Luxury Bordeaux River Cruises

Luxury Bordeaux River Cruises

The Bordeaux region offers a captivating river cruising experience, blending stunning landscapes, rich history, and world-renowned wine culture. Located in southwestern France, this region is defined by its picturesque vineyards surrounding the confluence of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, which create a unique setting for exploration. Cruising the region provides a taste of the area’s charm, from the elegant city of Bordeaux with its 18th Century architecture, to quaint villages and historic chateaux dotted along the banks.

Bordeaux is the most famous of all the country’s wine-producing regions. In fact, it’s widely regarded as the wine capital of the world, with a heritage that’s unparalleled, featuring famed appellations like Médoc and Saint-Émilion. With warm summers and mild winters combined with sandy soil, it offers the ideal terroir for vines.

The region also provides a range of enticing local delicacies, with each cruise offering the opportunity to taste oysters fresh from nearby Arcachon, and it is home to a unique pastry called Canelés de Bordeaux, with a soft airy center surrounded by a crispy caramelized crust.

Our Experts Says

“Bordeaux river cruising offers a unique blend of culture, gastronomy, and history, making it a truly special experience. Getting to experience the mighty Gironde Estuary, formed after the meeting of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, you can visit renowned vineyards in the many wine regions of the area including the Médoc, Graves and Saint-Émilion, yet also visit numerous historical and cultural attractions along the banks of the rivers, such as the UNESCO-listed citadel in Blaye and the beautiful city of Bordeaux itself.”

Start Planning

Chelsea

European Specialist

The Best Bordeaux River Cruises

Our tailored river cruises in Bordeaux are designed to provide a genuinely authentic experience at each stop while enjoying a wide range of facilities, outstanding dining venues, and modern comforts onboard.

When to go: Mar - Nov
AmaWaterways Cruise

Beautiful Bordeaux Cruise

Bordeaux, Libourne, Blaye, Bourg, Cussac Fort Medoc , Cadillac, Bordeaux
7 Nights
From £2,773 PP
If you’re looking for a getaway focused on the flavors of renowned Bordeaux, this exciting adventure...

Explore This Trip
When to go: March - October
Uniworld

Bordeaux & the Medoc Cruise

Bordeaux, Cussac-Fort-Medoc, Cadillac, Blaye, Bourg-sur-Gironde, Saint-Émilion, Libourne, Bordeaux
7 Nights
From £2,284 PP
Cruising on the S.S. Bon Voyage with Uniworld, you'll cover three different rivers, the Gironde,...

Explore This Trip
When to go: Mar - Nov
AmaWaterways Cruise

Beautiful Bordeaux Cruise & Land

Bordeaux, Libourne, Blaye, Bourg, Cussac Fort Medoc , Cadillac, Bordeaux
9 Nights
From £2,949 PP
If you’re looking for a getaway focused on the flavors of renowned Bordeaux, this exciting adventure...

Explore This Trip
When to go: April - October
Scenic Cruises

Gems of Bordeaux Cruise

Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion, Libourne, Blaye, Fort Medoc, Bourg, Cadillac, Bordeaux
7 Nights
From £2,645 PP
For an unforgettable mix of world-renowned wines, mouthwatering cuisine, and rich history, join...

Explore This Trip

Ready to plan your trip?

What ever you want from your dream trip, our team of
experts are ready to help.

Request a Quote

Why we love Bordeaux River Cruises

Chelsea

Cruise Specialist

An immersion into French wine, art, and culture, we love luxury Bordeaux river cruises with the five-star experience feeling like a high-end, all-inclusive resort that floats on the water, delivering passengers to one glorious place after another. Everything you could ever want or need is right at your fingertips, while the outstanding excursions allow one to get to know each destination without the stress of navigating there yourself. It’s an opportunity to taste the famously delicious wines of Bordeaux – for casual drinkers and oenophiles alike, this is one of the world’s greatest wine regions with some 7,000 wineries. Every new mooring opens up easy access to appellations nearby for tours and tastings, with vineyards opening up their worlds to reveal their secrets. But exploring the small, picturesque villages with their old-world charms and some of the magnificent chateaux with lush gardens is always a treat as well.

Cruise Lines

AmaWaterways

Uniworld

Scenic

Best places to visit on a Bordeaux River Cruise

When trying to decide which Bordeaux river cruise to book you’ll want to consider the itineraries that feature some of its best destinations, including these.

