Skip to content
The Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux reflected in the miroir d'eau water mirror, with traffic passing on the quay between them

Where to stay in Bordeaux

Photographed in 2013. Photo: Patrick Despoix, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Bordeaux

Add your dates above to compare prices for your stay.

About Bordeaux

Bordeaux charges the tourist tax across 28 communes of its métropole, parks visitors for 30 free minutes a day, and keeps unclassified cars out of everything inside the ring road.

France. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airport
Bordeaux Mérignac (BOD), about 16 km by road from the Place de la Bourse and about 9 km from the centre of Mérignac. Source
Who charges the tourist tax
Bordeaux Métropole, across 28 communes including Bordeaux, Mérignac, Pessac and Talence, since 1 January 2016. Hosts declare monthly and pay quarterly; platforms pay twice a year. Source
Tourist tax rates
Metropolitan rate per person per night: EUR 4.90 palaces, EUR 3.60 five stars, EUR 2.60 four stars, EUR 1.70 three stars, EUR 1.00 two stars, EUR 0.80 one star and chambres d'hôtes, EUR 0.20 camping. Source
Unclassified lodgings
5% of the cost of the night per person excluding tax, capped at the palace rate, which no establishment in the métropole holds. Source
Additional taxes
A departmental addition founded on the Gironde council decision of 4 July 1984, and a 34% regional addition paid to the Société du Grand Projet du Sud-Ouest since 1 January 2024. Source
Exemptions
Minors, seasonal workers employed in the métropole, people in emergency or temporary housing, and people whose rent is below EUR 30 a night, EUR 116 a week or EUR 346 a month in 2026. Source
Registration number
Every furnished let in Bordeaux, main or second residence, needs a registration number, and it must appear in every advertisement and in the lease. Any change to the declaration issues a new number. Source
Change of use
A second residence may be let as a meublé de tourisme only with a change-of-use authorisation and compensation. From 1 April 2026 compensation in the city centre must be double the area. Source
Days a main residence may be let
Ninety a year in Bordeaux, lowered from 120 by the city council on 8 July 2025. Source
Low-emission zone
Everything inside the rocade, as the métropole publishes it. The rocade itself is outside and open to all. Only unclassified vehicles are barred; electric, hydrogen and Crit'Air 1 to 5 cars are not. Source
The 2026 law
Parliament voted to repeal the articles that created the low-emission zones in the law of 26 May 2026, and the métropole still publishes its zone. Whether it is enforced was unverified as of September 2026. Source
Parking with a rental car
Paid 9am to 7pm except Sundays and public holidays, 24 hours maximum on one space, 30 consecutive minutes free a day. EUR 2.50 an hour, EUR 6 for two hours, EUR 20 for four; the unpaid charge is EUR 39. Source
Heavy cars pay more
Over 1,600 kg for a combustion or non-rechargeable hybrid car, over 1,900 kg for an electric or plug-in hybrid, read from field G1: EUR 3.30 an hour, EUR 25 for four hours, unpaid charge EUR 51. Source
Car parks
The city owns 56 car parks, close to 25,000 spaces, six of them free for two hours at weekends, and the métropole runs 28 park and ride sites on the tram and bus network. Source
Check-in
A guest who is not a French national fills in a fiche de police. The host keeps it for six months and hands it to the police on request. Source
Short stays for non-EU visitors
90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area. The EU Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since 10 April 2026. Source
Currency
Euro (EUR). Source
Emergency numbers
112, ambulance 15, police 17, fire 18 Source

Areas of Bordeaux

The Place du Parlement in the Saint-Pierre quarter of Bordeaux, a pedestrian square of 18th century stone houses with restaurant terraces around a fountain
Photographed in 2012. Photo: Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Saint-Pierre and the old town

The oldest quarter, built around the Place du Parlement, a pedestrian square of 18th century stone houses with restaurant terraces set around a fountain, with the Place de la Bourse and its water mirror on the quay beside it. It suits a first visit made on foot.

