Musée d'Aquitaine
Musée d'Aquitaine
4.5
Speciality MuseumsHistory Museums
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
The Musée d'Aquitaine is a museum of history and civilisation. It has been located in the former University of Bordeaux Faculty of Arts and Sciences building in the heart of the city for the last thirty years. The museum's extensive collections retrace the history of Bordeaux and Aquitaine from prehistory to the 21st century. It is one of the biggest historical museums of France.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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  • Shardsman
    Indio, California79 contributions
    All you wanted to know about Aquitaine history
    First visit to this museum to see pre-history era an Roman era of Aquitaine. All on level one. There are lots of artifacts and great displays of both eras of Aquitaine. If you are a history buff, you will enjoy this museum. I plan to return to see exhibits of medieval and modern history.
    Visited March 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written March 25, 2023
  • BTS1972
    Munich, Germany3,461 contributions
    Only in French.
    The museum covers the major periods of the area. Unfortunately, around 90% of the documentation is only French. While this is typical French ignorance, it is not adequate to any museum of importance today. In addition, many of the multi-media installation – again mostly in French – are not functional. In short, not worth a visit, if you are not French.
    Visited June 2023
    Written June 11, 2023
  • David C
    3 contributions
    A pleasant surprise in Bordeaux
    Excellent for history buffs. A comprehensive walk thru history of Bordeaux area, starting with prehistoric times. Great collection of Roman artifacts, medieval history, cave painting discoveries and the like, as well as maps and other descriptions of importance of Bordeaux as a trade route thru history. Good audio visuals and layout. Took us 2 hours to cover everything — it’s a big museum!
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 9, 2023
  • irawine
    Benicia, California655 contributions
    Nice Museum
    My wife and I visited this museum and were quite impressed with the collection of realia it contains. Most impressive were the Greek and Roman pieces (although there were others). It is well worth a visit to this museum if you go to Bordeaux.
    Visited May 2023
    Written July 23, 2023
  • Philip C
    York, Maine588 contributions
    Cave Painting Exhibit
    We really enjoyed this Museum and I'm surprised that it's not rated higher. The special exhibit on cave paintings was very interesting and well described. The permanent exhibits are also very worthwhile although much more could be done with an English guide. But it takes Bordeaux all the way to current times. We spent three hours but it certainly worthy of a two hour visit
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 24, 2023
  • Jeremy D
    8 contributions
    Very Nice and Comprehensive Museum
    Truly covers everything from prehistory and the first artifacts found in the Aquitaine region right up to modern times and the region's role in the world. Very large sections of ancient artifacts and Roman-era statues and building remains. Definitely worth visiting to gain a better understanding of the area and how it came to be.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written September 21, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

4.5
787 reviews
Excellent
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Very good
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Average
88
Poor
11
Terrible
6

Meg Clifford
Jersey, UK44 contributions
Apr 2022 • Couples
Let’s start with highlighting that there are some interesting artefacts in this museum however there is no attempt to make the experience interactive, immersive or fun. You just walk around and read placards. For some reason halfway through they stop having English writing on the placards so unless you know how to read French, you can no longer understand the information.
When comparing this museum to the likes of the Natural History Museum or Science Museum in London, which are FREE to enter… this museum cost €5 per person and the experience can honestly only be summed up as boring by comparison.

Another let down was that I didn’t really learn anything about Aquitaine… it was just general prehistoric history, followed by the history of the slave trade and then modern history - I felt none of these were specific to the Aquitaine region which one would think they should be when featured in the ‘Museum of Aquitaine’.

The gift shop is rubbish & there’s no cafe at the end to have a rest from the boredom of this attraction. Save your money and visit some of the other brilliant attractions in Bordeaux.
Written April 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Graham B
Reims, France112 contributions
Mar 2022
There are far too many exhibits to see and appreciate in one visit. The visitor is led through history from pre-Roman times up to the present time. There is a big section focusing on the Slave Trade as Bordeaux was one of the principal ports involved in that trade for nearly 300 years. The audio-guide was not available due to Covid restrictions.
Written March 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ellie S
20 contributions
Feb 2022 • Couples
Not for me. There was no English translation, which I shouldn't have expected at all, albeit someone in the latest review saying so...

Lots of Roman and prehistoric artefacts but I wanted to learn more about Bordeaux itself.

The staff also didn't offer an audio guide despite there being multiple signs of one inside the exhibits.
Written February 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

rdlm2020
Lisbon, Portugal44 contributions
Mar 2022 • Family
The museum is amazing! It has many things to see, since the pre-historical times in Bordeaux to its 21st century history. You need some time to see everything. The only thing that needs improvement are the plates ans explanations around the museum - all of them, with really few exceptions, are in French, with makes it very difficult for non-french speakers to enjoy the museum to the fullest. However, looking around is still a pretty cool activity to do when in Bordeaux.
Written March 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Philip C
York, ME588 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
We really enjoyed this Museum and I'm surprised that it's not rated higher. The special exhibit on cave paintings was very interesting and well described. The permanent exhibits are also very worthwhile although much more could be done with an English guide. But it takes Bordeaux all the way to current times. We spent three hours but it certainly worthy of a two hour visit
Written July 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jonathan L
1 contribution
Oct 2023 • Couples
We felt that this museum was disjointed and disorganised. When you arrive, there are clear signs on the Reception desk that there is an audioguide available, but we were told when buying tickets that this is not true.

There is a lot of information on the ground floor on the prehistoric history of the region, which we thought was interesting, and there is a lot of on Roman history as well.

It starts to go downhill after this though, as the English and Spanish translations of the accompanying texts to the exhibits disappear, so you need to understand French to make the most of the rest of the museum. There also seem to be large bits of history missing - we thought that we must have missed a section on the medieval period and in particular Eleanor of Aquitaine. It seems crazy not to mention her in a museum about Aquitaine.

There was a section right at the end on the very recent history of the regeneration of Bordeaux which was excellent.
Written October 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

irawine
Benicia, CA655 contributions
May 2023
My wife and I visited this museum and were quite impressed with the collection of realia it contains. Most impressive were the Greek and Roman pieces (although there were others). It is well worth a visit to this museum if you go to Bordeaux.
Written July 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David C
3 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
Excellent for history buffs. A comprehensive walk thru history of Bordeaux area, starting with prehistoric times. Great collection of Roman artifacts, medieval history, cave painting discoveries and the like, as well as maps and other descriptions of importance of Bordeaux as a trade route thru history. Good audio visuals and layout.

Took us 2 hours to cover everything — it’s a big museum!
Written July 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BTS1972
Munich, Germany3,461 contributions
Jun 2023
The museum covers the major periods of the area. Unfortunately, around 90% of the documentation is only French. While this is typical French ignorance, it is not adequate to any museum of importance today. In addition, many of the multi-media installation – again mostly in French – are not functional. In short, not worth a visit, if you are not French.
Written June 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jeremy D
8 contributions
Sep 2023 • Solo
Truly covers everything from prehistory and the first artifacts found in the Aquitaine region right up to modern times and the region's role in the world. Very large sections of ancient artifacts and Roman-era statues and building remains. Definitely worth visiting to gain a better understanding of the area and how it came to be.
Written September 21, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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