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There are a lot of arty things to do in and around Bordeaux so if you're feeling cultured or you want to be able to impress your parents when they come to visit it is worth having some idea of what's on offer. The most cultured thing you can do is go and see a concert, an opera or a ballet at the very impressive Grand Théâtre . Students get very good reductions on tickets and there is a wide variety of performances.

tourism piccy
Do the tourist bit and visit the wine museum

Something that is definitely worth doing once is having a look around the Musée d'Aquitaine which is quite big and has a bit of everything. Get off the bus two stops after Place de la Victoire and you can't miss it. It's free on Sundays and Wednesday afternoons although it only costs about a quid otherwise. Ask for a guide book because otherwise you will not have a clue what anything is.

Bordeaux has half a dozen theatres. The main one is Théâtre de Port de la Lune - 22, quai St. Croix .

There are various other galeries and small museums around town. The best thing to do is to start off at the tourist information office, 12 cours du XXX Juillet - and decide where to go from there.

If you are feeling bolder you can venture out of Bordeaux. Locally this usually involves either going to a wine château or going to the coast. St. Emillon is a popular wine producing area and is very picturesque. Go to a château with a wine museum because then you'll get to see more than just a couple of big vats and a pile of barrels. A good starting place is the Maison du Vin in the town centre near the Grand Théâtre . As for going to the coast, everyone goes to Arcachon and to the nearby Dune de Pyla - Europe's highest sand dune.

FM Radio Stations

B.F.M - 88.5, Black Box - 103.7, Bordeaux Gironde - 100.1, Cherie FM - 95.3, Clef des Ondes - 90.1, Europe 1 - 104.6, Europe 2 - 94.3, France Info - 105.5, France Inter - 89.7, Fréquence 4 - 98.2, Fun Radio - 91.8, Iguanodon - 90.7, RTL1 - 106.8, Nostalgie - 97.3, NRJ - 102.4, Radio Campus - 88.1, Radio Classique - 92.2, Radio Forum TSF - 91.3, Radio Harmonie - 88.9, Radio Orient - 106.4, Radio Sauvagine - 94.9, RFM - 99.6, RMC - 104.2, RTL - 105.1, Skyrock - 102.8, Sud Radio - 106.0, Télé Radio des Graves - 92.6, Wit FM - 100.8.

Going to Church

France being dominantly Catholic means that most of the churches in Bordeaux are Catholic too. However, if this isn't for you, there are quite a few Protestant churches around. If you go to the tourist information office they will give you a list with most types of church on it. There is one on the campus that is particularly friendly: the Eglise Baptiste de Pessac . It is at 162, rue de la Paillère , and meets at 10.15 a.m. on a Sunday for a bible study, leading into a service at eleven o'clock. They have a bring and share lunch once a fortnight too. The pastor is American, although his French is perfect; and the services are in French. Plenty of French people go.

The student Christian group is called ' Groupe Biblique Universitaire ' and meets every Wednesday at 8 p.m. on the first floor of A-B block in Village 3 . Meetings start in about the second week of October. This is a good way to meet other young French Christians. Also, they arrange a weekend away with the other groups from Toulouse and Pau


Hilton Harbour Hilton Harbour - front cover - contents

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Bordeaux - A Guide For Clueless ERASMUS Students ©1995 P. Hilton All Rights Reserved World-Wide
Written & edited by P. Hilton. Designed & published by P. Hilton. Contributions by G. Pharoah, D. Richardson.Illustrations by Yann. WWW version ©1997 P. Hilton.