This weekend in Bordeaux (October 19-21)

The most beautiful event this weekend will surely be the flying balloons festival in Saint-Emilion. But with this amazing fall season outside, there’s no lack of great outdoor activities such as collecting mushrooms in the forest, the Bordeaux Fair and an Autumn festival in the Médoc. If you loved the open doors weekend in the Châteaux of Médoc, this weekend you can enjoy a similar event in the Graves wine area. Besides all of these, there are fun events like the swing festival, the ancient books salon and plenty of music and exhibitions. Here is the list of things to do in and around Bordeaux this weekend (October 19-21):

Montgolfiades de Saint-Emilion

Montgolfiades is an annual festival of balloon flights organized by Le Ciel est à Toi association. The flights will take place on October 19-21 above Saint-Emilion and the vineyards around it, so the sight is promised to be breathtaking. For more info click here.

When: October 19-21
Where: Bordeaux, Merignac, Talence, Pessac and more – check out the full program

Bordeaux Swing Festival

The international festival of Lindy hop (part of the Swing family) will take place on October 19-21 in the Bordeaux region and this year they have invited a special guest, one of biggest stars in the the New York swing scene – Gordon Webster. Two swing parties will take place at the beautiful le Rocher de Palmer in Cenon, with a battle between the Gordon Webster Hot Swing Sextet bands. The program of the festival also includes 7 hours of classes with 11 international teachers. For more details check out the website of the festival.

When: October 19-21
Where: Different locations in Bordeaux – check out the full program

Open doors in the Chateaux of Graves wines

Graves, one of the wine regions in the Bordeaux wine area (appellation d’origine contrôlée) invites you to an open door weekend, allowing you to discover its wines and châteaux. During the weekend (October 20-21) 69 châteaux will open their doors to visits, wine tastings, wine workshops and different activities for kids and adults. See the full program of the event and the list of the participating châteaux here.

When: October 20-21
Where: Graves area – chose your chateau from the program

Fest’O’Tone 2018

The 4th edition of the Fest’O’Tone festival will take place this Saturday (October 20) in the Salle Socio Culturelle in Listrac Médoc. The festive evening will include a line up of concerts (JEKO, GOLDEN PARACHUTE, ALAM, TRIBALIZER), a sculpture exhibition, a bar and a wine tasting space. For more info and tickets click here.

When: October 20,  19:00 to 1:30
Where: Chemin du stade, 33480 Listrac-Médoc

FAB – International art festival

FAB is the annual International art festival of Bordeaux Metropole taking place this year on October 5-24. As one of Europe’s biggest art festivals it attracts some known names from the international contemporary art scene. During the three weeks of the festival more than 30 shows will take place in more than 20 different locations in Bordeaux, from the TnBA theater to the Opera of Bordeaux and the Base Sous Marine. Click here to see the full program of the festival.

When: October 5-24
Where: Different locations in Bordeaux – check out the program,

Foire aux Plaisirs

This is the fall edition of the traditional Bordelaise Fair that is taking place at Place des Quinconces  from October 12 to November 4. 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, a roller coasters, ghost trains, bumper cars, donuts, crèpes, barbes à papa and more. The fair is open daily from 14:00, you are not required to pay any entry fee, only for some of the attractions. See more info about the fair here.

When: October 12 – November 4
Where:Place des Quinconces , 33000 Bordeaux

Explore the city on the National Architecture days

The National Architecture days are a great opportunity so discover the city in a more profound way and learn about the buildings you see every day in Bordeaux. One association that offers guided tours in different areas in Bordeaux are Tout Art Faire. During this weekend (October 19-20) they will offer 3 different guided tours: around Pey Berland, a thematic tour about art deco in Bordeaux and one on Neoclassic Bordeaux. For more details about the tours click here.

When: October 19-21
Where: See locations in the program

Sunday Party – Bordeaux Swing

This event is basically the after party of the Swing festival taking place in Bordeaux this weekend. The I-BOAT invites you to a swing party that will end the events of the festival in Bordeaux on October 21. The program includes 2 DJ sets on both floors of the IBOAT, live music, vintage dressing and more. The tickets are included in the Bordeaux swing festival pass, or 10€ without the pass. The IBOAT is one of the coolest concert venues in Bordeaux so if you haven’t been there yet, it’s a good opportunity to check it out. For more details about the event click here.

