In Bordeaux Monthly

What to do in Bordeaux in March

Last updated on February 3, 2023 No Comments

March is the month of uncertainty here in Bordeaux. There will be sunny days which will make you crave a glass of rose on one of the squares of Bordeaux. It can even be hot enough to go to the beach, and in that case, you should check out my article about the best beaches near Bordeaux.

However don’t be surprised if suddenly you’ll wake up to a cold or a very rainy day, these are very common in March as well.

The good news is that there’s always something to do here in Bordeaux. So in case it’s cold you should check out my article about the best things to do in Bordeaux in the winter. And for rainy days, here’s my guide to all the things you can do in Bordeaux when it’s raining.

What to do in Bordeaux in March — *Bordeaux in March*

However, in this article, I’m going to talk about all the best events, exhibitions, and concerts taking place in Bordeaux and its surroundings in March 2023. If you’re reading this article in February check out my article about what to do in Bordeaux in February.

You can also subscribe to my newsletter where I update you about all the best things happening in the city every weekend.

If it’s your first time in Bordeaux I recommend reading my article about the best things to do in Bordeaux and the best districts in Bordeaux in case you’re still looking for accommodation.

What to do in Bordeaux city in March 2023

Carnaval des 2 rives

Le Carnaval des 2 rives (March 5) takes place on both sides of the Garonne river. This modern festival (created in 1996) has all the best features of a traditional carnival such as costumes, shows, and a big parade.

The big parade starts start at 14:00 at the Allée Serr, on the right side of the river, and then passes to the other side through Pont de Pierre and ends at the Village Carnival at Place Pey-Berland at 16:00. The Village Carnaval will be open until 18:00. For more details click here.

When: March 5 / Where: Starts at Allée Serr, Bastide, Bordeaux

Grand Salon Habitat De Bordeaux

Bordeaux’s big habitat fair will take place on March 3-5. The salon will include a huge variety of stands and professionals specializing in construction, house renovation, interior design, and more. The event will take place at Hall 3 of le Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux – Hall 3. For more details click here.

When: March 3-5 / Where: Cours Jules Ladoumègue, 33000 Bordeaux

Fête de l’Orange

Fête de l’Orange, the feast of the Orange is celebrated every year in Podensac, the town of the famous Lillet liqueur. The program includes a big orange market and different orange specialties, a guided visit to the Lillet cellars, traditional dancing, and more. The event will take place on March 4-5. The full program will be published here.

When: March 4-5 / Where: the center of Podensac

Foire aux Plaisirs

This is the spring edition of the traditional Bordelaise Fair that is taking place at Place des Quinconces from March 3-26. It’s a perfect activity for kids and for those who are young in spirit as La Foire aux Plaisirs de Bordeaux has it all: a big wheel, roller coasters, ghost trains, bumper cars, donuts, crèpes, and more.

See more info about the fair here.

Place des Quinconces - what to do in Bordeaux in October

When: March 3-26 / Where: Place des Quinconces

Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants de Bordeaux

The Salon des Vins of the Bordeaux independent winemakers will take place on March 10-12 at the Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux (Bordeaux Lac -Hall 3). Wine producers from the region will present their wines and will invite you to a free taste. This event is not geared toward professionals but rather toward all wine lovers. For more info click here.

When: March 10-12 / Where: Parc des expositions de Bordeaux Lac – Cours Charles Bricaud – 33000 Bordeaux

Bordeaux Rock Festival

The Bordeaux Rock festival is a big gathering of independent and alternative bands that takes place every year in Bordeaux. This year it will take place on March 9-12 at la Salle des fêtes du grand parc. For the full program and tickets click here.

When: March 9-12 / Where: 39 Cours de Luze 33300 Bordeaux, France

Salon du Vintage

The annual vintage salon will take place in Darwin on March 11-12. This chic event will gather more than 50 exhibitors with a great selection of accessories, furniture, vinyl records, classic cars, jukebox, paintings, and more. For more details check the Facebook page and the website of the event.

When: March 11-12 / Where: 87 Quai des Queyries, 33100 Bordeaux

Saint Patrick’s day

Saint Patrick’s day is always a good opportunity to get drunk from an Irish beer or whiskey while listening to good music.

