Come Alone · English
You just moved to Bordeaux. This page walks you through the first month: paperwork in order with official links, free places to start, and events you can go to on your own and meet people.
The city's newcomer guide (« S'installer à Bordeaux ») lists housing, transport, schools, waste and leisure, but no compulsory registration at the town hall. Two civic steps are worth doing: sign up for the newcomers' reception, held twice a year in the Hôtel de Ville to meet city services, elected officials and other new Bordelais; and, if you are French or an EU citizen, register on the electoral roll: registration is compulsory to vote and is done in your new commune.
Ville de Bordeaux, S'installer à Bordeaux (newcomers' reception) · Ville de Bordeaux, main procedures (electoral roll)
A TBM single ticket costs €1.90 and gives unlimited rides for one hour after the first validation (€2.10 if bought on board a bus); validate every time you board, even when changing. If you are 28–59, Le Pass costs €55 a month (1st to 31st), or €45.80 a month on the annual plan; 11–27s pay €35.10 a month for the Pass Jeune (fares as of October 2026). The TBM card is free and personal. Buy in the TBM app, at machines at every tram station (24/7, card or cash), or at a Boutique TBM: Quinconces (Pavillon des Quinconces, cours du 30 Juillet) or Gare Saint-Jean (Parvis Sud entrance). Le Vélo, the bike share, has 215+ stations.
TBM, fare guide (PDF) · TBM, where to buy · TBM shops · TBM app tickets · Le Vélo by TBM
If you keep a phone plan from another EU country, roaming surcharges are abolished across the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (and, since 1 January 2026, Ukraine and Moldova). When you take a French plan you can keep your existing French number: you only deal with the new operator, which also cancels the old contract; get your RIO code by calling 3179 from your mobile. Porting takes at least 3 working days. Contracts signed online or by phone can be cancelled within 14 days. Problems with an operator can be reported to the regulator, Arcep.
Arcep, keeping your number · Arcep, roaming in Europe · Arcep, before signing a contract
Save 112 (European emergency number), 15 for SAMU medical emergencies, 17 for the police, 18 for the fire brigade, and 114 by text if you cannot speak or hear. To report a theft or file a complaint, go to the police nationale: the Hôtel de Police at 23 rue François de Sourdis is open 24/7. The city's police municipale answers on 05 56 10 20 99. Lost something in the street? Declare it online; the lost property office is at 6 place Rohan, Monday–Friday 9:00–17:00. Items lost on trams or buses go through TBM's own platform.
Ville de Bordeaux, emergency numbers · Police: who to contact · Lost property (Ville de Bordeaux) · TBM lost items
If you are not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, residence-permit procedures go through ANEF, the Interior Ministry's digital administration for foreigners in France: log in there and check which procedure matches your visa or permit. For asylum seekers, the city's « Asile et accueil » page explains the first steps in Bordeaux and lists support organisations. This page does not give legal advice: always follow the official instructions for your own situation.
ANEF (Ministry of the Interior) · Ville de Bordeaux, asylum and support
Anyone working in France is covered for healthcare under the universal health protection (PUMa), with no waiting period. EU citizens who are not working and not covered by their home country have their case examined individually by the local health insurance fund. To register with French social security you will need a birth certificate showing your parents' names (acte de naissance avec filiation) and a passport or national ID card. Cleiss, the public body for international social security, explains each situation.
Cleiss, coming to work in France · Cleiss, coming to live in France · Cleiss, non-working EU citizens
Bordeaux's municipal museums (Musée d'Aquitaine, Musée des Beaux-Arts, CAPC, MADD, Muséum and the Jardin botanique greenhouses) are free on the first Sunday of the month, 11:00–18:00, except in July and August: next dates 1 November and 6 December 2026. The Jardin public is open daily (7:00–19:00 in October, 7:00–18:00 from November), and the outdoor gardens of the Jardin botanique on the right bank are free for everyone. The city agenda lists what's on.