When: October 21, at 19:00
Where: Quai Armand Lalande, 33300 Bordeaux,

O’VIVES

Les Chantiers de la Garonne together with Darwin, two of the best places in Bordeaux to go to on weekends, invite you for the third edition of  O’Vives. The event revolves around environmental sensitivity and will include music, talks, an exhibition, yoga, DIY workshops and more. For details  and the full program click here. The event is free.

When: October 20, from 14:00
Where: 21 quai des queyries, 33100 Bordeaux

Take your kids to collect mushrooms in Pessac

This is the time of the year where you start seeing the little colorful mushroom heads in the forest. This Saturday (October 20) you and your family could join the mycologists of C.E.M.A. (Cercle d’Études Mycologiques en Aquitaine) in the field and explore the world of mushrooms. This fun activity will take place in Forêt du Bourgailh in Pessac and will of course include the collection of mushrooms, thus a basket and a knife are a must. The activity is open to kids over 8 years old, the prices are 8€ for adults and 3€ for kids. Reserve your place and buy tickets here.

When: October 20, at 14:00
Where: 160 Avenue de Beutre, 33600 Pessac (at the Jardins du Bourgailh)

Autumn in the Garden

As part of the “fête des jardins partagés” celebrations initiated by Bordeaux Métropole, the cultural center Saint-Exupéry organized a fun event called “Automne aux jardins” that will take place this Saturday (October 20). This colorful event will include culinary activities, a gardeners stand, flower plantation and more. The event is free. For more info click here.

When: October 20, from 14:00 to 18:00
Where: Impasse Yvon Mansencal, 33140 Villenave d’Ornon

The Salon of Ancient and Modern Books

The biggest book event in the South west of France will take place this weekend (October 20-21) in Halle des Chartrons. This salon of ancient and modern books proposes something for every genre lover from travelling guides, to kids literature, science books, comics and much more. This is a heaven for book worms as alongside the famous ancient and modern literature you can find rare editions, old newspapers, illustrations and plenty of other surprises. The entrance is free, for more details click here.

When: October 20-21, from 10:00 to 19:00
Where: Place du marché des Chartrons, 33000 Bordeaux

Jazz night in Cenac

Soirée Jazz360 is a music event that will take place this Saturday (October 20) in Cenac with a Jazz Quartet taking the stage of the Salle culturelle de Cénac. For more details click here.

When: October 20, at 19:00
Where: Salle culturelle de Cénac

Malmoré

d’Angélique de Chabot is a young artist who creates beautiful little monsters from a variety of materials and creatures, like crustaceans and feathered beasts. In the last few months she has been obsessively collecting branches fallen from trees, oyster shells and rare bird feathers to create this exhibition. The exhibition is presented in the beautiful Château Malromé in the entre-deux-mers area, which quite often hosts great art exhibitions. The exhibition will be presented until December 16. See more info on the facebook page of the event or the website of the chateau.

When: October 6 – December 16
Where: Château Malromé, 33490 Saint-André-du-Bois

Photography Celebration

This is the 6th edition of Fête de la photo  with more than 70 different photography exhibitions that will be presented  this Saturday (October 20) at Galerie François Mitterrand and salle Raymond Bonnot in Saint-Seurin-sur-l’Isle.  Besides the photos themselves, the event will include workshops and a photos sale. The event is free, for more details click here.

When: October 20, from 9:00
Where: Salle Bonnot et François Mitterrand. 33660 SAINT-SEURIN-SUR-L’ISLE

PROXIMA exhibition

The Proxima exhibitions is one of the main events of the space month in Bordeaux and will be presented at the Médiathèque de Mérignac from October 5th to October 26. Throughout the exhibition you will discover how astronauts prepare for their missions in space, the effects of weightlessness on their body and how their daily life looks like while they’re on mission. For more details check out the facebook page of the exhibition. Click here to see what other events are part of the space month in Bordeaux.

When: October 5-26
Where: 19 Place Charles de Gaulle, 33700 Mérignac

La générosité de Dorcas – dance show

The TNBA theater will host 2 dance shows by the French creator, Jan Fabre and his dancer Matteo Sedda. The show la Générosité de Dorcas will take place on October 19-20. For more details and tickets click here.

La générosité de Dorcas – Jan Fabre from TnBA on Vimeo.

When: October 19 at 21:00 and October 20 at 18:00
Where: Tnba, Place Renaudel, 33800 BORDEAUX

Hope you enjoyed the list! Now don’t be shy, share it with your friends!

If you have kids and you have no idea what to do with them during the school break – check out my list of ideas for the fall break of 2018.

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Have a great weekend!