Visit the museums of Bordeaux and the Gironde!

In the museums of Bordeaux and the Gironde , you will discover Gallo-Roman remains , a rich movable and architectural heritage of the Middle Ages, in the territory of the former Guyenne d ' Aliénor d'Aquitaine, traces of the War of a hundred years and the Wars of Religion … These multiple influences have created a culture open to the world , conducive to art and creativity . The Gironde is also a wine-growing region , with estates of great renown, ancestral know-how and winegrowing traditions which form a Girondin art of living . The Gironde is not lacking in cultural assets and we will take you to discover its treasures!

Photo openning : @ mehdi33300 Adobe Stock

The City of Bordeaux Wine

The museums of Bordeaux and its surroundings

Bordeaux is a city of art and history , listed as a “ UNESCO World Heritage ”. Its past is rich and incredible, with atypical characters, a strong maritime culture and renowned artists.

Museums on history and humanity

The history of a region forges its character… Knowing the major events and anecdotes of the past will allow you to better understand the identity of this territory.

• Aquitaine Museum : It is a museum on the history of Bordeaux and Aquitaine . Prehistory and the Gallo-Roman period are particularly well represented there, with exceptional pieces.
  
  
• Bordeaux Museum : Formerly a natural history museum , its museography has been redesigned to make it a very modern space suitable for everyone, including toddlers.
  >>> Read our report at the Muséum de Bordeaux
  
  
• Center Jean Moulin: You tale the ^2nd World War, from the standpoint of the French Resistance.
  
  
• Museum of Ethnography : It brings together objects of everyday life from around the world, even if Asia holds a prominent place there.
  
  
• Darwin ecosystem : It is a cultural, artistic and economic space , which looks more like a sociological experience than a collection of objects, with the ecological transition as a common thread. However, you will find works of art, products from local crafts, fun and informative activities and entertainment.
  >>> We went to visit Darwin, follow us!
  
  
• Maison Ecocitoyenne de Bordeaux : On the themes of the natural environment of Aquitaine , sustainable housing and eco-citizenship , this space aims to inspire you to behave well and help you to develop good habits, necessary for the transition ecological .
  
  

Darwin, not quite a museum, but a cultural and original place to discover

The Muséum de Bordeaux, a place that appeals to children

Around the sea

The nearby ocean gives rhythm to life on its coasts and in its lands: seafaring trades , traditions and customs , maritime economy , ... It is a real culture that has marked the history of this country .

• National Customs Museum: This museum, unique in France , explains the Customs administration , in all its facets, from its beginnings to current activities.
  
  
• Musée Mer Marine Bordeaux : It is a very complete museum on the maritime world through history, science and the arts .
  
  
• Bordeaux Maritime History Museum : It traces the history and economic, port and river activities of the Port de la Lune .
  
  

The Mer Marine Museum is near the Chaban Delmas Bridge, a district in full transformation.  

Around the vineyard

On a very old vineyard , probably Gallo-Roman , large wine estates have settled. Viticulture and wine aging, based on ancestral methods and a traditional way of life , form an economy that has overcome many crises and is constantly renewing itself to improve the quality of its wines.

• La Cité du Vin : It offers you a sensory experience to discover the wine heritage , the winegrower culture and the history of wine in the world .
  >>>> Read our article on the Cité du Vin!
  
  
• Wine and Trade Museum : Wine is a production, a commercial history, an economy , to be discovered in this museum.
  
  
• Ecomusée de la Vigne et du Vin , in Gradignan: You enter the Gradignan vineyard to go back in time and find these old tools , marked by wear and tear ...

La Cité du Vin

Art in all its forms

Bordeaux is a multicultural city, which has always received influences from the world by sea! This gives an inspiring atmosphere for artists and the arts flourish there ...

• Musée des Beaux-Arts : It presents a beautiful collection of paintings, mainly from the ^15th to ^20th century.
  
  
• Museum of Decorative Arts and Design : You will find furniture and art objects from the ^17th to 19th ^century.
  
  
• Bordeaux Contemporary Art Museum : Having no permanent collection, apart from seven in situ works , this temporary exhibition museum is alive and changing.
  
  
• Underwater base and Basin of Lights : Between water and light , this museum is available in four moving and animated universes .
  
  
• Musée de la Création Franche , in Bègles: It brings together free artists and rebellious to social conventions. Difficult to summarize or define it ...
  
  
• Georges de Sonneville Museum, in Gradignan : It houses the collection of Gorges de Sonneville, painter , typical of those “ roaring twenties ”.
  
  
• Cap Science : At the same time museum, laboratory, experimentation workshop … Sometimes science borders on the arts, history, games,… and produces astonishing works!
  
  

The entrance to Cap Science, on the Quai des Marques

Museums in Gironde

On the territories of the Gironde, a particular culture was born, between land and sea , steeped in the history of its vineyard and the invasions that marked it.

Museums on history, local culture and ancient ways of life

Many museums retrace the daily life of yesteryear , the habits and customs , the ancient trades , in this specific environment.

• Gallo-Roman villa of Plassac : At the heart of the archaeological site , you enter a Gallo-Roman villa built in the ^1st century. Held until the ^4th century, it shows us the evolution of the habitat of the time.
  
  
• Museum of Fine Arts , Libourne: It presents a collection of European works from the ^14th to 20th ^century.
  
  
• "Regards sur le Past" Museum , in Hourtin: Here is the daily life in Hourtin, " in the good old days "!
  
  
• Ecomusée Gardarem , in Lanton: You will see a collection of tools and domestic objects to discover the life of Gascon and the trades of yesteryear .
  
  

• Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Pays Blayais, in Blaye : At the heart of the Vauban citadel , this museum reveals its history, both its military past and the life of the inhabitants of Blayais .
  
  
• Horse Carriage Museum , in Bourg:   It presents a collection of horse carriages and the history of the horse-drawn carriage .
  
  
• Palais du Costume Mazarin : In homage to the famous Parisian couturier, it traces the history of costume in France.
  
  
• National Museum of Health Insurance , in Lormont: This is a unique museum in France that tells you the story of our social protection system .
  
  

Around the sea

Between its seafront and its basin, the mother is omnipresent in Gironde. You will find in these museums, its specific universe, its products and its characteristic heritage.

• Arcachon Aquarium Museum : It is above all an aquarium where you can admire many species of fish, especially local ones . But it is also a museum on zoology, oyster farming and archeology .
  
  
• Cordouan lighthouse museum, lighthouses and beacons , Le-Verdon-sur-Mer: It reveals life in a lighthouse and its function, through its furniture, tools and models.
  
  
• Small oyster museum, in Andernos: It is dedicated to the profession of oyster farmer .
  
  
• Maison de l'huître , in Gujan-Mestras: Wider, it covers oyster farming: history, profession, oyster farming.
  
  

Here is our tour of the museums of Bordeaux and the Gironde completed. Whatever your field of predilection, you will surely find your happiness there to satisfy your curiosity, to discover, to cultivate you and to learn lots of anecdotes on all these subjects.

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Article written by Stéphanie Tempier for the Bordeaux Gironde Guide.