Looking for activities and celebrations in Bordeaux during autumn and winter? November and December are two of the most magical months in the city. From antique fairs to Christmas markets, Bordeaux comes alive with local traditions, festive food and cultural events. In this article, we share our favourite activities and celebrations in Bordeaux that you should not miss.
La Brocante des Quinconces
One of the most popular activities and celebrations in Bordeaux in November is la brocante. A brocante is an antique and vintage fair where people come to buy and sell objects from the past: furniture, decorations and curious items from the 1950s, 60s and beyond. The French have a special word for hunting for antiques: chiner. To chiner is to browse, bargain and discover rare objects with passion.
In Bordeaux, the big annual brocante takes place at Les Quinconces, the largest square in France, from around the 19th of November to the 5th of December. It is open every day from 10h to 18h. Even if you do not want to buy anything, la brocante is a fantastic activity in Bordeaux: the aisles are full of beautiful, funny and surprising objects. And there are always churros and other delicious things to eat while you browse!
This type of event is very popular across France. People love decorating their homes with antique objects, and the rarer the better. La brocante is one of those activities and celebrations in Bordeaux that perfectly captures the French love of beauty, history and joie de vivre.
🐒 French vocabulary: la brocante
- Une brocante: an antique fair
- Chiner: to hunt for antiques
- Un objet ancien: an antique object
- Les Quinconces: the largest square in France, located in Bordeaux
- Une allée: an aisle
Le Marché de Noël de Bordeaux
The second of our favourite activities and celebrations in Bordeaux in December is the Christmas Market: le marché de Noël. While Christmas markets are not unique to Bordeaux, the city has a particularly beautiful one. It takes place at Allée de Tourny, a grand 18th-century avenue lined with plane trees, from around the 26th of November to the 26th of December. It is open every day from 10h30 to 21h.
The marché de Noël is one of the most festive activities and celebrations in Bordeaux during winter. You can browse stalls selling Christmas presents, decorations and local crafts. For food lovers, there is everything you could want: fromage fondu (melted cheese), crêpes, gaufres (waffles), aligot and brioche vendéenne. For drinks, warm up with vin chaud (mulled wine) or hot cider. There are also live concerts and Christmas trees for sale, and the whole allée is decorated with lights and festive spirit.
If you love Christmas and you are visiting Bordeaux in December, the marché de Noël is not to be missed. It is one of those activities and celebrations in Bordeaux that brings the whole city together.
🐒 French vocabulary: le marché de Noël
- Le marché de Noël: the Christmas market
- Le vin chaud: mulled wine
- Une gaufre: a waffle
- Une crêpe: a pancake
- Le fromage fondu: melted cheese
- L'aligot: a dish of mashed potato and melted cheese from the Auvergne region
- La brioche vendéenne: a sweet brioche bread from the Vendée region
Discover more activities in Bordeaux
These activities and celebrations in Bordeaux are a wonderful way to experience French culture first-hand. And the best way to enjoy them is to speak French! Our French language courses in Bordeaux will prepare you to chat with locals, order food at the market and ask for directions to the next brocante.
Discover all our cultural activities in Bordeaux or read our article on shopping in Bordeaux for more ideas on how to explore the city like a local.
Channel Trotters: French in Bordeaux