About the neighborhood
Bordeaux's historic wine-merchant quarter
Chartrons is the historic heart of Bordeaux's wine trade and arguably the most charming neighborhood in the city. From the 17th to the 19th centuries it was dominated by Dutch, English, German and Irish merchants — the négociants who built the international market for Bordeaux wines and made the city rich. They built the elegant 18th-century stone mansions and warehouses that line the streets between the Place des Quinconces and the Garonne, and many still stand. Today Chartrons is famous for two things: the Sunday morning Marché des Quais, one of the prettiest markets in France, with stalls of oysters, charcuterie and fresh bread spilling along the riverfront; and the highest density of antique dealers, vintage furniture shops and art galleries anywhere in southwestern France. It also sits next door to the spectacular Cité du Vin wine museum. Bordeaux's most aristocratic past and its most contemporary present, in the same five blocks.
Encyclopedic content adapted from the Wikipedia article on Chartrons, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.