Bordeaux: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Bordeaux is a city of 265,328 people in France (New Aquitaine), 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (BOD), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre. It has 7 railway stations on record, including Bordeaux-Saint-Jean railway station. It is a port city: port of the Moon.
Key facts
Daylight in Bordeaux runs from about 8 h 51 min a day in late December to 15 h 39 min in late June (computed for 44.84° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Bordeaux is served by 2 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (BOD), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre, whose 10,171-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Bergerac Dordogne-Périgord airport (EGC, 87 km).
Flights to Bordeaux: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Bordeaux-Saint-Jean railway station, gare de Caudéran - Mérignac, Gare de Bordeaux État, Bordeaux-Bastide station, Bordeaux-Benauge station, Bordeaux-Cadillac railway station. Trains to Bordeaux
Buses to Bordeaux · Driving and car hire · Ferries
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Aquitaine Museum | 143,753 | 2019 |
| CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux | 118,811 | 2019 |
| Museum of Decorative Arts of Bordeaux | 93,050 | 2019 |
| Center Jean Moulin | 39,543 | 2016 |
| Tour Pey-Berland | 22,770 | 2021 |
| Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Bordeaux | 11,925 | 2018 |
| Departmental archives of Gironde | 1,057 | 2021 |
The busiest is Aquitaine Museum at 143,753 visitors in 2019. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Tour Pey-Berland; port of the Moon.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Bordeaux
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Zaragoza, 355 km (Spain) — trains
- Toulouse, 212 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Bilbao, 257 km (Spain) — buses · car rental · tours
- Nantes, 275 km — trains · buses · car rental · ferries · tours
- Gasteiz / Vitoria, 278 km (Spain) — buses · car rental · tours
- Montpellier, 380 km — trains
- Rennes, 373 km — trains
- Pamplona, 241 km (Spain) — buses · car rental · tours
- Donostia / San Sebastián, 203 km (Spain) — buses · car rental · tours
- Burgos, 375 km (Spain)
Twin towns and sister cities: Munich, Fukuoka, Ashdod, Oran, Lima, Bristol, Los Angeles, Madrid, Casablanca, Wuhan, Saint Petersburg, Kraków, Bamako, Riga.
Common questions
Which airport serves Bordeaux?
Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (BOD), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre, plus 1 other airport with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Bordeaux?
About 265,328 people live in Bordeaux, across 49 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Bordeaux in?
Europe/Paris, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Bordeaux?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Bordeaux?
Zaragoza (355 km), Toulouse (212 km), Bilbao (257 km), Nantes (275 km), Gasteiz / Vitoria (278 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.