Bordeaux · Self-guided audio walk

Quinconces to Pey-Berland: The 18th-Century City

The golden age of Bordeaux on one straight axis, from the cathedral quarter to the great esplanade.

8Stops
2.4 kmDistance
35+ minTime

Photo by Remi Jouan on Wikimedia Commons

This walk threads the set pieces of Bordeaux's 18th century into one straight line, running north from the cathedral quarter to the great esplanade. Begin beside the cathedral quarter at the Musée d'Aquitaine, then cross to Saint-André and its freestanding Pey-Berland bell tower, where the whole route unrolls from 50 metres up. The axis then passes through the oval gardens of place Gambetta and the ornate Porte Dijeaux, down the cours de l'Intendance to the colonnaded Grand Théâtre, and out onto the Quinconces esplanade beneath the Girondins column.

Allow about 55 minutes, a little longer if you climb the tower. The museum's permanent collections cost 6 euros, or 8 with a temporary exhibition, and the tower climb costs 9 euros.

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.

Must see

Photo by Tiraden on Wikimedia Commons

Musée d'Aquitaine

0:00

The city's history museum, set in the old Faculty of Letters and Sciences on cours Pasteur.

You're outside the Musée d'Aquitaine at 20 cours Pasteur, the city's history museum and the right first stop for a walk about how Bordeaux built itself. The collection has filled this former Faculty of Letters and Sciences building since 9 January 1987, on the site of the old Feuillants and Visitation convents. Inside, the story runs from prehistory to the present, more than 70,000 objects, including the Laussel Venus and a Lascaux frieze facsimile. Entry to the permanent collections costs 6 euros, or 8 when a temporary exhibition is running, and admission is free the first Sunday of the month except in July and August. The long stone facade still reads as the university it once was.

Open in Google Maps

≈5 min walk to the next stop

Must see

Photo by Ardfern on Wikimedia Commons

Cathédrale Saint-André

0:00

The Gothic cathedral consecrated in 1096, and the scene of two royal weddings.

Saint-André was consecrated on 1 May 1096 by Pope Urban II, who stopped here while preaching the First Crusade. What you see now is the Gothic rebuild that followed, from the 12th to the 16th century. Two royal weddings were held inside: Eleanor of Aquitaine married the future Louis VII in 1137, aged 15, and Anne of Austria married Louis XIII in 1615, when both were about 14. Look at the facade, then look for what is missing: this cathedral had no proper bell tower, because the old one could not carry the great bell. So Bordeaux built its belfry a minute away, across the square at Pey-Berland. Both buildings lie on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela, part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Open in Google Maps

≈2 min walk to the next stop

Must see

Photo by Gzen92 on Wikimedia Commons

Tour Pey-Berland

0:00

The cathedral's freestanding bell tower, with the whole route laid out from 50 metres up.

This is the cathedral's separate bell tower, built between 1440 and 1500 and named for the archbishop who began it, Pey Berland. If you climb, you take a narrow spiral of 231 steps to two terraces at 40 and 50 metres, and from the top the line you are walking today sits beneath you in one view. The climb costs 9 euros, and under 18s go free. The tower's later life was stranger: during the Revolution it was sold off as national property and used as a lead factory and a forage store, then handed back to the church in 1851. Up top, look north. The green wedge at the far end of the axis is the Quinconces esplanade, where this walk finishes.

Open in Google Maps

≈8 min walk to the next stop

Free preview ends here · stops 4 to 8 continue in the app

Place Gambetta

The oval garden square laid out as place Dauphine in the 18th century.

in app

Porte Dijeaux

The 1748 city gate that hid a kink in the old street.

in app

Cours de l'Intendance

The 418-metre avenue of 18th-century facades at the edge of the Triangle d'Or.

in app

Grand Théâtre

Victor Louis's 1780 opera house, twelve columns and twelve figures along its roof.

in app

Monument aux Girondins

The 50-metre column and fountains honouring the Girondins, on France's largest city square.

in app

Good to know

Before you go

Do I need to book the Tour Pey-Berland?

Yes, entry is by timed e-ticket booked in advance on the tower's own site; the climb costs €9.

SourceTour Pey-Berland official site

Is the Musée d'Aquitaine free any day?

Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month except July and August; otherwise the permanent collections cost €6, or €8 during a temporary exhibition.

SourceMusée d'Aquitaine prices

Is the tower climb worth the steps?

Yes, if you can manage 229 steps. From 50 metres up you see the whole route this walk follows, from the cathedral to the Quinconces.

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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 Remi Jouan on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

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

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

Photo by Gzen92 on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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

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