As we’re approaching the summer, the cultural and gastronomic scene in Bordeaux seems to get hotter and hotter. This month there are so many events, festivals and concerts that you will find it hard to choose from this long list of things to do. The great Bordeaux wine festival is almost here, the Bordeaux food truck festival is about to begin this month, three music festivals and the Fête de la musique with free concerts all over the city. I can go on and on, but let’s just jump right into it.
Here you will find the 20 most interesting and entertaining events that are about to begin or happen during the month of June. I divided them into two groups (events and art exhibitions), where they appear in a chronological order. As usual, during this month, I will publish my weekend things to do lists where I will add some of the smaller events, so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, this is the list of the best things you can do in Bordeaux in June 2018:
Festivals and Concerts
1. Les Epicuriales
This event has become an early summer Bordelaise tradition. For its 24th edition les Epicuriales festival transforms Allées de Tourny (next to the Opera) to a gastronomic heaven with about twenty restaurants set up especially for the event. During the 16 days of the festival, the restaurants will be open to the public for lunch and dinner. The highlight of the event is”Les Étoiles d’Épicure” , a restaurant that will host a different Michelin star chef every evening. Discover the full list of the participating chefs and their bio.
The event takes place May 25 to June 9. See more details here.
When: May 25 – June 9
Where: Allées de Tourny 33000 Bordeaux
2. Festival Echappée Belle in Blanquefort
Echappée Belle festival is a very entertaining event for the whole family that includes many forms of art for both kids and adults including theater, dance, circus and more. The festival will take place from May 31 to June 3 in Blanquefort, starting in Parc Majolan and continuing for the weekend in Parc de Fongravey. This edition of the festival is promised to have a great focus on musical activities with many cross genre shows and creations.
The prices of the shows are between 11€ and 16€ (depending on the amount of tickets purchased), the entrance to the parks and to many activities are free and the access is very easy from the center of Bordeaux (on tram A). See the full program here.
When: May 31 – June 3
Where: Different locations in Blanquefort (see the program)
3. Millesime Electronic music festival
This is a great event for all electronic music lovers who want to enjoy the unique atmosphere of an electronic music festivals and still stay in the region of Bordeaux. Festival Millesime will take place on June 1-2 in La Réole (between Bordeaux and Toulouse) and will have 3 stages, more than 30 artists, a chill out area and many other activities, all in the open air on the banks of the Garonne – sounds like a perfect event! (I’m an electronic music kind of person, so I’m not very objective here 🙂 )
The ticket price is 16,73 € and the access is quite easy – by car or by train from Gare Saint Jean.
For more info check out the website of the festival and the facebook page.
When: June 1-2
Where: Hippodrome de La Réole, lieu dit Mijéma, 33190 La Réole
4. Fête de la Morue
For more than two centuries, Bègles has been an important center of morue (codfish) in France. Today, this unique expertise of this little town is celebrated every year at la Fête de la Morue, a popular culinary and culture festival that also gives a stage young artists. la Fête de la Morue, will take place on June 1-3 in Bègles, with a rich program of concerts, cooking workshops, exhibitions, tastings, conferences and more. For more details follow the facebook page of the event or check our the program.
When: June 1-3
Where: Different locations in Bègles (see program).
5. AHOY music Festival
AHOY is a music festival, taking place on June 1-3 in Bassins à Flot in the Bacalan neighborhood, it proposes day and night experiences in three central cultural venues in the neighborhood – Dalle du Pertuis, Base Sous- Marine and Iboat. This festival is a journey of 36 hours, adapted for any age, where visitors are invited to explore the musical village and enjoy concerts, workshops for kids and adults, a creators’ market, food and wine and many other entertaining activities. Check out the full program of the event.
When: June 1-3
Where: Bassins à flot – Bacalan
6. 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 in 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 the specialties of food coming from all corners of the world: French, Italian, Brazilian and many more. The program of the festival also includes free concerts, exhibitions, escape games, activities for kids and a wine and chocolate workshop with the famous Bordelaise chocolatier Hasnaâ.
The first food-truck weekend will take place on June 2-3 in Château de La Dauphine in Fronsac. To purchase tickets for the different events in Château de la Dauphine click here.
See the all the details about the five weekends of the Bordeaux food truck festival here.
When: June 2-3
Where: Château de La Dauphine, 5 Rue Poitevine, 33126 Fronsac
7. “Les Forains, Ballet Urbain” in Bordeaux Opera
The amazing urban dance spectacle of “Les Forains, Ballet urbain” will be hosted by the Opera house of Bordeaux for seven consecutive nights from May 31 to June 7. For more details and tickets click here. Hurry up as the tickets are running low and some of the nights are already full.
When: May 31- June 6
Where: Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Place de la Comédie, 33000 Bordeaux
8. Big Bang- Air and Space Festival
The Big Bang festival in Saint-Médard-en-Jalles will take place on June 5-10. The third edition of the air and space festival is dedicated to art and science and is promised to be both educative and entertaining. The program includes art and science exhibitions, conferences, planetarium, flight simulator, films, concerts and much more. Check out the full program of the event.
Picture by: Big BangWhen: June 5-10
Where: Le Carré des Jalles, Place de la République, 33160 SAINT-MEDARD-EN-JALLES
9. Bordeaux Open Air #1
Another music festival, and this time much closer to the center of Bordeaux! The first part of the third edition of the Bordeaux Open Air festival will take place June 10 in Parc Palmer in Cenon. 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 dates and locations of all the other events will be announced shortly.
See more info about the event on their website and facebook page.