Most Irish (and English) bars in Bordeaux make a big Saint Patrick’s day celebration with music and a lot of drunk and happy people. Check out my list of Irish/English bars in Bordeaux and choose one for March 17!

The European short film festival

The 26th edition of the European Short Film festival (festival européen du court métrage de Bordeaux) will take place on March 16-17 at the UGC Ciné Cité Bordeaux. The festival includes a program of about thirty movies from all over the world and a jury of famous personalities from the French cinema industry, from actors to directors and screenwriters. For more info and tickets check out the website of the festival .

When: March 16-17 / Where: 13-15 rue Georges Bonnac, 33000 Bordeaux

Les Fous Rires de Bordeaux

Les Fous Rires de Bordeaux (March 18-25) is a very unique humor festival hosting more than 80 artists and different activities taking place all over the city. The festival is an opportunity to experience humor in different forms, such as live on stage, in pictures, and even through cooking! See the full program here.

When: March 18-25 / Where: Different locations in Bordeaux

Swing Art Festival

Every March, for more than a decade now, Bordeaux has been hosting the Swing Art Festival (March 23-26) where swing dancers come from all around the globe to teach the dancers of Bordeaux their art of Swinging.

The program includes a lot of dancing, live music, art, vintage markets, workshops, and more. The event takes place at la Halle des Chartrons and it’s Free! For more details click here.

When: March 23-26 / Where: 10 Place du Marché Chartrons, 33000

Fête les Vins kms de Saint-Emilion

Les Vins Kms de Saint-Emilion is a walking and running race of 11 km, 21km, and 40k, taking place at the stunning village of Saint Emilion. The event starts at Château Soutard, one of Saint Emilion’s most popular wineries. The event takes place on March 26.

See the full program here.

Check out my article about all the wineries I recommend visiting in Saint Emilion.

When: March 26 / Where: Saint Emilion

Exhibitions and concerts not to miss this month in Bordeaux

Go to a concert at Arkea Arena

Arkea Arena is the place to go to if you want to see big concerts in Bordeaux. The program in March includes the Irish Celtic, an electronic music festival, Stromae, and more. See the full program here.

Dali and Gaudi – Les Bassins de Lumières

Les Bassins de Lumières is hosting a new exhibition and I’m sure it’s going to be amazing as usual! This time the exhibition is dedicated to Dali and Gaudi. Les Bassins de Lumières is a visual arts space, situated in an old submarine base, that is known for its immersive exhibitions.

You can see a video I took in their previous exhibitions just to get the vibe. The new exhibition will be presented from February 3 to January 7, get your tickets here.

When: February 3 – January 7, 2024 / Where: Imp. Brown de Colstoun, 33300 Bordeaux

Street are at L’institue Bernard Magrez

L’institue Bernard Magrez is a beautiful chateau in Bordeaux that regularly host street art exhibitions and events. Currently, there are three different street art exhibitions presented at the gallery. You can visit the chateau only on weekends. Buy tickets here.

What’s happening in other parts of the SW of France in March 2023

Piano Festival

The town of Saintes is hosting its annual Piano festival on March 3-4. The festival will take place at the Abbaye aux Dames, one of the highlights of this beautiful town in the Charentes Maritimes department. See more details and tickets here.

When: March 3-4 / Where: 11 Place de l’Abbaye, 17100 Saintes

Sarlat en Périgord Fest’oie (Goose Festival)

Every first weekend of March, the town of Sarlat is hosting the Goose festival. In the program, you find live music, great food, a big market, tours of the historic city, and more. The event will take place on March 4-5. See more details here.

When: March 4-5 / Where: Sarlat, Dordogne

South Town Jazz Festival

The South Town Jazz festival is an annual festival taking place in Soustons, a charming beach town in the Landes department. The festival will take place on March 20-25. For more info and tickets click here.

When: March 20-25 / Where: Soustons

Is it your first time in Bordeaux?

If it is you should definitely check out my ultimate guide to Bordeaux to get familiar with all the must-see places in the city. To help you choose a hotel I’ve gathered a list of the best hotels in the center of Bordeaux as well as a guide to the districts of Bordeaux to help you find your preferred AirBnB location.

