1. Gorgeous Hidden Food Spots

Feeling like sitting in an idyllic little cafe? Don’t we all! Luckily, in Bordeaux, there are many of those. While just wandering around will find you in the most adorable spots, we took some of the guesswork out for you. For some great food and live music, there’s the Les Chantiers de la Garonne, with good food and beautiful views of the Garonne river. It’s right near the popular Guinguette Chez Alriq, where you’ll find live music and food as well. If you’re into quaint alleys, head to the super instagrammable (is that a word?) Rue Saint James and explore the lovely side alleys. Here you can find Le Lion Lilas restaurant, which fits into the perfectly quaint alleys. Eating the local delicious food is a thing you must do in Bordeaux, France!

2. Get Into Nature

Despite Bordeaux being a bustling city, there’s still ways to escape the fast-pace city life. Of course, the botanical garden is the first place you might go to get a your green fix, and it is beautiful. It is outshone a little by the beautiful Parc Floral, which offers lots of green, lots of water and gorgeous flowers. The Parc Bordelais and Parc Public are a little easier to reach from the city, while Parc de l’Ermitage Sainte-Catherine is difficult to get to – but in turn offers a more relaxed atmosphere. If you can get a day or two away from the city, Arcachon and the nearby Réserve Ornithologique Du Teich are well worth a visit. The reserve is great for birdwatching and to learn about the local flora and fauna.

3. Forgotten Places

You probably already have a list of historical spots to visit and things to do in Bordeaux, France. After all, they are in every tour guide and well worth seeing. But there are a few that are worth visiting that you won’t find in any guides. They’re not the typical things to do in Bordeaux, Frane. But they’re still super interesting! Like the Chateau Edward Gein, a mysterious castle that slowly deteriorates. There is also the Niels Barracks (Caserne Niels), which is popular with French hipsters. Places like the Albert Pel Manor, another abandoned plot in the metropolis, are slowly disappearing as the growing Bordeaux swallows them up, which makes them even more exciting to find. If you enjoy the hidden and macabre spots, you can always take a Bordeaux Ghost Tour, which explores the local haunted destinations.

There you go! Hopefully, I have given you some ideas about off-the-beaten-track things to do in Bordeaux, France. Have you been to any of these destinations? Do you know some cool hidden places in Bordeaux? Let me know in the comments!

The post 3 Hidden Things To Do In Bordeaux, France appeared first on christopherkhoitran.

France is synonymous with great wine, delicious food, and beautiful nature. But how much does a trip to France cost? Can you travel to France with a small travel budget? When planning a vacation in the most romantic country in the world, thinking of budgeting seems to quickly spoil the fun. But don’t worry, with this quick breakdown you can get a good estimate of what you’ll spend ahead of time. And once you land, you can relax!

This breakdown doesn’t include flight costs, as they can vary depending on where you live. But it includes everything you need once you’re on the ground!

Cost of Living

Let’s begin with the basic costs of staying in France – food and accommodation. For a relatively cheap private hotel room, you’ll be spending around $100 a night, or $700 a week. Of course, you can go cheaper with a bunk in a hostel for around $45 a night. If you’re in for something more classy, expect to spend around $150 – $200 a night, or $1,050 – $1,400 a week.

Assuming you’re having breakfast at your hotel, let’s look at lunch and dinner prices. For lunch, you might get a nice coffee and a small meal, worth around $15. For dinner, you don’t want to skimp – not in the country of the best food and drink! So let’s say you get a nice local dinner with dessert for $25. And, because it’s France, a good bottle of wine twice a week for $12 each. That adds up to $305. If you’re trying to save a little and decide to go for a cheaper, $15 dinner, you’ll end up spending $230.

So budget accommodation and cheaper food will end up around $930, while classier hotels and a mid-range three-course dinner end up around $1,705 a week.

Cost of Entertainment

When calculating how much your trip to France will cost, consider how you want to spend your time. You can have a perfectly lovely holiday spending almost nothing on entertainment. Just wandering around exploring, suntanning on the beach and visiting the markets can be enough to keep you busy for a week. But of course, wine and sightseeing tours are great ways to see the country. Wine tours vary from $50 to $200, with full day tours and classes around $150. Most hop-on-hop-off tours are around $40. If you stay in Paris and want to see the Moulin Rouge, it’s $110. That adds up to a total of $300 on entertainment in a week.

