Have you ever dreamed of a French cultural immersion experience in the southwest of France? Five adventurous volunteers from La Giraudiere did and share there experience here.

Pieter Brueghel (1564-1638). dans l’aile sud at the Bordeaux Museum of Arts

The culturally vibrant city of Bordeaux is an art lover’s playground, filled with grand architecture, elaborate bridges, sculptures, museums, galleries, and fine art that spans the ages. With that in mind, a group of five La Giraudiere volunteers in southwest France set out for a weekend visit to what is often referred to as the “Little Paris”, Bordeaux.

Traveling by Train:

La Giraudiere – Volunteers in Southwest France: Chalais Train Station

 We were dropped off at the nearby Chalis “gare” (train station), where we were well on our way. The trip took little over one hour as the train passed through rural towns and villages before arriving at the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean, the main railway statin in Bordeaux.

After a quick stop at the nearby tourist office, where we bought a two day city pass for 30 euros, we set a meet up time for the evening]s dinner and split up into different groups. As for myself, I decided to go solo.

Map of the south of France in the Bordeaux Saint-Jean Train Station

Travel Tip – Buy the Bordeaux City Pass

I would highly recommend buying the Bordeaux City pass for one to three days.  It provides access to museums and temporary exhibitions, guided tours, etc., and unlimited use of all forms of public transportation, for example the tram, bus or boat shuttle.  It offers a  “hands free” use, as you will not need to take out any money or sign for a credit card. Instead, you can enjoy the convenience of just flashing a card.

I used the city pass to enjoy such sites as:

• The Aquitaine Museum or Musée d’Aquitaine, which has a collection of objects related to the history of Bordeaux and Aquitaine from prehistoric to the modern era.
• The Museum of Decorative Arts or Musée des Arts decoratifs, located in the hotel Lalande, presents ceramics, furniture, paintings, prints, sculptures, glassware and silverware.
• The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux is the fine arts museum. It is one of the largest art galleries of France outside Paris.  Its collections include paintings, sculptures and drawings. The painting collection is the largest one and its strong points are works by French and Dutch painters.
• Glidding along the Gironne on the “BatCub”, shuttle boat, to enjoy the extraordinary view of the facades along the waterfront, and the bridges of Bordeaux.

UNESCO facades, enjoyed by volunteers in Southwest France, along the Garonne in Bordeaux

All in all, the City Pass was well worth it, as it paid for itself and more.

To learn more about how you can realize your dreams of cultural immersion in France, visit our website here.

à bientôt,

Mayra Pena 🙂 (Volunteer)