If you need more tips for things to do in the SW of France I invite you to join my Facebook group ” Travel in the South West of France“. Also, every Friday I send a newsletter with plenty of additional events you can enjoy during the weekend, so hurry up and subscribe to my email list now 🙂

You can also get plenty of tips on things to do in the Southwest of France via lost in Bordeaux’s social media accounts and email list, check them out here:

Facebook |Instagram |Email | Facebook group

In Weekend plans

This Weekend in Bordeaux (April 5-7)

Last updated on April 11, 2019 No Comments

We’re back again to a weekend filled with interesting and fun events. And the timing is great as it’s supposed to be a bit cold this weekend, so going to the beach isn’t going to be an option. So what do we have this weekend? A lot of wine, coffee and sales of clothes, bicycles and antiques. Here’s the list of things to do this weekend in Bordeaux (April 5-7).

Open doors in Médoc

To celebrate the beginning of the spring the Maison du Tourisme et du Vin de Pauillac will hold an open doors weekend on April 6-7. During the weekend you can visit plenty of châteaux in the Medoc region and taste some of the finest wines in the world. For details about all the participating chateaux click here.

If you want to know more about the event, you should read my post about the Open doors weekend.

When: April 6-7 / Where: different locations (see the site)

Vide-greniers des Bordelais

One of my favorite things to do in France is to wander around vide greniers (the French version of a garage sale) discover what French people hold in their homes and buy a lot of stuff I don’t really need at ridiculously low prices. On April 7, more than 20 vide-greniers will take place all over the city. The vide grenier on Barrière Judaïque will take place on April 6-7. Check out the list of all the locations here.

When: April 7 / Where: different locations (see the site)

Tauzia Fête les Jardins

Tauzia is a gardening festival that takes place on April 5-7 at the Tauzia chateau in Gradignan. The event, which received a great amount of interest from the Bordelaise public last year, is full of events and activities for gardening enthusiasts. It will bring together more than 80 exhibitors specialized in the world of plants: plant producers, landscape designers, artists, collectors, horticulturists and in general people with exceptional knowledge of plants. You will be able to buy plants, flowers and shrubs in the beautiful English park of Chateau Tauzia and also get advice from the specialists on how to maintain your garden. See more details here.

When: April 5-7 / Where: Château de Tauzia, 216 Cours du Général de Gaulle, 33170 Gradignan

Festival Porcelaine caféinée

A fun café festival is about to take place this weekend in Bordeaux (April 5-6). The festival is dedicated to the famous Limoges Porcelain and to the growing scene of specialty coffee in Bordeaux. During these two days many coffee workshops, meetings and interesting conferences will take place at the Rez de Chaussee (a creative space in Chartrons) as well as in many coffee places in Bordeaux such as Cofete B, L’alchimiste, Kuro, Cafe Laiton and more. For more info and registration to the workshops click here.

I have recently written an article about some of these great coffee shops, so if you want to know more about the coffee scene in Bordeaux then click here.

piha cafe bordeaux — photo by: Laura Macias

When: April 5-6 / Where: different locations around the city

Le Grand Air

A big skateboard competition will take place this Saturday (April 6) in Darwin. The competition includes three categories: Junior (- de 18 ans), Senior (+ de 18 ans) and Master (+ de 40 ans) and it will start at 10:30. The event will open its doors to the wide public at 13:30 for a fun afternoon with music and different skateboard related activities. For more info click here.

When: Apri 6 / Where: 87 quai des Queyries, 33100 Bordeaux

Convention Tattoo Bordeaux

The international tattoo convention in Bordeaux will take place on the weekend of April 6-7 in Hangar 14, which is located at Quai des Chartrons. The program includes a tattoo contest, expositions, live concerts and different activities such as juggling and break-dancing. For more info click here.

When: April 6-7 / Where: Hangar 14, 115 Quai des Chartrons, 33000 Bordeaux

Marché des Créateurs Recycleurs

This weekend (April 5-7) a creative market will take place at the Atelier d’éco Solidaire. All the designers selling their creations at the event create their products from recycled materials so it’s a very environmentally friendly event. For more details click here.

