The seven coordinates that are changing Bordeaux
1. THE WINE TOURISM OF TOMORROW
The obvious is the obvious : Bordeaux has a new monument, an icon, a model with which to walk through fairs, catalogs and magazines. La Cité du Vin en is such an ambitious project that it has not fallen short, not even in the eyes and noses of the professional and fastidious wine tourist. Everything here exudes technology and modernity, from a daring architecture with a sinuous shape that seeks to imitate the shape of wine when it is shaken in the glass to remove its olfactory nuances to the last lamppost of the coquettish park of him.
It's about a global interpretation center where the D.O. famous of this region is not the protagonist. Here we talk about wine, from the new plantations in San Luis (Argentina) to the Georgian wineries where wine is still fermented in the Persian style in jars buried in the ground. The visit is structured by an interactive audio guide that connects directly with the different tables, videos, 3D and 4D experiences and with the games that are offered in its modern rooms. A kind of Futuroscope (theme park in which it developed its current general manager, Phillipe Massol) but applied to wine in which there is no lack a tasting room-viewpoint at the top nor an impressive store with all kinds of references at its entrance.
Bordeaux will have its Cité du Vin
two. SPONTANEOUS ART
The Cité du Vin has done nothing but put on the map the entire area of the ** Bassins à Flot **, some ponds that served as shipyards but that today they resent the move of a port who left the city decades ago to settle in the estuary. And, as has become customary, all these impoverished areas have found in creativity a new way of surviving and enriching their DNA . The most flagrant, underground and complex case is that of Les Vivres de l'Art, a project led by the sculptor Jean-François Buisson that consists of the reconversion of the old slaughterhouse into a free art space with a garden, workshop, concerts, parties and exhibition halls that are a real chaos.
More civilized is the ** Frac Aquitania **, a space promoted by the regional government in which they exhibit the young promises of photography, painting and sculpture born in the area or with clear reminiscences to it in their works. A room with free access, entertaining and that gives life to the old offices of the Bassins. Finally ** La Garage Moderne ** is, in effect, a car workshop that pays homage to old models. From the whirlpool that was emerging around the pop universe of road and car design n The cultural side of this center was born, which currently organizes essential talks, concerts, soirees and festivals.
Here they exhibit the young promises of French painting and photography
3. FROM NAZI SUBMARINES TO VIDEO ART
However, of all the new inhabitants of the old ponds, the most disturbing is the concrete mass of the ** submarine base ** that the Nazis had built. It should be noted that what they did was give orders since the workforce was mainly French resistance fighters and Spanish republicans, a fact that is remembered with the tricolor flag of the Second Republic on its door. Aside from this data, the facilities are impressive, indestructible and lonely. Hence, it has had to be repopulated with contemporary art, specifically, with audiovisual and light art since the thick walls act as a charismatic screen.
The art in a Nazi submarine base
Four. THE FOREST MADE STADIUM
Architectural freakism inspired by Exhibition Park and the organization of fairs were always the main arguments for going up to the artificial lake in the north of the city. They have recently been joined by the new stadium matmut atlantique , venue for the European Championship and jewel in the crown of sports architecture signed by Herzog & de Meuron . All this is design since the local team hardly has any history, achievements and relics, but they are still worth knowing. Its main element is hundreds of columns that support it and that play with extending the surrounding groves to the very field of play. A simple solution that proves you don't have to wrap buildings in glitter to be creative.
5. THE NEO-QUAY OF CHARTRONS
This neighborhood has in its ribs a couple of centuries of partying, businesses, wine warehouses and exchange of vices. In its heyday it was a kind of parallel universe that neither the church nor the powers that be dared to discuss. Here the sale of wine was handled and the barrels were loaded onto ships bound for England and northern Europe. With the professionalization of distribution, he lost his mojo and gave himself over to improvisation, but without losing its royal structure and its mansions.
Of course, the old docks disappeared until a decade ago the promenade was rehabilitated and a new golden age began. On the proposed walk from La Cité du Vin to the city center, the banks of the Garonne it offers shops, restaurants, terraces and neons where before there were warehouses. But also the new and spectacular Jaques Chaban Delmas drawbridge , the tallest building in Europe, and a science museum aimed at the youngest. And, of course, art and music are responsible for attracting other audiences in Hangar 14 while the frenetic rhythm of skateboards and scooters from the neighboring Skate Park put the icing on the cake.
Chartrons
6. A PARIS STREET
Chartrons It also deserves to be known under its skin, from the fine line of facades that separates the tangle of streets from the riverbank. There, among centuries-old mansions with flaming balconies, the Rue Notre-Dame . If you blink insistently, dizziness generates the daydream that you are in Paris, with Montmartre-like corners and Gothic domes. transporting to the Île de la Cité . After this trip, reality reveals a more than interesting street, with bistros that end in terraces and antique and design shops for all tastes. In this amalgam, the essentials are Pipat , Village Notre-Dame and the fascinating RKR .
Stroll through the new Chartrons, the hype of Bordeaux
7. THE STORE OF ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Before the classic Bordeaux appears inevitably behind the trees of Plaça de Quinconces, there is still an unsuspected gap. The CAPC or also known as Contemporary Art Museum It is the umpteenth reinvention that this city has made of an industrial space. And yet, it manages to fascinate because it is an ancient building, headquarters of the first customs office and a large warehouse of the different foods that nourished the expeditions. In its beams, the names that delimited the old spaces destined for meat, grains and jars can still be guessed, while from its arches hang the threads that support the large photographs that hypnotize in its central hall. For its part, the upper rooms are more classic and serve as a wall for temporary exhibitions Well curated and uncensored.
Contemporary Art Museum
THE PLUS: TRAVEL GUIDE
The perfect trip includes the comfortable flight (due to schedules, quality and proximity) with Iberia Express from Madrid. To sleep, the city has gotten its act together and modernized to the point of setting a trend with proposals such as the Mama Shelter , designed by Phillipe Stark or the postmodern and luxurious Yndo Hotel with which to put the icing on the cake for a fascinating getaway.
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