Bordeaux is quite a big city; however, most of the interesting attractions are in the town center. It is not recommended that visitors drive as it is always a hassle to park and car parks are expensive, and there are often traffic jams in the narrow, old streets of the city.
The most interesting way to explore the city is by walking. As most of the town center is a 'pedestrian area', this is easy to do. If you like sports, you can rent roller-skates or a bike see below or you can make your way in town using the various bus lines. A small ferry boat permits to go from the western shore of the river to the eastern shore, and vice-versa.
Three efficient tramway lines are also available A, B, and C, tickets cost 1.40⬠and covers unlimited journeys within one hour of validation.
By bike
As was mentioned previously Bordeaux is very flat and has lots of bike lanes so it is very easy to get around the city by bicycle. The city has recently February 2010 added a city-wide bike sharing program called VCUB (http://www.vcub.fr/similar) to Vélib in Paris, it is a cheap and easy way to see the city although the requirement to put down a 200⬠deposit before taking a bike might cause problems if you do not have a bank/credit card that works well with the system. A daily or weekly subscription is 1 or 5â¬, respectively and each usage is free provided you do not go over 30 minutes you can just return the bike and take out a new one.
By bus
The bus network is organized around a few main places, where it is possible to take buses to almost every destination in the city :
Gare Saint-Jean railway station, bus lines going to town center, university, and north of town, TBC agency,
Place de la Victoire (bus lines going to town center, to the railway station, to the University, north and south-west of town,
Place Gambetta bus lines going to la Victoire, the railway station, west, north-west, north of town, TBC agency .
Quinconces TBC agency.
Single fare tickets 1.40 ⬠can be purchased from the driver on the bus although you shouldn't expect to receive change. The best thing to do is buy packages of 5/10 tickets for 5.40/10.60⬠or a daily/weekly pass for 4.10/10.60⬠from TBC Agencies French: Espace TBC at Gare Saint-Jean, Gambetta and Quinconces, all trips are good for one hour of unlimited transfers - you must validate your ticket each time you change buses/trams. You can also purchase these tickets from the automated machines at the tramway stops, all machines will accept coins and some of them will accept chip debit/credit cards. To qualify for the reduced student price of 6.30⬠for 10 trips you need to be a student IN Bordeaux and purchase an ID card July 2010.
Avoid the buses on peak hours 8-10AM, 4-7PM as the town center is usually totally jammed and cars often block bus tracks, and buses are overcrowded.
By ship
Le Bus du Fleuve, as it is called, links the western and eastern parts of the city by a small cruise on the river. It is managed by the CGFTE, and you can therefore ride the ferry using a standard bus ticket. The bus goes from the Southern part of Quai Richelieu to the Place Aristide Briand, very close to the Aquitaine Bridge one of the must-see in Bordeaux.
By Electric Bus And Tramway
A new tramway (http://www.infotbc.com/) serves the town, crossing the Garonne via the Pont de Pierre. A distinctive feature of the tramway is that within the inner city, it has no overhead wires as it utilizes ground-level power supply system.
The electric bus, called la navette du centre-ville, is the only public transportation on pedestrian roads. There are no bus stops for this one: to board an electric bus, wave your hand to the driver - he will stop the bus and let you on. When you want to go out, just tell the driver.
All the maps, fares and times are on the TBC Web site in French (http://www.infotbc.com). Also, maps and times can be easily accessed with Google Maps, just select route "By public transit" when getting directions.