When: April 5-7 / Where: 7 rue de la Motte Picquet, 33300 Bordeaux

Esclave du livre (literature festival)

Esclave du livre is a literature association whose goal is to promote reading and support the creation of new literature. They invite you on April 5-7to take part in a literature festival that will bring together authors and illustrators for debates, public readings, performances and discovering pieces that haven’t been published yet. For more info click here.

When: April 5-7 / Where: Place Renaudel – Quartier Ste Croix , Bordeaux

Festival Musical Écran

Festival Musical Écran is a very unique film festival all dedicated to documentaries about music. The festival will take place on April 7-14 in different places in Bordeaux: Cinéma Utopia, Cour Malby, Bibliothéque Mériadeck, Institut Cervantes and Université de Bordeaux Campus Victoire. For the program and all the details click here.

When: April 7-14 / Where: different locations, see the program

Free museums Sunday

Like in most cities in France, the first Sunday of the month is a free museums day. You have a free entrance to all the public museums and to most exhibitions. Check out the full list of museums in Bordeaux that you can visit for free this Sunday.

Bicycle spring sale

Are you looking to buy or sell a bicycle, the big spring bicycle sale is just around the corner. The Bordeaux bicycle stock exchange will take place this Sunday(April 1) at Quai Louis XVIII. Those who wish to sell their bike can do it between 9:30 and 11am and the buyers will be able to start buying after 10am. For more click here. Check on leboncoin before you go, as prices are not always cheap..

When: April 7 (9:30 to 13:30) /Where: Quai Louis XVIII

Marché aux fleurs à Eysines

This Saturday (April 6) the city of Eysines will host its first flower market at la Grande Place du Bourg. For more details click here.

When: April 6 / Where: Grande place du bourg

Buy clothes at the Grande Braderie

Le Relais Gironde will hold a clearance sale this Saturday (April 6) where you can buy clothes, shoes, bags and more. This event is quite big and you can find many interesting and useful items for very cheap prices. For more details click here.

When: Apri 6 / Where: 517 boulevard Alfred Daney, Bordeaux

EXHIBITIONS

Itinéraires des Photographes Voyageurs – photography festival

The 29th edition of the “traveling photographers routes” festival is taking place on April 2-28. During one month, 18 photography exhibitions will be presented at the main cultural institutions in the city, among them, the Rocher de Palmer in Cenon, the Bibliothèque Grand Parc, Espace Saint-Rémi and others. Get the full list of all artists and more info about the event here.

When: April 2 -28 / Where: Different locations in Bordeaux (see program)

The Reopening of the Museum of Natural History of Bordeaux

After years of renovations the museum of natural history of Bordeaux opened its doors on March 31. Created in 1971, the museum has one of the biggest collections in France with more than a million specimens. Everyone seems to be very excited about it so check it out.

When: Starting March 31 / Where: 5 place Bardineau, 33000 Bordeaux

When art and design take on glass

A new temporary exhibition was inaugurated at the Cité du Vin in March. The exhibition beautifully combines the wine and glass worlds. It includes the works of several glass designers who all modified and reinvented wine glasses and bottles. For more details click here.

When: March 15 – June 30 /Where: Esplanade de Pontac, 134 quai de Bacalan, 33300 Bordeaux

If you’re into travelling this weekend, get inspired by my post about day trips you can do from Bordeaux by train.

That’s all for this weekend! If you’re not on my email list yet, join me and get more exclusive tips about Bordeaux – subscribe here!

If you want to know what other events are taking place this month in the city, check out my post about the 15 things not miss in April in Bordeaux.

In Weekend plans

Things to do this weekend in Bordeaux 6-8 April

Last updated on April 8, 2018 2 Comments

There are a few big events and festivals this weekend, among them the open doors weekend in Médoc, the wine festival in Blaye and the vide greniers of Bordeaux which will take place all around the city. This is also a great weekend for art, there’s an exciting street art exposition, a planetarium and a lot of photography.

There’s definitely a lot to wait for so without further ado, these are the things to do in Bordeaux in the weekend of April 6-8:

Special events

Open doors in Médoc

To celebrate the beginning of the spring the Maison du Tourisme et du Vin de Pauillac will hold an open doors weekend where you’ll be able to visit all chateaux of the Medoc region and do a lot of wine tasting. The events will take place April 7-8.