Bordeaux
Bordeaux isn’t just a wine region, but a port city with an intriguing mix of historical landmarks, world-class museums, Michelin-star eateries, and Espace Darwin, a massive cultural project changing its image and identity.
St Emilion
UNESCO-listed St-Emilion boasts scenic beauty with vine-covered hills while home to Eglise Monolithe Church, carved out of the rock between the 11th and 12th centuries, featuring a maze of tunnels and vast catacombs.
Blaye
The crown jewel in Blaye is its 17th-century UNESCO-listed citadel, built as a walled city atop a rocky promontory overlooking Gironde estuary, with a prison, barracks, gunpowder magazine, ramparts, and gates.
Cussac-Fort-Médoc
Nestled between the estuary and the vineyards, Cussac-Fort-Médoc is a tranquil gateway to the Medoc wine region, home to renowned, photogenic wine estates like Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild.
Cadillac
The town of Cadillac is an ideal base for tasting with plenty of highlights of its own, including the 17th-century Cadillac Castle with rooms exhibiting huge period tapestries and massive fireplaces.

Best time of year to cruise the Bordeaux

The summer months are the peak time for a Bordeaux river cruise with dry, sunny days and temperatures in the 80s, but a trip in this season means booking well in advance and preparing for the crowds. Many feel late spring and early fall are the best periods for cruising here with the harvest months of September and October particularly ideal. Summer’s heat will be waning, but days are mostly sunny with temperatures quite pleasant, in the mid-60s to mid-70s, making it quite comfortable for a river cruise. You might even join in the grape harvesting at some vineyards and wineries, helping during this time of excitement with new vintages being birthed while full fermenting vats bubble over with juice.

The Chateaux of Cussac-Fort-Médoc

River cruises through Bordeaux provide easy access to chateaux around Cussac-Fort-Médoc, including Chateau La Croix de Millorit with the historical chateau, traditional vineyard, wine cellar, and over 19 hectares of vines. The 12th-century ruin of Château des Rudel is located inside the Vauban citadel of Blaye, a medieval-era relic.

Discovering the Cavernous Monolithic Cathedral & Catacombs in St Emilion

Europe’s largest monolithic church, the Eglise Monolithe Church in St. Emilion, was carved out of a natural limestone cavern between the 11th and 12th centuries. The largest of its kind in Europe, while a bell tower looms above town, part of the church is underground, among a maze of tunnels with vast catacombs.

Tasting Local Arachon Oysters

If you like oysters, local Arachon oysters are a must-try. This tasty shellfish with the “Arcachon Cap Ferret Oysters” appellation is renowned for its high quality, thanks to the terroir of Arachon Bay, with over 80 huts dedicated to oyster tasting scattered around it, huddled together forming veritable villages.

Cinema Utopia Bordeaux

Located in a former convent and church, Cinema Utopia Bordeaux has a unique place in the city’s cultural life as an arthouse cinema with a diverse program. It shows everything from intelligent popular commercial films, including foreign films that are always shown with subtitles, to films created by small, independent producers.

Atmospheric Mists at the Miroir d’Eau

Bordeaux attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually to marvel at its Water Mirror, officially Miroir d’Eau. Located across from the 18th-century square known as Place de la Bourse, it faces the Garonne River. Like a reflecting pool, it reflects the surrounding architecture, but the water is less than an inch deep

Enjoy the local pastry - Canelés de Bordeaux

A true symbol of Bordeaux and it’s history with wine, this delicacy is famous for its caramelized crust and soft centre. Made from just four key ingredients – flour, milk, eggs, sugar and butter – it is enhanced by the aromas of rum and vanilla. It’s history stems from the local wine making, where egg whites were used to filter the wine, leaving the yolks to be used for baking.

You may be interested in

The Best River Cruises In Europe
Snaking through Paris, the Seine River flows alongside the imposing Eiffel Tower, past the majestic Arc de Triomphe, near the grand Champs Élysées Boulevard and the exceptional Louvre Museum. It glides under the Pont-Neuf bridge, which crosses to the Île...
Read More
The World’s Best First-Time Cruise Tips
Frequent cruisers often plan their cruises way in advance, much further out than other vacations. For those with specific itineraries and dates in mind, holiday sailings you’re interested in, celebratory dates or anniversaries you’re planning a cruise around, or favorite...
Read More