The minute I arrived in Bordeaux, I fell in love. It’s so beautiful; a wonderful mix of old and new, small enough to walk to most places, it feels safe and everyone seemed friendly and welcoming.

We were only here for a few days and stayed at the Hotel Particulier:

The hotel had mixed reviews but we chose it because of its location and the fact that it had family rooms; we also liked that it had some outdoor space.

I think the rooms for couples are meant to be much nicer but our room definitely needed an update. Also the outside area was disappointing due to the strong smell of laundry being done, so I’m not sure I’d recommend this hotel to others! That being said, the staff on the front-desk were really helpful and the location really couldn’t have been better as it’s just down the street from the cathedral:

Without much of a ‘to-do’ list we stumbled upon the art gallery:

…and then the most interesting building:

This is the Palais de Justice (the law courts) by Sir Richard Rogers. Amazingly, each of the 7 wooden pods houses a court room.

Being completely intrigued (aswell as nosy) and rather smitten, we decided to see if we could get a closer look and surprisingly, after a friendly chat with security (and a security check) we were allowed in for a closer look. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before; a mix of industrial functionality and organic forms. It was so interesting:

There’s also a pretty good view to be had:

I should note though that visitors are not allowed in the court rooms (the interior pic above was cheekily taken through the porthole window). For further info about the building itself click here.

In contrast, we then took a walk to what used to be the entrance gate to Medieval Bordeaux; the Cailhau Gate:

It’s like something out of a fairytale; you can understand why it’s one of the most photographed parts of Bordeaux.

This city is one of those cities you don’t mind getting lost in; it delivers the goods around every corner, day or night:

One of our favourite hang-outs was the rooftop of the Mama Shelter hotel:

Food can be found better elsewhere in the City but we loved it for drinks and views.

We were also keen to see the wine museum building (Cite du vin) so  hopped in a taxi and headed out of the historical centre:

As we had the kids in tow, we decided against going around the museum (also it’s really expensive) but it was worth it just to see the building. You can also go into the library where you get a good view of the Jaqueline Chaban-Delmas Bridge:

There are also some little gems outside the museum:

If you’re looking for a great city break, I don’t think you can go wrong with Bordeaux. It’s definitely going on my ‘return-to’ list.

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