By Alice Murphy

Copyright metro

Many places in France feel unfairly eclipsed by Paris’ shine (Picture: Getty Images)

In the latest instalment of Metro Travel Hot Takes, Travel Editor Alice Murphy writes about a lesser-known Notre Dame that captured her heart.

Paris is eternal. Its monument-lined boulevards, bistros, and boutiques will always be deserving of a place on the bucket list, but there are places in France that feel unfairly eclipsed by the City of Light.

I found myself reflecting on this in Bordeaux, a port city on the banks of the Garonne River in the famed southwestern wine capital.

I was there for a friend’s hen party, and after the rest of the group flew home, the day was my own.

With no set plan and no real knowledge of the city beyond its award-winning vintages, I indulged in the quintessentially French pursuit of flânerie: sauntering, aimless strolling — getting lost, even.

Medieval streets lined with buttery Gothic buildings and elegant cafés led me to the heart of the Chartrons, a fashionable neighbourhood with a bohemian village atmosphere.

At its heart is Rue Notre Dame, a narrow street with an air of Montmartre and its own Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPDI2XUgrCX/?hl=en-gb

There are ethical boutiques, boulangeries, and wine bars. Ceramic studios, restaurants, and antique shops. Art galleries and gilded churches, dripping in Catholic extravagance. There’s even a ‘concept store’ for dogs.

But the best thing about this quaint little thoroughfare is how different it is from the iconic French streets we all know.

There are no flashy designer stores, none of the big brand names or glossy logos that define the Champs-Élysées.

There are no high-end hotels or garish car showrooms, nor any phone-toting TikTokers, at least not when I was there.

Jasmine and wisteria climb the facades of the buildings, in an aesthetic but uncontrived way. They do so like the French do everything: effortlessly.

Balconies draped in greenery on Rue Notre Dame (Picture: Alice Murphy)

Everything I saw and did on Rue Notre Dame

With roots as far back as the 14th century, Rue Notre Dame is a beautiful mix of bohemian and bourgeois.

It developed in the 17th century when Flemish, Irish, and German wine traders settled beyond the walls of old Bordeaux to export wines to their home countries.

That made it the ‘expats’ neighbourhood of the time. And, by the 19th century, it was the place to be.

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I spent three hours (had time allowed, I would have spent more) wandering Notre Dame, admiring the architecture, shopping and trying more pastries than I should.

The soul of the street is Eglise Saint Louis, a magnificent church sandwiched between buildings. Tourists often overlook it because it’s situated outside the city centre, but it’s well worth a visit, particularly for the stained-glass windows.

There is also a small wine museum in an unassuming house typical of an 18th-century wine trader, and down a side street is the oldest bakery in Bordeaux.

@nolwenn_creme Nouvelle adresse à Bordeaux 🍂🥐 📍 Accalmie Café, rue Notre Dame J’ai pris des viennoiseries à emporter, elles étaient magnifiques, j’y retournerai pour goûter le café, matcha, ube ! ♬ When I Wake – Justin Hurwitz

Au Pétrin Moissagais (find it at 72 Cours de la Martinique) has miraculously used the same oven since it opened in 1765 — 24 years before the French Revolution.

As evening draws in, I choose a perch outside La Pelle Café, a local haunt on Rue Notre Dame. It’s full of couples, young and old, and families chattering over coffee and croissants.

Watching the world go by with a café noisette, I Google some questions about the street I’m so enamoured with.

I come across an interview with local antique dealer, Viviane Morier, and read a quote that, to me, sums up the spirit of the place:

‘Notre Dame street is a place where everyone knows each other.’

Paris might dazzle, but Bordeaux and its lesser-known Notre Dame glow with glorious subtlety.

Bookmarks for a day in Les Chartrons, Bordeaux

Cafés and restaurants

La Pelle Café
Café Refuge

4e Vague Café

Attractions

Au Pétrin Moissagais
Eglise Saint Louis
Musée du Vin et du Négoce
Village Notre Dame