Bordeaux · Self-guided audio walk

Bacalan: The Cité du Vin and the Submarine Base

From the lifting bridge to the wine museum, a walk through Bordeaux's rebuilt docklands.

5Stops
3.2 kmDistance
45+ minTime

Photo by Ardfern on Wikimedia Commons

Bacalan is the district Bordeaux rebuilt around its old wet docks. This walk crosses it north of the Chartrons, from the vertical-lift Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas to the swirl of glass at La Cité du Vin.

On the way you pass the Bassins à flot, the Second World War submarine base that now shows projected art, and the food stalls of Les Halles de Bacalan. The route follows the water as the old port turns into a new piece of the city.

Hear it on the street

Get the turn-by-turn audio guide in the app. The narration plays itself as you reach each stop, hands-free and offline.

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Stop by stop

The route

Interactive map of the route. The full stop list below works without it.

Local pick

Photo by Zairon on Wikimedia Commons

Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas

0:00

Bordeaux's vertical-lift bridge over the Garonne, whose moving span rises to let tall ships pass.

You're at the west end of the Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas, the lifting bridge that closes off the north of the old port. It opened to traffic on 18 March 2013 and was named for Jacques Chaban-Delmas, a former mayor of Bordeaux. Look up and you'll see four pylons that rise 77 meters. Between them hangs a movable steel span of 110 meters, winched upward when a cruise ship or a tall yacht needs room.

Raised, the deck clears the water by around 55 meters. The part that lifts carries only the tram, cyclists, and pedestrians. Cars and trucks use a fixed lane beside it. Most of the time the span stays down, and the bridge is simply the calmest way into Bacalan.

Open in Google Maps

≈19 min walk to the next stop

Local pick

Photo by Ardfern on Wikimedia Commons

Bassins à flot

0:00

Two old wet docks that were Bordeaux's working port, now ringed by housing and a waterside promenade.

These two basins are the reason the district exists. Work on the first began in 1867, and it opened in 1879, giving ships a place to load and unload at a steady water level instead of waiting on the Garonne's tides. A second basin opened in 1912, and the two are linked by a narrow channel crossed by a swing bridge. At its busiest, the port handled transatlantic liners and cod fishing boats, and barrels of wine left from these quays.

When the port moved downstream in the 1970s, the basins were left behind and the quarter went quiet. The rebuild began in the 2000s, and the waterside promenade opened in 2022. Walk along it and you will see cranes, rails, and silos kept beside the new apartment blocks.

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≈4 min walk to the next stop

Must see

Photo by Benreis on Wikimedia Commons

Bassins des Lumières

0:00

The colossal Second World War submarine base, now a digital art centre projecting across flooded concrete pens.

You are in front of a building designed to survive bombs. During the Second World War the German navy needed protected bases on the Atlantic, and Bordeaux got one of five. Construction began in September 1941 and lasted about 22 months, using around 600,000 cubic meters of concrete. The main block is about 245 meters long, 162 meters wide, and 20 meters high, with eleven pens where submarines were serviced.

The roof was poured in two slabs, 3.5 meters and then 2.1 meters thick. Today the pens hold Bassins des Lumières, a digital art centre that throws enormous moving images across the water and walls. A full-price adult ticket costs 16 euros, the reduced rate is 12.50 euros, and visitors aged 6 to 25 pay 9 euros. The visit lasts about an hour to an hour and a quarter, and the halls stay cold in winter, so take a layer.

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≈16 min walk to the next stop

Free preview ends here · stops 4 to 5 continue in the app

Les Halles de Bacalan

A covered food hall with 22 stalls of southwestern producers, open Tuesday through Sunday.

in app

La Cité du Vin

Bordeaux's wine museum, a swirl of glass above the quay, with a tasting terrace on the 8th floor.

in app

Good to know

Before you go

How do I get to Bacalan?

Take tram line B north from the centre; it stops at La Cité du Vin, and the Bassins des Lumières sits in the old submarine base at the Bassins à flot.

SourceLa Cité du Vin prices and hours

Should I book the Bassins des Lumières?

Yes. The visit lasts about an hour, online booking is recommended, and a full price adult ticket costs €16.

SourceBassins des Lumières prices and hours

What is the Bassins des Lumières exactly?

It is a digital art centre inside the Second World War submarine base, projecting monumental images across flooded concrete pens. In 2026 the programme includes work themed on Matisse and Frida Kahlo, with an ocean programme in summer.

SourceBassins des Lumières programme

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Provenance · last verified August 22, 2026

Built from the Wayside route itself: the stops, their order, and the walk between them.

Photo by Ardfern on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo by Zairon on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo by Benreis on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo by Pline on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo by Remi Jouan on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

Photo by Matthias v.d. Elbe on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

Photo by Grand Parc - Bordeaux, France from France on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Photo by Coyau on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo by Matthew Perosi on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0