Bordeaux wheelchair accessibility guide

The city tourist office lists the tram, the bus network and the river shuttles (Navettes fluviales) as Bordeaux's accessible transport options. The TBM tram has six lines (A, B, C, D, E, F) and every tram is fully low-floor with level boarding at the platform, so wheelchair access does not depend on staff or a ramp. The trams are operated by Keolis Bordeaux Métropole.

City buses are listed as accessible by the tourist office; ask the operator for current bus-line specifics. On-street parking is free at any meter when you display a European parking card (CES) or a French CMI marked 'stationnement' (CMI-S). For door-to-door rides, ask at the tourist office about the Mobi+ paratransit service or an accessible taxi.

Five named attractions in this guide cover the modern wine museum, a digital art venue inside a former submarine base, two free city museums and the cathedral bell tower. All five are reachable on the tram from Saint-Jean station.

Cité du Vin: the wine museum on quai de Bacalan, served by tram B and certified for all four disability types under the Tourisme et Handicap label.

Bassins des Lumières: the digital art venue inside the former submarine base in north Bordeaux. Free for disabled cardholders; the companion pays the reduced rate.

Musée d'Aquitaine: the city history museum on cours Pasteur. Step-free entrance, free wheelchair loan at reception, and free admission for the disabled visitor and one companion.

CAPC musée d'art contemporain: the contemporary art museum on rue Ferrère. Free for disabled visitors. A lift serves the ground floor and second floor without staff help; first-floor mezzanines need a staff call.

Tour Pey-Berland: the cathedral bell tower on place Pey-Berland. Free admission at the base for the disabled visitor and one companion under a CMI; AAH-only visitors enter free but the companion pays. The climb to the top is by stairs and is not wheelchair accessible.

Bordeaux's four municipal museums (CAPC, Musée d'Aquitaine, Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Muséum de Bordeaux) are free for the disabled visitor and one companion. The Office de Tourisme runs a 'Bordeaux Accessible' programme that lists more than 90 accessible hotels, around 50 accessible restaurants and over 30 accessible leisure venues. See the full table with prices, companion policy and the documents to bring on the Bordeaux disability discounts page.

The tourist office lists more than 90 accessible hotels across the Bordeaux metropolitan area. The two flat central quarters (Saint-Pierre and the Triangle d'Or) are the easiest base because both are within walking or short tram distance of the tourist sights. Booking direct is the best way to confirm the practical detail your accommodation needs: step-free entrance, a wheel-in shower (the most common gap in older buildings), and lift access if you are not on the ground floor.