A day at Cité du Vin
One of Bordeaux’s most iconic sites, Cité du Vin is both a museum dedicated to the cultural heritage of wine and a lively space with a range of gastronomic activities, and can be enjoyed alone, with friends or with family.
During a holiday or weekend visit to the Bordeaux region, a trip to Cité du Vin is a must! Want to find out more? Take a look at our guide!
10am: Start your morning by discovering the world of wine in the Permanent exhibition
Open from 10am, Cité du Vin’s Permanent exhibition, spread over 3000m², awaits you for a journey to the heart of the great history of wine. Through some twenty interactive spaces, you will get to fly like a bird over vineyards all over the world, go back in time in the Gallery of Civilisations, put your senses to the test in the Buffet of the Five Senses, sail across the seas of the world following the wine trade or even learn a bit more about the fabulous process of wine making.
Themed tours, including a children’s tour for those aged 7-12, allow you to choose the topic that appeals to you the most and to guide yourself around - practical for when you are in a group or with your family!
And to top things off - the visit ends with a glass of wine (or grape juice) 35 metres above the ground in the Belvedere, which can be found on the 8th floor of Cité du Vin.
The average visit lasts between 2 and 3 hours - perfect timing to follow up with some lunch. For our more avid visitors, it is also possible to spend the whole day there, with over 10 hours’ worth of content available in 8 languages.
12.30pm: Time for a gourmet break!
With its panoramic restaurant, brasserie and snack bar, Cité du Vin offers several options for a gourmet break between visits.
Not pushed for time? Treat yourself to a panoramic culinary experience on the 7th floor of the Cité du Vin with a breathtaking view of the Garonne River from Le 7 Restaurant!
Keen to continue your visit? Opt for lunch at the Latitude 20 Brasserie instead, with its beautiful terrace overlooking the garden!
If you prefer to have lunch on the go, our snack bar will welcome you inside or out on the terrace, to eat in or to take away! You can even have a picnic in Cité du Vin’s garden, with free access.
2pm: In the footsteps of Picasso
This spring and summer, the Cité du Vin will host one of the major artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso, for an exhibition event. A key event of the 2022 season, the Picasso exhibit The Effervescence of Shapes, which will run until 28 August 2022, explores the role of wine and popular spirits in Picasso’s work through a variety of media, including paintings, drawings, ceramics, and films.
More than 80 works will be on display, including a number of exceptional loans from the Musée Picasso Paris and the Museu Picasso de Barcelona.
For almost an hour, come and wander through 5 themed sections and rediscover the boundless creativity of this essential artist.
3pm: Everything there is to know about wine tasting
With the day already well under way, don’t leave without having discovered the secrets of wine tasting in our workshops.
Led by professional sommeliers, our wine tasting workshops are intended for the simply curious as well as for wine enthusiasts. Depending on the day of your visit, you can learn the basics of wine tasting with the Introduction to Wine Tasting workshop, discover the Bordeaux region with the Wines of Bordeaux workshop or even deepen your discovery of the wines of the world with the Immersive Workshop - Wines of the World. Don’t forget to check the programme before your visit so you can choose your workshop.
At the end of the day, take a bit of Cité du Vin with you!
Enjoyed your visit and want to leave with a souvenir or gift for your loved ones? Stop by Cité du Vin’s gift shop and wine cellar!
A real wine-based concept store, Cité du Vin’s gift shop offers you a selection of over 1,500 products suitable for all ages and tastes: wine-tasting accessories, kitchenware, books, decor items and even wellness products - an absolute must for an original gift!
To put what you have learnt during your wine tasting workshop to good use, stop by Cité du Vin’s wine cellar. A magical oval-shaped space, the cellar offers more than 14,000 bottles of wine, with 800 world wines from over 70 different countries! Suited to all budgets with bottles ranging from €5 to €50, the wine cellar is the perfect place to rediscover the joy of wine tasting at home!
Photo credits
Boris Lipnitzky (1887-1971) - Studio Lipnitzki. Pablo Picasso dans l’atelier Madoura, Vallauris, en 1948 Musée national Picasso - Paris
© Roger-Viollet / Studio Lipnitzki © Succession Picasso 2022 © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso-Paris) / Mathieu Rabeau