Finally the spring is getting near and we can start planning the early spring weekends of March. As usual, Bordeaux gives us plenty of options to eat, drink, dance, expositions and kids activities. While I plan to update you weekly with detailed  activities in Bordeaux , this list summarizes the main events in March 2018 so that you can plan your weekends ahead of time.

Carnaval des 2 rives 2018

Le Carnaval des 2 rives  (4 March)  takes place on both sides of the Garonne river. This is a modern festival (created in 1996) that has all the best features of a traditional carnival such as costumes, shows and a big parade. This year the artistic side will be in the hands of a famous French graphic artist and designer named Guillaumit, who has released an app for the festival that will allow the public to participate in the design of the costumes of the dancers, masks, posters and more. You can download the app here.

The parade will start at 14:00 at the Allée Serr, on the right side of the river and will pass to the other side through Pont de Pierre ending at the Village Carnival at Place Pey-Berland at 15:30. The Village Carnaval will be open until 18:00 with a big scene with dancers and demonstrations of augmented reality.
This a perfect event for kids!

La Foire aux Plaisirs de Bordeaux

This is the spring edition of the traditional Bordelais Fair that is taking place at Place des Quinconces  from 23 February to 25 March. 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: big wheel, roller coasters, ghost trains, bumper cars, donuts, crèpes, barbes à papa and more.

The entry to the fair is Free and it’s open daily from the 14pm.

Les Puces Bordelaises 

Les Puces Bordelaise  (3-4 March) is the spring brocante of Bordeaux which will take place in the first weekend of March in Parc des expositions. Experts and antique lovers gather around in a happening of French antiques, second hand trade, vintage decoration and furniture. 

Salon des vins des Vignerons Indépendants de Bordeaux 

The Salon des vins of the Bordeaux independent wine makers  (2-4 March) will take place on the first weekend of March in the Congrés et Expositions de Bordeaux in the Bordeaux Lac area. Wine producers from the region will present their wine and will invite you to a free taste . This event is not focused on professionals but rather on all wine lovers! Come prepared to drink a lot.

Bordeaux Beer Festival 

This is the first beer festival in Bordeaux (8-10 March) , organized by the Beer Family, which is a group of partners (bars, restaurants, clubs and local French shops) such as  Le Sherlock ,  La Casa, Le Théâtro and the Bordeaux Beer Factory.
The festivals is full of fun activities such as workshops of beer makers, concerts in the partner bars and sale of special beers that you wouldn’t normally find in your local bar.

You can find all the prices and the places where tickets can be purchases on the facebook page of the event.

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.

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 provides the opportunity to experience humor in different forms, such as 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 program here.

Bordeaux Marathon

The Marathon  (24 March) takes place in the historic city center, allowing the runners to cross all the historic sites and some of Bordeaux’s biggest wineries. The Marathon will start at 20:00 which makes it even more special as runners can see the city by night with special decorations just for the event.  Most of us are probably not in shape for the 10km run, but that should not prevent us from enjoying the atmosphere in the city as well as seeing others run 🙂

Concerts and shows:

With the opening of the beautiful new Bordeaux Métropole Arena in Floriac this January, the cultural life in Bordeaux has been flourishing.  The opening show was no other than Depeche mode and since then the list of the most popular acts has been growing from day to day. Here are some of the most popular acts scheduled for March. French people love their cultural life and the tickets are selling fast, so hurry up if you want to see one of these shows.

Lac des Cygnes  

The famous Swan Lake ballet (4 March), performed by the Saint-Petersburg Ballet Theater will arrive in Bordeaux for one show at the Bordeaux Métropole Arena. Swan Lake is one the symbols of Russian ballet, making it a great cultural experience. 

Jamel Debbouze 

Jamel Debbouze, one of France’s most successful comedians today will give a stand-up show at the new Bordeaux Métropole Arena (7 March).

Dirty Dancing  

Those of us brought up in the 80s and the 90s cannot escape the nostalgic feeling when hearing the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, so what’s better than seeing those sexy moves on stage (22 March). I admit that hearing the dialogues in French might be  a bit strange, but I’m sure that the music, the costumes and the dance routines will make up for it. The musical will be performed at the Bordeaux Arena as well.

There are many other great shows, concerts and musicals in the Bordeaux Métropole Arena, so check out their program of events.

 Art

Pilleur de rêves- Philippe Mohlitz  

Philippe Moritz is a engraving Bordelaise artist. The exhibition (2 March – 4 June 2018) that will take place in the Musée des Beaux-Arts art in Bordeaux will include about 40 works of the artist.  

Base Sous-Marine 

After 4 months of renovation the incredible Base sous- Marine reopens its doors to the public on March 9, with a launch of a new exhibition and a new space of 480m2.  This is one of the most unique places you can find in Bordeaux. Built by the Germans during the second World War, this old submarine has been converted into a space dedicated to contemporary arts, which allows you to enjoy the space itself no less than the art presented there. The program this year varies between digital arts, street art and visual arts.

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 that day. Among the many places that will probably celebrate it in some way, there are two that have already announced live music and lots of beer specially for Saint Patrick’s day:

Fête de la Saint Patrick

in Espace d’Ornon – 16 March.

B11 La Bodega

in Mérignac – will celebrate St. Patrick with the Booze Brother on 17 March.

As we’ll approach the St. Patrick’s day more bars will probably announce some special events. In any case, closer to that date we’ll publish a full list of Irish bars in and around Bordeaux were you’ll be able to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. So keep an eye on our next posts to be updated.

These are some of the biggest and interesting events that will take place in Bordeaux in March, so as you see the schedule is quite packed. However, if you know of any other event, concert, festival or exhibition that I’ve missed please let us know in the comments bellow!

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