Cost of Transport

If you stay in only one place, your cost of transport will be fairly low. The 5-day Paris Visite travel-pass for public transport costs around $45 – and you wouldn’t want to rent a car anyway, because Paris is mad to drive in. A similar pass for Bordeaux is $16 a week. If you want to travel farther distances, you can hire a car starting at $185 a week.

Hopefully, now you have an idea how much a trip to France can cost! Of course, there are many ways to lower your travel budget or to splurge some more. But either way, the country of love has something for everyone – and every budget!

Want to compare France to other destinations? Check out this article. Have you been to France? If yes, let me know in the comments what your travel budget was!

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Your Travel Budget In Different Countries

Depending on where you’re going, $1000 can make you a millionaire or a beggar. Here are some examples of what your money can get you once you’re on the ground (excluding tickets).

UK: £560

The UK is the most popular destination for Americans, and it’s easy to see why. Everyone speaks the same language (well, they sound pretty posh there) and it’s a very accessible destination. Now, London is rather expensive compared to the rest of the country, but a great place to start our comparison. For $1000 you get £560 – pretty disappointing number, right? A hotel including breakfast and an average-priced meal for two costs you £120 a day already. So in London, a travel budget of $1000 might give you three days stay, including a decent meal (£40) and small lunch, an oyster card to use public transport each (£7/day), a bottle of wine (£10) and a couple pints of beer (£3.5) here and there. This leaves you with about £100 for activities.

France: 875€

Who could not love the most romantic place in the world? It’s one of the most visited countries worldwide, luring tourists in with a combination of cheese, wine, and beautiful countryside. One of the most stunning cities is Bordeaux. When you arrive, you can swap your $1000 for 875€. With a decent hotel for 80€ and a mid-range dinner for 40€, you could do nothing but dine for a week (food holiday, anyone?) Stay for only 5 days and you could rent a car (160€/week) and get down to the markets for some wine (6€/bottle), beer (5€/pint) and cheese. Keep some of your last 100€ for a café au lait you can sip while taking a nice free walking tour in Bordeaux.

Dominican Republic: RD$ 50,400

This is also a very popular holiday destination for Americans – it is more affordable and there’s very little that can beat Caribbean beaches. Here, you will get RD$50,400 for your budget. If you stay in La Romana, you can find a decent hotel for around RD$4,500. You might be able to stretch your money for a week if you don’t drink a lot – this means you can still have a pretty good dinner every day (RD$1,500) and rent a car for a week (RD$8,500). Cut the trip down to 5 days and you can fit a few beers (RD$150) and cocktails (RD$300) into your travel budget and take the occasional tour, like snorkeling at Catalina Island (RD$4,000).

Thailand: 32,000 Baht

Now if the previous destinations made you cringe, that might be because you want more out of your small travel budget. If that’s the case, there is no better destination than Thailand. For this comparison, I chose Koh Lanta – a beautiful Island that’s fairly quiet and not flooded with tourists. Once you get your money exchanged to 32,000 baht, you can get a nice hotel for as little as 1,700 baht (private room). Have a delicious three-course dinner for two (650 baht) and a couple of beers a day (100 baht/each). That way you’ll still have enough to rent a scooter (200 bath/day).

Just relaxing on the beach and zipping around on your scooter will make for a nice 10-day vacation, but if you replace the three-course fancy meal with something more modest, you’ll be able to stay even longer. Or you could just enjoy some tours to Koh Phi Phi and go snorkeling (avg. 1500 baht/person).

How To Use Your Budget

Of course, some travelers might be happy to stay longer in cheaper hotels, while others wouldn’t set foot in anything that has less than 5 stars, so these estimates vary. But it shows that a nice holiday can be had with a small budget and that even a big budget can be spent quickly in an expensive location. So it’s up to you to make your money work for you!

What do you think – how long can you make $1000 last in your dream destination? Let me know in the comments below!

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