TO / FROM THE AIRPORT
The airport is 10 km (6 miles) from the city center and next to the ring road
which provides access to four motorways. Jet'Bus links the train station and
place Gambetta with the airport at regular intervals from early to late. The
trip takes about 45 minutes.
BUS
The bus station is at Allèe de Chartres, north east of Place de Tourny.
Buses leave here for places all over the Gironde. Tel. 05 5643 6843. Citrame
Aquitane runs most buses to destinations in the Gironde. Their information kiosk
is at the Halte Routière. The Eurolines office faces the train station.
The Bordeaux tourist office has half day bus tours after lunch to local chateaux
on Wednesday and Saturday.
CITRAM buses go to Saint Emilion five times a day. A transfer may be required
at Lisbourne. There is also a train (see details below).
Bordeaux' urban buses are run by CGFTE; tickets and information are available
at the train station, place Gambetta (4 rue Georges Bonnac) and place Jean Jaurês.
Buses No 7 and 8 link the train station with the city centre; line No 1 runs
along the waterfront from the train station north to Le Croiseur Colbert and
beyond.
Night buses run when major events are on and on weekends between Place de la
Victoire and the nightclub zone on Quai de Paludate.
TRAINS
Gare Saint Jean is the train station in Bordeaux. It is 3km south east of the
city centre at the end of Cours de a Marne. Tel. 08 3635 3539
The TGV Atlantique is a 3 hour ride to Paris' Gare Montparnasse. Non TGV trains
arrive at Gare d'Austerlitz.
Destinations include Paris' Gare Montparnasse (16 daily, a three-hour trip),
Bayonne, Nantes, Poitiers, La Rochelle and Toulouse. For Saint Emilion a train
departs at 7.10am (9.10am on Sunday) and 1.30pm. There is also a bus (see details
above).
CAR / MOTORCYCLE
All the big car rental companies have offices in the train station building.
A car may be a good option to visit some of the vineyards in the Bordeaux region.
Auto Europe has worldwide car rental services including coverage of France. They
also have scheduled air from the USA to Europe, 2,000+ three and four star hotels,
prestige and sports car rentals, hotel bookings, chauffeur drive and transfer
services, European and South Pacific Motorhome Rentals, and European cellular
phone rentals. Go to Auto Europe for more information.
Parking in the city centre is hard to find and pricey. Places to look for free
spaces include the side streets north of the Musée d'Art Contemporain
and west of the Jardin Public. Many hotels provide parking for a fee, and there
are large parking lots to the north of esplanade des Quinconces and opposite
place de la Bourse.
BICYCLES AND OTHER MEANS
Bicycles, in-line skates and scooters can be rented on the waterfront. There
are also electric-powered bicycles and multilingual talking bikes that give 2-hour
tours of the city. For les exertion try the trottinettes (scooters
you ride standing up).
TICKETS
You can generally buy bus tickets from the driver. Train tickets must be purchased
from the sales windows at train stations or from vending machines before boarding.
They must also be validated before boarding the train. The Bordeaux Découverte card
is available at the tourist office and allows unlimited travel for one, three
and six days.