Credit: openagenda.comWhen: June 10
Where: Parc Palmer , 1 rue aristide Briand, 33150 Bordeaux, France
10. Bordeaux Wine Festival
This is the 20th edition of this magnificent feast of wine. Like every year, the banks of the Garonne are hosting wine lovers for five unforgettable days of events all dedicated to discovering the wines of Bordeaux and its region, Nouvelle aquitaine. For the five days of the Fête le Vin (June 14-18), 30 tall ships will be docking along the banks of the river, arriving from many different European destinations. Learn more about these special ships and their stories here. The ships are a key theme in this festival and a lot of the activities will revolve around them, among them sailing trips on the Garonne, tours on the ships and evening deck parties on some of the boats. This festival is certainly not only about ships, other events and venues include an open air wine road on the riverfront, fireworks, ships crew parade, concerts and much more, click here to discover the full list of activities.
To participate in the Bordeaux Fête le Vin you will need to purchase a wine tasting pass for five days which includes 12 wine tastings in the many booths of the festival. The price is 16€ for a ticket, buy one here.
When: June 14-18
Where: The banks of the Garonne
11. Grand Crus Weekend
One of the most interesting events accompanying the Bordeaux wine festival is the Grand Crus Weekend that will take place June 16-17. This event, organized by the the Union des Grands Crus (regional wine classification), aims to create an international meeting of wine lovers. The highlights of this weekend will include tasting wines from over 120 Grand Crus and meeting different chateaux owners as part of pre-organized dinners in these châteaux.
Read more about the event and the full program here.
When: June 16-17
Where: many locations, see the program
12. Classic Ballet by the Bolshoi of Minsk
The prestigious Bolchoi of Minsk ballet company will perform parts taken from some of the best classics of ballet, such as the Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote, a beautiful event to take the kids to. The show will take place on June 17 (4pm) at the Bordeaux Métropole Arena.
For tickets and more details click here.
When: June 17
Where: Bordeaux Métropole Arena, 48-50 avenue Jean Alfonséa, 33270 FLOIRAC
13. Fête de la musique 2018
La Fête de la musique is a French national day, dedicated to the celebration of music, with free concerts and street parties happening on the same day (June 21) all over France. This is an extraordinary day where you have the chance to walk around the city and enjoy an endless amount of small and big concerts from any genre of music. Like every other city in France, Bordeaux too will celebrate La Fête de la musique with its own street concerts and activities.
In the following video you will see the famous chef Philippe Etchebest and his band performing at the Fête de la musique.
When: June 21
Where: All over the city of Bordeaux
14. The biggest artists are coming to Bordeaux
Since the opening of the Bordeaux Métropole Arena we have seen some impressive acts coming to perform in Bordeaux. This month is definitely one of the peaks, with two of the biggest names in the music world taking the Bordeaux stage.
Shakira
Shakira will perform at the Bordeaux Métropole Arena on June 24 – buy tickets here.
Guns and Roses
The legendary Guns and Roses will make a stop in Bordeaux as part of their tour and will take the stage on June 26 at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux (Cours Jules Ladoumègue, 33300 Bordeaux).
15. Dance show by three famous choreographers
A co-production of the National Opera of Bordeaux and the Opera of Limoges presents an evening of three works by three famous choreographers: Petite Mort by Jiří Kylián, Le Chant du compagnon errant by Maurice Béjart and Le Concert (ou Les Malheurs de chacun) by Jerome Robbins. The dance show will be performed in the Opera of Bordeaux, during nine nights from June 27 to July 6.
For more details and tickets see the website of the Opera.
When: June 27 to July 6
Where: Grand Théâtre, place de la Comédie, 33000 BORDEAUX
16. Trajectoires
Trajectoires is a unique cultural event where talented students of music, theater and choreography will perform their works of art to pass their diploma. Around 50 different performances of theater, comedy, dance and music will be put on stage in different locations in Bordeaux.
Take a look on the full list of performances and details about all the events here.
When: Many dates in June (see program)
Where: different locations in Bordeaux (see program)
ART
17. Claude Monet at the new Musée Mer Marine – the event is cancelled for now
The Musée Mer Marine is a new museum, based in the bassins à flot (Bacalan),which is scheduled to open its door in the beginning of 2019. While we are waiting for the full experience in this interesting new place, a temporary exhibition of the works of Claude Monet has been put in place and will run from June 15 to December 31. See more details on the website of the new museum.
When: June 15- December 31
Where: Musée Mer Marine,89 Rue des Étrangers
How much: 15 €
18. Last chance to see the Street Color Exhibition
This is the last chance to see the excellent art exhibition that is being presented from April 5 to June 24 at the Institut Bernard Magrez. The expo includes some well known street artists (mostly French ones), such as MAD C (GER), Seth (FRA), d’Alexöne (FRA) and more.
When: until June 24
Where: 16 rue de Tivoli, Bordeaux
How much: 8 €
19. Urban Legends Exhibition
La Base Sous Marine, one of the most unique places in Bordeaux, will host the “Legendes Urbaines” exhibition from June 21 to September 16, which will host the works of more than 50 street artists.
When:June 21 – September 16
Where:La Base Sous Marine, Boulevard Alfred Daney, 33300 Bordeaux
20. Last chance to see the Wine and Music Expo
The art exposition at la Cité du Vin, named “Le vin & La musique, accords et désaccords“, reveals the relationship between wine and music through a visual journey that alternates between paintings, music and stage art. Around 150 pieces of art will be put in place from French and European collections: ceramics, paintings, music books , instruments and more. The exposition has been running from march and will be presented at the museum until June 24. For more details and tickets check here.
When: until June 24
Where: 134 – 150 Quai de Bacalan, 33300 Bordeaux
How much: 8 €
If you know of any other interesting events in and around Bordeaux, please let me know in the comments below and I will be sure to add them to my weekly list of things to do in Bordeaux.
Hope you enjoyed this list! Now don’t be shy, share it with your friends 🙂