Mérignac airport
about 16 km
Place de la Bourse
under 1 km

Car and parking

On-street parking is charged from 9am to 7pm except Sundays and public holidays, with 30 consecutive minutes free a day: EUR 2.50 an hour, EUR 6 for two hours and a EUR 39 charge if the meter goes unpaid. A car over 1,600 kg pays EUR 3.30 an hour and EUR 51 unpaid. The quarter is inside the ring road and so inside the low-emission zone, which bars only unclassified vehicles.

A Bordeaux tram running on the grassed tracks along the quai des Chartrons, with a cycle lane and parked cars on the far side
Photographed in 2014. Photo: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Chartrons

The quay north of the centre, where the tram runs on grassed tracks along the quai des Chartrons with a cycle lane beside it. It is residential and long, and it suits a stay of a week or more with a car that leaves the city during the day.

Mérignac airport
about 16 km
Place de la Bourse
about 2 km

Car and parking

The same city tariff as the old town, 30 free minutes a day then EUR 2.50 an hour, and a 24-hour maximum on any one space. Inside the ring road, so inside the low-emission zone, which only bars unclassified vehicles.

Saint-Michel and the Capucins

South of the old town, around the Basilique Saint-Michel and its detached bell tower. It suits travellers who want a working quarter rather than a tourist one, still inside walking distance of the river.

Mérignac airport
about 16 km
Place de la Bourse
about 2 km

Car and parking

City tariff as elsewhere in the paid streets, 30 free minutes a day, EUR 2.50 an hour and a EUR 39 charge if the meter goes unpaid. Inside the ring road and the low-emission zone.

La Bastide

The right bank across the Garonne, reached by the Pont de pierre, looking back at the quays of the old town. It suits a longer stay with a car, because it is out of the dense centre but still close to it.

Mérignac airport
about 25 km
Place de la Bourse
about 5 km

Car and parking

Inside the ring road and therefore inside the low-emission zone, which bars only unclassified vehicles. Where bays are marked, the city tariff applies: 30 free minutes a day, EUR 2.50 an hour, 24 hours maximum on one space.

Bordeaux Mérignac airport from the air, with the control tower, the terminals, the car parks behind them and an airliner on the taxiway
Photographed in 2020. Photo: Dylan Agbagni (CC0), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mérignac and the airport

A commune of Bordeaux Métropole in its own right, with the airport on its western edge, its terminals and car parks set between the runway and the town. It suits an early flight, a late arrival and anyone who would rather not drive into the city at all.

Mérignac airport
about 9 km
Place de la Bourse
about 7 km

Car and parking

Outside the ring road, so outside the low-emission zone, and the Bordeaux street tariff does not apply here. The métropole tourist tax does, because Mérignac is one of its 28 communes.

Guides

Questions

Who charges the tourist tax in Bordeaux?

Bordeaux Métropole, not the city, across its 28 communes including Mérignac and the airport. It has applied the legal ceiling rates since 2023, and its own deliberation says the 2027 rates are identical to those of 2026.

How much is the tourist tax per night?

The metropolitan rate is EUR 4.90 for a palace, EUR 3.60 at 5 stars, EUR 2.60 at 4 stars, EUR 1.70 at 3 stars, EUR 1.00 at 2 stars and EUR 0.80 at 1 star, with a departmental addition and a 34% regional addition on top.

Is street parking free at any point?

Every vehicle gets 30 consecutive minutes free a day in the paid streets, and parking is free on Sundays and public holidays. Six METPARK car parks are free for two hours at weekends.

Does the Bordeaux low-emission zone stop a rental car?

Only an unclassified one. The métropole bars unclassified vehicles inside the ring road and leaves Crit'Air 1 to 5, electric and hydrogen cars alone. Whether the zone is enforced after the law of 26 May 2026 was unverified as of September 2026.

How long may a car stay in one street space?

Twenty-four consecutive hours. A stay of several days belongs in one of the city's 56 car parks or at one of the 28 park and ride sites on the tram and bus network.