Museums in Bordeaux

The Musée Mer Marine explores humanity's relationship with the sea through an extraordinary collection of maritime art, ship models, navigation instruments, and underwater archaeology. Housed in a massive contemporary building near La Cité du Vin, it is one of France's newest major museums.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux occupies two wings of the elegant Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) gardens. Its collection spans from the Renaissance to the 20th century, with particular strength in Dutch Golden Age, Italian Baroque, and 19th-century French painting.

La Cité du Vin is a spectacular wine museum and cultural center housed in a curving, organic-shaped building on the banks of the Garonne. Designed by XTU Architects to evoke swirling wine in a glass, it offers immersive, multi-sensory exhibitions exploring wine cultures worldwide.

The Musée d'Aquitaine is Bordeaux's comprehensive history museum, tracing the region's story from prehistoric cave dwellers through Roman Burdigala, the medieval wine trade, the 18th-century slave trade, and on to the modern era.

The CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain de Bordeaux occupies a breathtaking 19th-century colonial warehouse — the Entrepôt Lainé — whose soaring stone nave and vast volumes create one of the most dramatic contemporary art spaces in France.