Let's Go Europe 2019. Harvard Student Agencies

the Chartrons district than the two Cité du Vin offers (more is better, especially when it comes to wine). Plus, the entrance to La Cité du Vin is steep at €20. Yeah, you heard us. €20.

       i Admission €20, reduced €14; limited wheelchair accessibility

       PALAIS GALLIEN

      Rue du Docteur Albert Barraud; 33 5 56 00 66 00; open daily

      Bordeaux is just under 1000 miles from Rome, but, even with that distance, you’re bound to find a piece of Roman history. Located just a few blocks away from the Jardin des Plantes, Palais Gallien is a Gallo-Roman amphitheatre that holds the very prestigious title of the oldest Roman ruin in Bordeaux. Although it serves today as a shelter for French pigeons, it has managed to keep its majesty throughout the centuries of wear and tear by even the most unsuspecting of guests (rumor has it that Palais Gallien was a hang-out spot for prostitutes and witches in the seventeenth century). Walk by at night to see the structure lit up courtesy of the bright lights implanted in the ground.

       i Free; daily tours €3 June 1-Sept 30 10:30am-3:30 pm, evening visits €5 Sa 9:30pm in July-Aug; wheelchair accessible

      LANDMARKS

       BASILIQUE SAINT-MICHEL

      Pl. Meynard; 05 56 94 30 50; open daily 8am-noon and 1pm-6pm

      The city of Bordeaux may be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the Basilique Saint-Michel is one all on its own. This fourteenth-century basilica, although a bit of a walk from the city center, is well worth a trip to the Saint-Michel area. The interior is typical of a gothic European cathedral, bearing some similarity to the nearby Cathédrale Saint-André, but it has an older, more lived-in feel. Take a walk around the basilica and then climb its bell tower, the Fleche de St. Michel, for a leg workout and fantastic view of the city below. On Fridays and Sundays, you’ll find an outdoor market of the antique and produce varieties in the adjacent square.

       i Free; tower and crypt €5, students €3.50; last entry 30min. before closing; limited wheelchair accessibility

       CATHÉDRALE SAINT-ANDRÉ

      Pl. Pey Berland; 05 56 52 68 10; open daily June-Sept 10am-1pm and 3pm-7:30pm (until 7 pm on Su in July and Aug); daily Oct-May 10am-noon and 2 pm-6 pm (until 7 pm on M, W, Sa); closed on M mornings year-round

      Take a deep breath because you’re about to have it taken away. The Cathédrale Saint-André, also known as the Bordeaux Cathedral, stands tall in the middle of Place Pey-Berland with its magnificent gothic architecture of the Aquitaine region. The inside is an absolute masterpiece first constructed in the fifth or sixth century. Over many years, the Bordelaise have made improvements to the structure, elevating the nave with pointed arches, restoring the giant organ, and opening the royal portal. The cathedral, apart from serving as a religious center, was formerly an animal feed store during the French Revolution (which is kind of gross when you think about it) and was destroyed during WWI. Since then, it has been restored to its former glory with intricately decorated chapels dedicated to various saints and stunning biblically-inspired works of art.

       i Free; last entry 30min. before closing; wheelchair accessible

       PLACE DE LA BOURSE

      Quai du Maréchal Lyautey; open daily 24hr

      Perhaps the first thing you see when you Google “Bordeaux” is red wine. But the next thing that pops up will be, without a doubt, Place de la Bourse, the city’s main square. Built in the eighteenth century in a neoclassical style, the square was erected for King Louis XIV and his obscenely lavish tastes. Within the square itself is the Bourse, the stock exchange, a fountain of the Three Graces, and the Customs Museum. In front of the square, you’ll find the tram line C, which takes you to Gare Saint-Jean and the famous Miroir d’Eau, the world’s largest water mirror, which spans a whopping 37,000 square feet. If you happen to be on the eastern bank of the Garonne in the evening, look out onto the square to see Bordeaux in all its glory, when the façades glow with soft, yellow light.

       i Free; limited wheelchair accessibility

       TOUR PEY-BERLAND

      Pl. Pey-Berland; 05 56 81 26 25; www.pey-berland.fr; open daily Jan-May 10am-12:30pm and 2pm-5pm, daily June-Sept 10am-1:15pm and 2pm-6pm, daily Oct-Dec 10am-12:30pm and 2pm-5:30pm

      Forget the StairMaster; the Tour Pey-Berland has your leg workout covered. The 233-step gothic structure is the bell tower of the Cathédrale Saint-Andre and offers the most incredible panoramic 360-degree view of Bordeaux. Built in the fifteenth century, the tower lacked bells until 1853 and just served as a towering structure for a few hundred years. Now, though, you can climb up the tower and read about the history of every neighborhood of Bordeaux, including the Saint-Michel and Chartrons districts, on the descriptive plaques on the first landing. Pro-tip: bring water on your trek up the bell tower, as the climb is remarkably dizzying.

       i Admission €6, free for EU residents and EU students 18-25 years old; last entry 30min. before closing; no wheelchair accessibility

      MUSEUMS

       MUSÉE DU VIN ET DU NÉGOCE

      Cellier des Chartrons; 41 Rue Borie; 05 56 90 19 13; www.museeduvinbordeaux.com; open daily 10am-6pm

      Don’t overlook this museum for the glitzy La Cité du Vin. This small museum, located in the Chartrons district, is designed like the wine cellars where the merchants of the district used to produce the highly prized Bordeaux wines. The first hallway is a history lesson, while the second explains how the wine was made, with the actual barrels and machines. After you walk through the museum, enjoy tasting two wines as a museum guide gives you an introduction to the specific wine regions of Bordeaux.

       i Admission €10, students €5; limited wheelchair accessibility

       CAPC MUSÉE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN DE BORDEAUX

      7 rue Ferrère; 05 56 00 81 50; www.capc-bordeaux.fr; open Tu 11am-6pm, W 11am-8pm, Th-Su 11am-6pm

      Contemporary art is weird. And the CAPC is no exception. This museum takes weird to the max, exhibiting videos of a naked man desperately trying to straighten his sheets, a female doll lying face down on the ground, and abstract rows of rocks. There’s an interesting room on the upper level with seaweed-like strings hanging from the ceiling spelling out the words displaisir and plaisir, complemented by an eerie blue light spelling out fragments of caveat-like sentences. It’s safe to say this is the stuff of nightmares and yes, after visiting, we had quite a few.

       i Admission €7, students €4; wheelchair accessible

       MUSÉE DES BEAUX ARTS

      20 Cours d’Albret; 05 56 10 20 56; www.musba-bordeaux.fr; open M, W-Su 11am-6pm

      Bordeaux’s Musée des Beaux Arts is what you’d expect: rows of art with pictures of Jesus and Jesus’ mom. The museum is separated into two wings: fifteenth to seventeenth century and eighteenth to twentieth century. While the first contains mostly the aforementioned variety of paintings, the second contains works by many Bordelaise artists. The museum boasts a fair amount of works by renowned artists, including masterpieces by Matisse, Monet, and Renoir in its high-ceilinged exhibits.

       i Admission €4, students