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Euro 2016 city guide to Bordeaux

Bordeaux is one of the ten host cities in France for the Euro 2016 tournament. Find out more about the city here from hire car company Sixt.

Euro 2016 city guide to Bordeaux
Photo: Ramon Miranda/Flickr

Watching the Games

The Stadium: Inaugurated in 2015, the Stade de Bordeaux designed by Herzog & de Meuron is framed by a forest of slim columns and includes a 200 seat restaurant and team merchandise shop. The stadium seats a substantial 42,000 spectators around the gleaming green pitch. The duo are also due to redesign Chelsea’s stadium so you might find some similarities between The Stade de Bordeaux and home turf. 

Photo: AFP

Public Viewings:  A Fan Zone is built up in every host city taking part in the Euros 2016 so visitors and locals can come together and watch open air match screenings. Bordeaux’s fan zone will be at the Place des Quinconces with a capacity of 60,000. 

Sports Bars: Pop by British watering hole Sweeney Tod’s sports bar to watch the game with a juicy burger. Do one better and after a night out tuck in to a full English breakfast, a rare treat on the continent! Happy hour is every day from 4pm until 7pm and all day Thursday so you can sip British pints like Abbot, Double Hop Monster and their housed-brewed Sweeney’s Ale for cheap. 

Get Out & About in Bordeaux

Unpick the tricky and baffling riddles at the Escape Hunt in Bordeaux, the new craze that’s rippling across the globe from its Bangkok birthplace. You and your buddies are locked in a game room and left to play your way out. An intoxicating blend of theme park and team challenges, this alternative for the non-traditional tourist will leave you hungry for round two. 

Wine is the liquid heart of Bordeaux so be sure to take a tour out to a flourishing vineyard. Sign up with Rustic Vines where your Kiwi guide Scott will show you to two private chateaus in St Etienne on a remarkably unpretentious tasting spree. Learn a few nuggets of information on the harvesting and pressing processes and feast on a complimentary picnic packed with regional produce.

For sporty groups who want to dip their toes into adrenalin-fuelled surfing, the Wave Surf Café in Bordeaux is the place. Long-time surfers will show you the ropes in this compact haven complete with tropical café. Private body board and surfing sessions are bookable so you can your pals can be the only riders on this ceaseless frothy wave.

Bordeaux Food & Culture

Local Delicacies: Bordeaux is famous naturally for its wines but there are a couple of edible dishes that region is home to. The most loved by chefs and visitors alike is ‘entrecote sauce au vin’ or rib steak marinated in a rich gravy made of wine, butter, shallots, herbs and bone marrow. We suggested grabbing a ‘steak frites’ (steak and chips) at a good-looking establishment and chowing down like a true Bordeaux carnivore.

Embrace the Culture: The city was long known as La Belle au Bois Dormant, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, as the walls were charcoal black from heavy pollution. Nowadays the name and the pollution have both happily lifted and what with the burgeoning population and high number of students, Bordeaux never seems to sleep at all.

Photo: Sixt

Driving in Bordeaux

The trick on how to drive in Bordeux is to cruise the city by car and seek the sights independently from the comfort of a plush seat. The Water Mirror in front of the Place de la Bourse alternately acts as a mirror or gently mists to extraordinary effect. Ten minutes’ drive to the east is the must-see Cathédrale St-André, it’s gargoyle structure imposing but nevertheless breath-taking. Just one hour’s drive outside the seamless streets containing 5,000 listed buildings are miles of glorious beaches. We recommend cruising through the scenic countryside this short way to hidden coastal gem Lacanau.  

Fixtures in Bordeaux

11th June- 18.00: Wales VS. Slovakia

14th June- 18.00: Austria VS. Hungary

18th June- 15.00: Belgium VS. Republic of Ireland

21st June- 21.00: Croatia VS. Spain

2nd July- 21.00: Quarter Final 

This city guide was put together by car rental company Sixt. For more information about hiring cars click here