To learn about all the events and the chateaux that will participate in the open doors weekend read my post Portes ouvertes in the chateaux of Médoc.

When: April 7-8

Vide-greniers des Bordelais

One of my favorite things to do in France is to wander around vide greniers, discover what French people hold in their homes and buy a lot of stuff I don’t really need at ridiculously low prices. This weekend is a heaven for vide grenier fans. On April 8, more than 20 vide-greniers will take place all over the city. The vide grenier on Barrière Judaïque will take place April 7-8.

The locations are:

Bordeaux maritime: Place Saint Martial, Place Jean Cayrol (Ginko), Place Buscaillet

Chartrons – Grand Parc – Jardin public: Place Paul Doumer, Quai des Chartrons, Centre social du Grand-Parc, Cours Xavier Arnozan (côté Jardin Public), Rue Matignon

Centre ville: Barrière Judaïque (Saturday and Sunday), Place Pey Berland, Place des Martyrs de la Résistance

St Augustin – Tauzin – Alphonse Dupeux: Place Gaviniès, Place de la République, Rue Tanesse, Place de l’église

Nansouty – Saint-Genès: Square Liotard (jardin des Barrières), Rue Tanesse, Place Nansouty

Bordeaux Sud: Rue des Douves, Cours de l’Yser (entre 213 et 232), Place Dormoy, Rue Tanesse, Place Ferdinand Buisson

Caudéran: Parvis de l’église Saint-Amand, Parc Stéhélin, Barrière Judaïque (Saturday and Sunday).

For more details.

Culture

Street Color at Institut Bernard Magrez

An extensive street are exhibition will be presented from April 5 to June 24 at the Institut Bernard Magrez. The expo will include some well known street artists (mostly French ones), such as MAD C (GER), Seth (FRA), d’Alexöne (FRA) and more. This institute is a historic monument dated to the 18th century, so the combination of an ancient chateau with street art will most certainly add to the atmosphere of the exposition.

For more info and tickets.

seth-street-art merapi indonesia — Seth street art-Merapi Indonesia

Address: 16 rue de Tivoli, Bordeaux

Itinéraires des Photographes Voyageurs – photography festival

The 28th edition of the “travelling photographers routes” festival is taking place April 1-29. During this month, 17 photography expositions will be presented in the main cultural institutions of the city such as the Rocher de Palmer in Cenon, the Bibliothèque Grand Parc, Espace Saint-Rémi and others.

This weekend you will have the opportunity to hear the stories behind the pictures. On April 6-7 all of the institutions will hold meetings with the participating photographers that will take you through their journey.

Get the full list of all artists and more info about the event here.

04_©Didier Bizet_01 — Photo by: Didier Bizet

When: April 6-7

Movie screening of Babette Mangolte

The CAPC (museum of contemporary art of Bordeaux) presents the works of the French-American cinematographer Babette Mangolte as part of its program dedicated to film and video on April 4-8. The program will include the screenings of the Roof Piece (1973/2017) and Roof Piece on the High Line (2012), about the American dancer Trisha Brown. The films will be accompanied by an exhibition that will include her first films. For more info.

When: April 4-8
Where: 7 Rue Ferrere, 33000 Bordeaux

Artistes des 4 coins du monde

Hotel de ville de Bordeaux is currently presenting a photography exhibition of French artists originating from other countries around the globe, or as the name of the expo suggests from 4 corners of the world. For more details.

When: Until April 12.
Where: Hôtel de ville – Palais Rohan, Place Pey Berland33000 Bordeaux

Festivals and Salons

Festival Musical Écran

Festival Musical Écran ( April 1-8) is a very unique film festival all dedicated to documentaries about music. This year the program of the festival includes 20 films from four different countries. While the festival already started last weekend there are still plenty of interesting films in the program for the upcoming weekend. The screenings of all the remaining films will be in Cinéma Utopia.

