Is a Bordeaux Food Tour Worth It? My Experience & Recs
Besides being an incredibly gorgeous city full of beautiful historical monuments, charming streets, and lovely squares, Bordeaux is also a great destination for foodies.
Bordeaux actually has the most restaurants per inhabitant of any city in France and is a top culinary destination. There are multiple delicious regional specialties found uniquely in Bordeaux and is one of the top reasons to visit the city.
Because of this, I decided that a food tour was a must during our visit to Bordeaux. I’ll admit, food tours are one of my favorite experiences to participate in a new city (indeed, the food tour in Nice that I attended is still one of my favorite activities in that city). And Bordeaux did not disappoint!
Short on Time? No Worries, Here’s a Quick Overview
I did extensive research on food tours offered in Bordeaux and settled on this highly-rated food tour, which ended up being a fantastic choice.
The tour starts at Marché des Capucins, where you meet your local guide and small group of participants, and enter the market to try several dishes. From here, you’ll walk around the city to visit some of the best spots for food and desserts.
There’s a healthy balance of savory dishes and sweet treats, and you try a wide range of typical French foods and several dishes unique to Bordeaux. Plus, you get to walk through and learn about some of the different neighborhoods in the city.
Details: Here’s what it was like doing a Bordeaux food tour
At the Market
We met up with our local guide at the Marché des Capucins, the biggest food market in Bordeaux that dates back to 1749! My daughter and I, along with a very small group of other travelers, went into the bustling market, full of vendors and locals.
There are, of course, stalls selling your typical produce, cheese, meat, etc, but there are also plenty of stands that are almost small restaurants where locals are hanging out and enjoying a meal. The vibe is fantastic and all the food looked amazing.
Our first stop was at a small pop up restaurant in the market where we sampled a very traditional French dish: Moules Frites – aka mussels and French fries. Mussels are harvested on the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux.
We ordered two pots of mussels to be shared among the group – one was served with lemon and the other in a cream sauce. Mussels are quite soft, don’t have a strong fishy taste, and are often served with cream (my preferred mode of eating them). Seafood is hit-and-miss for me, but I quite enjoy a creamy pot of mussels.
From here, we got to sample 3 different cheeses, served with slices of baguette. Cheese is a must-try when visiting France!
I’ve visited many a fromagerie (cheese store) during my visits to France and I know that choosing the right cheese can be overwhelming. So I appreciated that they had 3 delicious, unique, and high quality varieties of cheese chosen for us to sample.
A final stop in the market was for Dunes Blanches, a delicious pastry created in the seaside village of Arcachon, less than 30 minutes from Bordeaux. A dune blanche is a choux pastry filled with light cream, topped with sugar crystals and powdered sugar, and is similar to a cream puff.
(This was one of my daughter’s favorite things we had on the food tour!)
Walking the City
Once we finished at the market, we started walking around the city to try several other delicious dishes. Of course, we had to try canelé, the famous dessert from Bordeaux.
Canelés have a distinctive rigged, chewy, caramelized exterior, and a soft, custard-y interior.
There are two chains for canelé in Bordeaux where most people stop, but on the food tour we stopped at a special local bakery to try this unique dessert. My daughter, who didn’t love the canelé at the chain shops, really enjoyed these canelés on the tour.
We also stopped for some fun treats, including a roulé – a type of pastry that’s rolled up with different mix-ins, almost like a snail or a flat cinnamon roll. There are multiple sweet and savory options (e.g. red fruits, or bacon, onions, and cream). We also stopped for a French-style cookie.
Finally, the food tour concluded with a tasting of one of the most iconic French snacks: crepes! We stopped at a cute little crepe + dessert shop where everything is homemade using high-quality ingredients. I got the salted caramel crepe – it’s one of my favorite flavors!
Good to Know
We aren’t the only ones who have taken and enjoyed this food tour in Bordeaux – the tour overwhelmingly earns 5 stars reviews (127 of 139 reviews are 5-stars!).
Click here to read reviews or get more details about the experience
A Few Tips and Recommendations
Definitely come hungry for the food tour – you get a TON of food and will be stuffed. Tours are usually run at 11am and I’d recommend actually skipping breakfast (or at least eating something very, very light).
Make sure that you ask your guide for local restaurant recommendations – they always have great suggestions for the best spots to eat.
If you have several days in Bordeaux, I’d try to do this tour at the beginning of your stay in Bordeaux so you can take advantage of any recommendations you get, and have time to come back and sample your favorites again later.
So, Was This Bordeaux Food Tour Worth it?
My daughter and I had a great time on this food tour and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a unique experience in the city. I loved getting to try different French foods and Bordeaux specialties, and I think there was a good mix of local and traditional foods, sweet and savory, and walking versus standing.
As a bonus, the guide was really friendly, warm, and welcoming, and it’s always fun to get to know other travelers from other countries who are also on the tour.
Plus, this is a very reasonably priced French food tour.
So yes, I’d recommend this fun experience to just about anyone visiting Bordeaux!
Check prices and availability and make your reservation for this Bordeaux food tour here!
