This Saturday is going to be a very busy day in Bordeaux with Saint Patrick’s celebrations, several workshops for kids and a carnival. Besides that the weekend is full of great events such as swing and jazz festivals, a Swan Lake ballet and more. So here is the full list of the most interesting events for the weekend of 16-18 March.
CULTURE
Photography exhibition – Valérie Belin
An expo of Valérie Belin, one of France’s greatest photographers is presented in Institute Culturel Bernard Magrez , which is a beautiful chateau in the middle of Bordeaux. If you want to go with kids, better do it on Saturday (17 March) at 15:00, as the place will hold a creative workshop for kids and adults by the name of “Rêves animaliers”. The expo is open until March 25, so hurry up.
Address: 16 rue de Tivoli, Bordeaux
Remigio ROSANI – Exhibition
An Exhibition of the Italian artist Remogio Rosani will take place at the Musée de la Création Franche in Begles (16 March- 28 May 2018). His brightly colored drawings are executed in oil pastel and the dominant theme in his work is hedonism and carnal relationships.
Address: 58 avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny ,33130 Bègles
CONCERTS/ SHOWS:
Lac des Cygnes
I already mentioned the famous Swan Lake ballet that was performed by the Saint-Petersburg Ballet on March 4 in my “What to do in March” post. For those who missed this beautiful ballet you now have a second chance to see it in Bordeaux. The Russian National Opera will perform the Swan Lake ballet on March 16 at the Bordeaux Métropole Arena.
Address: 48-50 Avenue Jean Alfonséa, 33270 Floirac
Pleymo – metal concert in Cenon
Pleymo is a French metal group that raised to fame some two decades ago . For their 20th anniversary they will perform on March 16 at the Rocher de Palmer in Cenon.
Address: Rocher de Palmer, 1 rue Aristide Briand, 33150 CENON
FESTIVALS:
Swing Festival
Every March in the last 11 years Bordeaux has been hosting the Swing Art Festival (16-18 March) when swing dancers come from all around the globe to teach the dancers of Bordeaux their art of Swinging. However this festival is much more than just swing dancing, it’s three days of live music, art, vintage markets, workshop and a get together of many people from all around the world to celebrate this sweeping dance. It will take place in and around Halle des Chartrons and it’s Free!
This year the concept of the festival is “Drink & Draw” with the aim to create an interaction between the dancers, the artists and the public and will feature a big vintage sale, different exhibitions of photography and design, plastic art workshops and more.
1,2,3 Musique! Festival
The 10th edition of this Classical music and Jazz festival takes place in Talence on 13 – 24 March. This year the program of the festival includes acts like Irish Spirit, “Nougaro Revival” by Garanou and a Beethoven evening with the Talence music school.
Les Fous Rires de Bordeaux
Les Fous Rires de Bordeaux (17-24 March) is a very unique humor festival with more than 80 artists participating 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!!
There are two parts to the festival:
Festival IN, with well known artists on stage.
Festival OUF– that proposes free activities during the whole week of the festival such as workshops, happenings, entertaining children in hospitals and more.
See the full program here.
WITH KIDS
Atelier de Peinture sur céramique
Planète Céramique in Le Bouscat offers a great way to entertain the kids right before Paques. In a ceramic workshop, that will take place on March 17, kids will color their own ceramic plate for Paques. The price is 16 euros, open to kids from 7 years old up.
Address: 172 avenue de la Libération 33110 Le Bouscat
Superheros Carnival in Langon
The annual carnival of Langon will take place on March 17 at 13:30 at Place des Carmes and continue with a parade, accompanied by the Brazilian band Ozabumba. This fun day will also feature dance, costumes and musical shows.
Take a look on the full program.
Address: place des Carmes, Langon, 33210
Drinking and Fooding:
Fête du Printemps au Petit Grain
Le Petit Grain in quartier Saint-Croix are welcoming the spring on March 17 with special workshops , DIY events, concerts , shows and a lot of food and drinks. You can learn cooking, planting, fixing your bike, see a cabaret show and finish this busy day with a free meal.
See the full program.
Address: 3 Place Dormoy, 33800 Bordeaux
Workshop Brunch Scandinave
Kweezine (a platform for culinary discoveries) is hosting a workshop of Scandinavian cuisine (18 March), which will combine a chef class and a Scandinavian themed brunch.
Address: 9 Rue André Darbon, 33000 Bordeaux, France
Saint Patrick’s day
Saint Patrick’s day is always a good opportunity to get drunk from an Irish beer or whisky while listening to good music. But since we are in Bordeaux and not in Dublin, you should know where to go in order to enjoy the day.
Irish and English Pubs in Bordeaux
There are plenty of Irish and English Pubs in Bordeaux that have already announced they will hold Saint Patrick’s events. For that occasion, I’ve made a detailed post of all the places where you can celebrate that in Bordeaux. See the full list of Pubs.

Fête de la Saint Patrick
Live Music in Espace d’Ornon – 16 March.
B11 La Bodega
in Mérignac – will celebrate St. Patrick with the Booze Brother on 17 March.
Let us know in the comments if there are other interesting events in Bordeaux and its surrounding that we’ve missed! Or if you have suggestions for nice spots people can visit on the weekends, please share it with us 🙂
Enjoy the weekend!