When: April 1-8
Where: 5 Place Camille Jullian, 33000 Bordeaux.
How much: up to 10 €

The Blaye Spring Wine Festival

The Blaye Spring Wine Festival, will take place on April 7-8 at the Blaye Citadel. The annual wine festival brings together more than 80 winemakers with the goal to promote the diversity in the wine world. The program includes discovery workshops (introduction to tasting, mixing workshops and food and wine pairing), guided visits of the citadel, by train or horse and more. Childcare will be made available free of charge in order to allow also parents to enjoy this event.

For the full program and tickets.

When: April 7-8
Where: Citadelle de Blaye, 33390 Blaye

Esclave du livre (literature festival)

Esclave du livre is a literature association whose goal is to promote reading and to support the creation of new literature. On April 6-8 they will hold a literature festival that will bring together authors and illustrators for debates, public readings, performances and uncovering of pieces that haven’t been published yet.

When: April 6-8
Where: Place Renaudel – Quartier Ste Croix

Concerts/ Shows/ Games

Virginia Rodrigues in Cenon

Virginia Rodrigues, the Brazilian singer with the amazing voice will give one concert at Le Rocher de Palmer in Cenon on April 6.

When: April 6 / Where: 1 Rue Aristide Briand, 33152 Cenon

Ice Hockey match

Two Ice Hockey matches will be held on April 7-8 at the patinoire de mériadeck.

For more info and tickets.

When: April 7-8
Where: 95 Cours du Maréchal Juin, Bordeaux

Ensemble sax

More than 50 saxophonists will gather for four free concerts, conferences and masters classes at the “Ensemble sax” event April 5-8. Four of the 50 are famous personalities in the saxophone world: Dragan Sremec, Serge Bertocchi, Nicolas Prost, Frédéric Couderc.

The schedule of the event is the following:

April 5– 19h30- Conservatoire, salle Ravel : Sax Stories

April 6– 20h00 – Marché des Douves

April 7 – 19h30- Marché des Douves : Les saxophones Nouvelle-Aquitaine

April 8 – 17h00- Salle Saint-Maurice de Bègles

For more details.

With Kids

Ludofestival in Canejan

The Ludofestival in Canéjan is a game festival, which will take place April 2-12 and will have an art theme. During the festival families can participate in various competitions, try different games, meet their creators and more. For more info and the schedule about the 12 days festival see here.

When: April 2-12
Where: 8 chemin de Barbicadge ,33610 Canéjan

Planétarium in Cap Sciences

For the next two weeks (April 7-22) Cap Sciences invites your kids to discover and learn about the biggest mysteries of the universe. The planetarium will make simulations of the sky in real time and will reproduce it with more the 3000 stars, planets and galaxies. The visit to the planetarium is limited to kids older than 8. For ages 3 to 5, they will offer storytelling sessions . It is recommended to reserve tickets online as the sessions for the planetarium are limited to groups of only 19 people.

For more info and tickets.

stars — Photo by Kyle Gregory Devaras on Unsplash

When: April 7-22 (14h15, 15h, 15h45)
Where: Hangar 20, Quai de Bacalan, 33300 Bordeaux

Drinking/ Fooding/ Shopping

Per Kilo sale in Amos

Amos, the solidarity shop will hold its annual per kilo sale in April 5-7 in their Marignac shop. The price of a clothing article will be defined by its weight: 5€ per kilo. See more details.

When: April 5-7
Where: 208 Avenue d’Arès, 33700 Mérignac

Atelier de Boulangerie

Learn how to make different types of bread: pain de campagne, bread with nuts, cereals, figs and more. In this workshop, hosted by Kweezine on April 7, you will learn how to knead, weigh, shape and bake bread. you will discover all the tricks that will enable you to recreate the recipes at home.

For more details and tickets.

50s and 60s music party

On April 7 There will be a Vicious Soul party at Quartier Libre. The party will be dedicated to 50s and the 60s music. The lovers of the period can enjoy some Rhythm and Blues, Rock’n’Roll, Soul music and punk from the 60s.

For more details.

When: April 7 at 9pm
Where: 30 rue des Vignes, 33800 Bordeaux

Hope you’ll have a productive weekend full of wine, art and shopping! Have fun and share your impressions from the events in the comments below. Thanks!

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