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Bordeau is a thriving, vibrant city with all the hustle and bustle of a major tourist destination. And yet, unlike its big sister city Paris, Bordeaux retains an accessible feel. I found the center walkable, the crowds manageable, and the locals friendly (and more patient with my broken French than Parisians).
In fact, with its grand boulevards, chic bistros, and designer stores, Bordeaux feels like a pocket-sized Paris. Everything you get in Paris but on a smaller, friendlier scale.
Plus, the wine is of course fantastic. Bordeaux is famous for producing excellent wines, and I can tell you from experience that its reputation is well earned.
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Bordeaux has plenty of cool neighborhoods to spend time in, from the central Grand Hommes-Le Triangle d’Or-Quinconces, where you’ll find all the designer stores and restaurants owned by celebrity chefs, and historic Vieux Bordeaux, with its old buildings and monuments, to Bassins à Flots, the modern part of the city full of shiny new buildings.
But for our purposes, we’ll focus on three neighborhoods where it makes sense to consider property: Saint Michel, Chartrons, and La Bastide. These are places where properties seem to offer good value and have either an investment or lifestyle angle to them.
Saint Michel
The neighborhood of Saint Michel, just south of Bordeaux’s historic center, looks to be undergoing a process of gentrification. Walking the streets, crowds of young hipsters with dyed hair and piercings lounging at craft beer bars, young professional types with laptops working with a coffee beside them at Starbucks, and Turkish markets selling fruit and veg to old ladies in shawls.
The area used to be considered a bit dangerous and dirty by locals but, since 2007, there has been a slow process of restoration that began with the neighborhood’s UNESCO listed buildings. This put Saint Michel on the tourist maps and started to bring some money into the area.
The craft beer bars and trendy restaurants followed, shouldering in beside dive bars and hookah lounges.
The process is by no means complete, though, there are still plenty of rough edges that gentrification hasn’t smoothed off yet.
It’s also super central, right by the Saint Jean train station, from which you can reach Paris on the LGV high-speed train in just over two hours.
It’s the kind of up-and-coming place that I would expect to become more popular, and more expensive, as time goes on.
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Chartrons
Chartrons, northeast along the river and about a 20-minute walk from the center of Bordeaux, has the look of a place where I expect Saint Michel to be in a decade.
Formerly a rough part of the city, it’s now fully gentrified and trendy.
The streets cleaner than Saint Michel, the people a little older and a little more monied.
Ttraditional French bistros, artisanal boulangeries and antique stores sharing space with organic food stores, poke bowl restaurants, and funky bars. There were a few tourists, but many more locals walking dogs and families enjoying lunch on sunny terraces.
The neighborhood feels safe, residential, but still cool.
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La Bastide
Head across the Pont de Pierre Bridge to the east bank of the Garonne River—it took me about ten minutes at a comfortable stroll—and you’ll find yourself face-to-face with a giant blue lion.
The sculpture is the symbol of the La Bastide and takes pride of place as you enter from the city.
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La Bastide was an overlooked part of Bordeaux for a long while, due to it lying across the river from where all the action is which is its very appeal.
The streets here are wider, the feel much more residential, and the atmosphere a good deal more relaxed. Plus, there are plenty of green spaces to enjoy between the Darwin Ecosystem and the Botanic Gardens.
If you’re interested in living in Bordeaux and don’t want to live right in the busy city center, but still want easy access to it, then La Bastide is the place for you.
Remember, in France foreigners can borrow up to 80% of the purchase price. You can lock in historically low interest rates and fix for 15 years at around 2%. This is the best inflation hedge I know. And, means you could buy a €300,000 home and find yourself with monthly mortgage costs of only €884.
