Esplanade des Quinconces
One of Europe's largest squares, this vast open space has the Monument des Girondins (a memorial to the Girondin deputies guillotined at the behest of Robespierre and other leaders of the French Revolution) along one side, and two tall ships' columns on the riverside. The heart of Vieux Bordeaux runs between here and the Cathédrale St-André.

Les Jardins Botaniques
The old Jardin Botanique (cours de Verdun) is part of Bordeaux's first ever park, the Jardin Public. It is a classic French garden with a lake, arranged flowerbeds and 3,000 different plant species. On the other side of the river is the new Jardin Botanique (quai de Queyries), which is very French too, but contemporary, with water gardens, a grass meadow and chalk hillocks that recreate the various habitats of Aquitaine.