My Erasmus in Bordeaux

Hello everyone! I would like to share with you my eight month Erasmus experience in the very beautiful Bordeaux, a perfect city for student life situated near to the western coast of France. In addition to a simple descriptive objective, I also hope to give some useful information to all the future Erasmus students that choose this city as their destination.

Bordeaux in general

Before I begin to talk about my Erasmus and about the places to visit, I would like to describe the city in general, taking into consideration the aspects mentioned above.

Bordeaux is first and foremost a city made for humans: thanks to the tram, the main mode of transport for the citizens, here you can move quickly and comfortably to every neighbourhood, easily reaching neighbouring towns as well. It is an ancient city that has perfectly conserved its monuments, and its medieval and modern civil architecture.

In regards to costs, I have no negative criticisms. You can find some very good rent offers for good prices and you can buy a lot of food shopping but only spend a little (I'm going to take this opportunity to advise you to use Auchan in the Mériadeck shopping centre. Take my own experience as an example: for little over 25 euros I could fill the fridge for every day of the week). In regards to entertainment etc., prices are also quite restrained; for a beer, for example, you would generally spend about 3. 50 euros.

I would give the weather three out of five stars: there are frequently rainy and grey days (especially during the autumn/ winter seasons) and the air is often humid.

In regards to gastronomy, I can say that I have been satisfied with every restaurant that I have eaten dinner or lunch in.

The start of my adventure

I arrived to Bordeaux on 3rd September 2014 with a friend that studies the same degree as me at IULM University - Milan.

If you depart from Lombardy then you can reach Bordeaux from Milan Malpensa Airport. You can find flights of about an hour and a half that fly every day of the week with the company Easy Jet.

The first month I found it difficult to find accommodation (as a matter of fact, I would advise all future Erasmus students to being looking at least a month in advance before arriving). Even when university courses had already begun, I was still staying at the Auberge de Jeunesse (hostel for students), desperately looking for a house. Nevertheless, despite this one negative aspect, I have to admit that the first month was one of the most fun periods of my Erasmus. It might seem like a paradox, but the constant feeling of instability made me feel like I was living a real adventure. I slept for a few days on a sofa at the home of an Italian friend I met during an Erasmus evening, I stayed for other periods at the home of my friend with whom I had arrived in Bordeaux, and other days I stayed in the hostel, meeting many students that came from all over Europe. An adventure in all respects. During this first month, I met all the friends with whom I spent most of my time in the first semester. Here is a photo from a lovely evening that we spent together:

There are various opportunities to find and meet new people: meetings organised through Facebook, Erasmus parties in local bars or clubs and welcoming days for international students organised by the university. By the end of September, at long last, I found a room available in a beautiful house in the historic center of the city. From that moment, I was able to spend my days more calmly.

A city that lives every single day of week

Fortunately, I completed my Erasmus in a city that offers many opportunities for recreational activities for students. My friends and I spent most of our evenings in some English pubs; in Bordeaux there are more or less five, they are all beautiful and each of them organises themed evenings every day of the week. Our favorite was the quiz night, at the end of which you could win prizes like whiskey bottles or a minute to spend behind the bar to fill as many beer glasses as you can. In addition to these pubs, all located in the historic center, there are many other places always full of people and brilliant restaurants. Of all the cities I've visited so far, Bordeaux is the one that, in my opinion, has the most right to boast about having the best locals.

Thursday night was always Erasmus party night. Usually it took place once every two weeks in different clubs in the city. They were the perfect evenings for meeting with all the other Erasmus students and for having fun all night long.

The historical centre and the monuments, UNESCO heritage

Fun isn't the only pastime for students living in Bordeaux; in fact, as you can read from the title of this paragraph, the city has a lot to boast about in regards to its beautiful monuments and its entire historical center, which can be found on the list of the areas protected by UNESCO. Therefore, you could spend an entire afternoon visiting these historic and majestic beauties. Fortunately, being in Bordeaux for 8 months, I was able to visit every corner of the city in my own time. Below, I have posted some photos, taken by me, of my favorite monuments:

La "Grosse Cloche" (bell tower of the Saint Éloi church)

Il Grand Théâtre.

Il Pont de pierre (Stone Bridge) that crosses the Garonne.

La Torre Pey-Berland (bell tower of the cathedral).

Place de la Bourse. In my opinion, the pride and joy of this city.

Other places to visit

In addition to the magnificent monuments in the historical center, I would recommend future Erasmus students going to Bordeaux to visit the fabulous castles that are located in the neighboring municipalities of the city. Below, are two photos of the castle of Thouars (Château de Thouars) that can be found in a park of Talence:

In this section, dedicated to places that should be visited, I also mention some city parks that really deserve a visit at least once. What I like the most is the public garden (Jardin Public), which is perfect for a picnic or an afternoon of studying outdoors. From this garden, it is also possible to access a botanical garden. Two other parks that are perfect for disconnecting from city life, or for going for a jog, are the Parc Bordelais and the Parc Palmer, located in Cenon (a neighboring commune that extends on the other side of the river), from where you can enjoy a beautiful panorama of Bordeaux. If one day you decide to go for a walk in this park, I suggest you go there during the hours of the late afternoon to enjoy a beautiful sunset as a backdrop to the landscape. I have captured a sunset over the city on a November evening in the following photo:

Another place of interest that particularly struck me is the Musée d'Aquitaine (Museum of Aquitaine); I have visited it three times. From prehistoric times to the present day, the museum offers an immersion into the history of Bordeaux and Aquitaine, the region where the city is located.

The university

My experience in France has also been positive in regards to the education provided at the university. Bordeaux has a good number of universities; the one I attended is the Université Bordeaux Montaigne, also known as Université Bordeaux 3. The university campus of Bordeaux is the largest in Europe; it extends over 3 different municipalities and has many facilities dedicated to students: rooms, libraries, restaurants, football fields etc. Except for some faculties, such as medicine, the offices are all in the suburbs, but are easily accessible by tram. I, for example, living in the historic center, reached the faculty in just over 20 minutes.

The courses I attended were almost all interesting; at the beginning it was a bit difficult to adapt to the French study methods, especially in the written tests where some precise schemes and procedures had to be followed (an example is the "dissertation"). However in the second semester I managed to understand the system more and everything was more interesting. In general, the teachers were all very helpful. Below is a photo of the building where I attended some of my lessons:

Conclusion

To conclude the description of my experience, I would like to recommend this city to all students who decide to spend a period of international mobility in France. There are two main pieces of advice that I would give to all future Erasmus students: to make friends with as many people as possible to have fun and learn about different cultures; and devote a good portion of your stay here to discovering the city and visiting its monuments.

In Bordeaux there are so many opportunities for both entertainment and culture. A positive, fully rounded experience.