Birth of Bordeaux Bike Tour..

Transformation of the city, creation of bicycle paths and tourism development:

Jean-Christophe Malige, manager and founder of Bordeaux Bike Tour. Passionate about the city of Bordeaux and its history.

I discovered Bordeaux in 1972, which was still known at that time as “The Sleeping Beauty”. Like many cities after the war, the tramway ceded its space to cars and buses, transforming the streets and avenues and eventually giving way to a grey, polluted and congested city.

The sleeping city awoke in the 1990s and 2000s, following an ambitious redevelopment program.

At the same time, programmes were launched to rehabilitate the historic centre, restore monuments, clean building façades and, of course, rebuild the tramway, which had been abandoned for almost half a century.

Bordeaux’s historic centre

Little by little, the city has been equipped with bicycle paths, making Bordeaux the 6th largest bicycle-friendly city in the world.

It is in lieu of this magnificent transformation that Bordeaux was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

Since then, the city has continued to pursue this programme, which has led to an unprecedented development of the tourism sector in Bordeaux.

To better understand the extent of the phenomenon, one only has to look at the explosion in the number of visitors to Bordeaux in recent years (5.8 million in 2016; 7 million in 2017).

This figure is constantly rising, and the city is attracting more and more people, as shown by the study carried out by the world leader in travel guides Lonely Planet, which voted Bordeaux the trendiest city in the world in 2017.

It was all these ingredients together that led me to create Bordeaux Bike Tour, whose goal was to help people discover the city and its history, through biking.

Creation of bike routes to make a visit of the city accessible to everyone!

So I decided to create Bordeaux Bike Tour in 2016, the idea being to offer guided bike tours of the city, but also to help people discover the vineyards, one of the main treasures of the region and one of the favourite attractions for tourists.

The project has therefore started, the first step being to imagine different bike tours that could meet the needs and wishes of tourists visiting Bordeaux and its region.

The visit of Bordeaux is a very well thought-out circuit of about 12 kilometres accessible to adults, children and retirees alike. It offers a ride interspersed with breaks where I describe the history of Bordeaux through the centuries.

I very quickly afterwards (in partnership with Château Pape Clément ” Grand Cru Classé de Graves “) completed this offer with a walk in the heart of the vineyards followed by a visit of the property and a tasting of four wines including one Grand Cru Classé.

Visit and Wine Tasting at Château Pape Clément

Once the tours were thought out and ready (itinerary, distances, contents, partnership agreements) it was necessary to create a website that would become the main tool and in a way the showcase of Bordeaux Bike Tour, enabling people to book online.

Then I had to communicate and to do so, I had to use the tools that are essential today: social networks (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest).

I very quickly became a partner of the Bordeaux Tourist Office and soon appeared in their database, even in the office itself ,in the form of flyers, catalogues and brochures presenting the various must-see tourist excursions in Bordeaux.

Bordeaux Bike Tour today!

I really launched Bordeaux Bike Tour in 2017, first by renting the bikes from a professional.

The last two years have been more than encouraging, with customer reviews showing real satisfaction and an ever increasing demand.

2018 and 2019 confirmed this rising success, as requests are constantly increasing. The feedback has been excellent, as confirmed by TripAdvisor, the world leader and true reference in terms of customer satisfaction. In 2018 and 2019 it awarded the Bordeaux Bike Tour its “Certificate of Excellence“, thus ranking Bordeaux Bike Tour “The Best of Bordeaux” among the favourite and best-rated tours in Bordeaux, ranked 1st in Bordeaux and 2nd out of 102 open-air tours.

Bordeaux Bike Tour is today one of the privileged members of the Bordeaux Tourist Office.

This constant progression has led me to acquire a fleet of bikes perfectly adapted to the city, both for adults and children. The models are French Arcade beach cruisers, offering great comfort and quality, an absolute guarantee of a safe and delightful trip among friends or family.

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Beach Cruiser from Arcade

The tours can hold groups of 2 to 20 people, from the youngest to the over 77 years old.

All the equipment necessary for a bicycle trip is available to everyone, helmets, ponchos in case of rain, and stainless steel water bottles kept cool on warm summer days thanks to isothermal bags.

A gift is offered to each participant during the tour, a surprise that comes just in time after almost two hours of cycling (to find out more you will have to join one of our tours).

The tours always begin at Raymond Colom Square.

You can join the tours that have been previously scheduled on the calendar, or alternatively you may ask for a private tour in which you will choose the departure time, the number of participants and possibly the route. With a private tour you can also decide to add to the program a place, site or monument that is close to your heart. You also have the possibility to plan a break for a possible wine tasting or simply to quench your thirst on one of the many bar terraces.

These tailor-made tours are the perfect occasion to celebrate a birthday, a bachelor or bachelorette party, or any other event that is close to your heart, such as an outing with colleagues, a seminar or with your family.

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Hen party with such lovely girls!

Visit Bordeaux all whilst being conscious of preserving the environment!

Choosing Bordeaux Bike Tour is also a gesture to preserve the planet and therefore our environment.

We no longer use plastic water bottles and provide each participant with a stainless steel water bottle which is kept cool throughout the tour.

The bikes used are not electric, because contrary to popular belief, electric vehicles are an ecological disaster in terms of design and recycling of batteries in particular.

If you choose Bordeaux Bike Tour, you opt for an outdoor ride without any assistance other than the strength of your muscles.