Hotels near Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'eau

Place de la Bourse is the postcard image of Bordeaux, a symmetrical 18th-century square commissioned by King Louis XV and designed by royal architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel between 1730 and 1775. The curved facades of the former stock exchange and the customs museum face directly onto the Garonne, and the whole ensemble broke with medieval convention by opening the city outward to the river. Directly opposite, on the quayside, sits the Miroir d'eau, the largest reflecting pool in the world at 3,450 square metres. Inaugurated in 2006 and designed by fountain specialist Jean-Max Llorca and landscape architect Michel Corajoud, the pool alternates a two-centimetre film of water with a rising mist every fifteen minutes, mirroring the stone facades behind it. It is free, open to walk across, and runs roughly from March through November.

Pro Tip: Arrive at dusk when the facades are lit and the mirror is at its most photogenic, and expect crowds on summer weekends. Take tram C to Place de la Bourse stop.