by Rita Eyremandi
On a sunny day, our two friends Elita and Jaja decide to visit the Parc Bordelais. This historic park, inaugurated in 1880, covers an area of 28 hectares, contains around 3,000 trees, a thousand of which are over a hundred years old, and 50 remarkable plant species.
Located in the Caudéran district, it is accessible by tram with line D.
It is the lung of Bordeaux, labeled “Ecological Green Space and Remarkable Garden”. The park has a children’s play area, a carousel, a puppet theater and a course for small electric cars. A small train takes you around the park.
Our two friends walked along surprisingly wide paths, more than 10 meters long, lined with tall trees, giving the impression of being in a real forest. After only a few minutes of walking, Elita and Jaja find themselves facing some rabbits giving a countryside feel. Indeed, the park contains an animal park where you can discover endangered species: Gascon and Basque pigs, Pyrenees donkeys, Gascony turkeys, etc.
Like most parks, this Bordeaux park also contains a body of water and an English-style river with its small bridge. The main body of water is a lake which covers more than one hectare where you can see swans, ducks, geese and other moorhens. Then, our two friends stopped in front of a small waterfall bordered by a bamboo grove. Finally, for lovers of art and sculptures, the Bordeaux park has several statues, including “The Abduction of Iphigenia by Diane” by Félix Soules and the bust of Camille Godard.
Other parks and gardens allow you to take bucolic breaks in Bordeaux such as Le Jardin public, classified as a remarkable garden of France, with an area of 11 hectares, is located in the heart of Bordeaux. They say it is the soul of Bordeaux.
It hosts play areas, a botanical garden, the Guignol Guérin puppet theater, the Natural History Museum and the very pleasant L’Orangerie, bar restaurant.
After this pleasant stroll in the parks and gardens, our two friends rested with a glass of Bordeaux wine in hand on the terrace of this restaurant.
