How was your weekend?
We spent a great, rainy weekend in Bordeaux with our friends, hanging out at DARWIN, the most inspiring, eco-friendly project in Bordeaux, which is also fast becoming one of the top must-see places in town, walking around and seeing a great exhibition at the modern art museum CAPC.

Darwin is a multi-dimensional, entrepreneurial, eco project aiming to gather together a pole of creative minds and businesses to develop eco-friendly initiatives and do things differently.
Located on the right bank of Bordeaux in what used to be barracks previously used by the army until 2005, the Darwin project has not only rehabilitated a great piece of Bordeaux’ cultural architecture but transformed an amazing building into a social hub. The Darwin project is a lot of things now…
For you and I hanging out there are weekends, there is the Magasin Général, an eco-friendly restaurant and organic farm store and Le Hangar an eco-friendly indoor skatepark where I took this shot but it is also a business hub, a place where you can take pilates and yoga classes and soon an eco-lodge. With over 20,000 m², there is a room for a lot of things and great eco-friendly projects.

Le Magasin Général:
Decorated with recycled material and vintage treasures, the Magasin Général is quite a unique place in Bordeaux. First it’s huge and it has this cool vintage, industrial vibe of a warehouse in New-York or Portland or Shoreditch in East London. Using local bio products, the place is great to meet up for brunch with friends (booking recommended) or grab a great coffee from L’Alchemiste.At the back of the restaurant, you will find the bio grocery with lots of local, organic seasonal products but also skincare, household products, all eco-friendly. A great place to make your weekly shopping.LE HANGAR:
is a huge eco-friendly indoor skatepark where  Mila practised her drop (below). Le Hangar is run by an association and you have to be a member to skate there (5 euros/year) and then have the option to get an unlimited pass or pay as you go. As it was rainy on Sunday, the place was packed! How to get there:
By plane: Airport Bordeaux Merignac. There is regular flights from London, Bristol, Manchester. Check Expedia for details.
Darwin: 87, quai des Queyries, 33100 Bordeaux. From the railway station St Jean, it takes about 20 min by tram and 10 min by car/bike.

Did you like this article? If you fancy a getaway weekend in France, check out my posts on the Bay of Arcachon too which is 45 min drive from Bordeaux.