Handpicked experience · Bordeaux
★ 4.5Bordeaux, France
Two hours on the Garonne with lunch served at the table, on a river whose tide sets the timetable and whose water is nothing like the colour most people expect.
A two-hour daytime cruise on the Garonne, departing from the Bordeaux riverfront
A plated sit-down lunch served on board, with the menu changing by season
River-level views of the Place de la Bourse and the Pont de Pierre
Passage along Bordeaux's UNESCO World Heritage quays at the Port de la Lune
Photography from both the open deck and the cabin
The Garonne at Bordeaux has one of the largest tidal ranges in Europe, and the water can rise and fall by several metres in a single cycle. Departure times for a river lunch cruise therefore shift through the week rather than repeating at the same hour each day, and the slope of the gangway when you board depends entirely on where the tide happens to be. Departure times are set per sailing rather than repeating daily.
First-time visitors often assume something has gone wrong. It has not: the colour comes from fine silt carried down and stirred up twice a day by that same tidal movement. It has looked like this for as long as the city has stood beside it, and the pale stone of the quays was chosen against exactly this backdrop.
This is worth planning for. Lunch is served at your seat and takes up a good part of the two hours, while the finest stretch of the waterfront passes at its own pace. Decide early whether you are here principally to eat or principally to look, and if it is the latter, be ready to leave a course and step out.
Bordeaux sits on a long crescent bend, which is where the old name for the port comes from. That single curve is the reason the eighteenth-century frontage reads as one continuous sweep from the water, an effect the city was designed for and which you simply cannot get from the bank.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
Because the Garonne is strongly tidal and the boats work around the water level. Times move through the week rather than repeating daily, so go by the time set for your departure.
Fine silt, stirred up twice a day by one of Europe's biggest tidal ranges. It is the natural colour of the Garonne here and not a sign of pollution.
Both, but not simultaneously. Service occupies much of the two hours while the best of the waterfront goes by, so be prepared to step away from the table for the stretch you most want to see.
Inside is where the meal is served and where you will be for most of the cruise. The deck is worth using in short bursts, and it is exposed, so the wind on the water is noticeable even on a mild day.
Yes, provided you state them when booking. The menu changes with the season and is fixed on the day, so a request made on board is much harder to accommodate.