucks in the region of Nouvelle Aquitaine, with around 60 food trucks registered to participate in the five events of the festival, which are spread on different dates until the end of September this year. This festival aims to mix street food with the finesse of the wine world. As part of this gastronomic event, visitors can taste the wines of the hosting châteaux and specialty food coming from all corners of the world: French, Italian, Brazilian and much more.

The next food-truck weekend will take place on June 22 in Château Castéra. Besides plenty of food trucks the event includes many activities for adults and kids: a jeep tour in the vineyards, free wine tastings, games for kids, escape games, a music concert and an art expo. See the full program of the event on their website and facebook page. The event is free but requires prior reservation – you can do it here.

See all the details about the five weekends of the Bordeaux food truck festival here.

When: July 22
Where: Château Castéra, Rue du Bourg, 33340 Saint-Germain-d’Esteuil

Jazz Festival in Saint Emilion

This is the 7th edition of this Jazz festival in the beautiful town of Saint Emilion which will take place July 20-22. During the three days of the festival Saint Emilion will offer a great mix of jazz concerts, wine tastings and tasty food. In the festival area you will find a wine bar with the wines of Saint Emilion and a gourmand market with local products and food trucks. For more info and the full program check out the website of the festival. For those of you living in Bordeaux, a bus will be offered from Les Quinconces to Saint Emilion at the price of 9 euros (both ways).

When:  July 20-22
Where: Douves du Palais Cardinal, Saint-Emilion.

Symphony Orchestra Festival 

Festival Entre 2 Airs is an international festival of young Symphony Orchestras that takes place in the  Entre Deux Mers region. This is the last few days of the eight days (July 14- 21) festival that is taking place in 25 different locations with the participation of more than 400 young musicians from seven different countries. For more info about the concerts, the locations and the tickets check out the site of JOSEM (Jeune Orchestre Symphonique de l’Entre-deux-Mers),

When: until July 21
Where: Entre deux mers (see the locaion of each concert in the program)