Free first Sundays (Ville de Bordeaux) · Jardin public · Jardin botanique · City agenda
Get the free library card: it is free for everyone, whatever your situation or where you live; bring an ID. Then try a French as a foreign language (FLE) workshop at the Capucins / Saint-Michel library, look at one of the 11 centres d'animation (social and cultural centres on both banks), and sign up for the next newcomers' reception at the Hôtel de Ville. Or go to one of the events below: they are picked because it is easy to go alone and talk to people.
Library card · Capucins / Saint-Michel library · Centres d'animation (Saint-Pierre) · Newcomers' reception
Rules change: always confirm on the official page before you go.
Public libraries, parks, a botanical garden, a city museum and a neighbourhood centre in Bordeaux, each with its official page. Hours change: check the page before you go.
Bordeaux's main library, 85 cours du Maréchal Juin, one of the largest public libraries in France. Outside school holidays it opens Monday and Thursday 13:00–19:00, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10:00–19:00, Saturday 10:00–18:00, plus some Sundays (8, 15, 22 and 29 November 2026). Wi-Fi, a games area and plenty of space to sit and work.
A neighbourhood library opposite the Capucins market (10–12 place des Capucins). It runs language workshops including French as a foreign language (FLE), help with paperwork and events with local artists. Open Tuesday 10:00–12:00 and 14:00–18:00, Wednesday and Saturday 10:00–18:00, Thursday and Friday 14:00–18:00.
A 10.8-hectare park in the city centre (main entrance cours de Verdun), created in 1746, with a botanical garden, the Muséum and a library inside. Open every day: 7:00–19:00 in October, 7:00–18:00 from 1 November to 14 February. An easy place for a first walk or to read on a bench.
The right-bank botanical garden (Esplanade Linné, entrances also on quai des Queyries). Access to the outdoor gardens is free for everyone, daily 8:00–19:00 in October and 8:00–18:00 from November; the greenhouses and exhibition rooms (Tuesday–Sunday 11:00–18:00) are free on the first Sunday of the month.
The city's history museum, 20 cours Pasteur, open Tuesday–Sunday 11:00–18:00. Inside, the Bordeaux World Heritage interpretation centre (CIAP) is free and open to all, and the whole museum is free on the first Sunday of the month (except July and August). It also runs talks, workshops and concerts.
One of the 11 Centres d'animation de Bordeaux, social and cultural centres spread across both banks; this one is at 4 rue du Mulet in the old town and runs a wide range of activities, with a focus on writing and reading. Ask there about activities you can join to meet people in your neighbourhood.
The University of Bordeaux hosts an open café-debate on whether mixing disciplines and using AI can change how we learn. Researchers start the discussion and the audience is invited to join in; entry is free and the format is built for exchanging views with strangers.
The Bordeaux harmony orchestra plays an eclectic programme from Rameau and Bizet to Dvořák and Piazzolla, with a flute quartet followed by a large clarinet and percussion ensemble. Admission is free within the limits of seating at the Théâtre La Pergola.
The Romano Dji company introduces the festive dances of Eastern Europe, from Russia and Hungary to the Balkans, in a free beginners' session. Entry is open without booking, and learning steps together in a group is a natural ice-breaker.
Part of the Cité du Vin's free research talks, this lecture looks at how the French monarchy of the 17th and 18th centuries tried to control the spread of vineyards versus grain fields. Entry is free with online registration; the audience is a mix of locals and curious visitors, and there is time for questions.
A two-hour practical workshop on making your garden friendlier to biodiversity: trees and shrubs, managing invasive species and a focus on the European hedgehog. It is free for adults with registration. Hands-on workshops naturally get participants talking.
Go back to school for a giant French dictation written by Bordeaux author Guy Rechenmann and read aloud, linked to the museum's Art Deco exhibition on Jean Dupas — with prizes to win. Entry is listed as museum admission. Comparing mistakes with your neighbours afterwards is a guaranteed icebreaker.
A neighbourhood 'bal populaire' with a superhero theme: glow make-up and a photo booth, then karaoke, a live concert, a costume contest and circus and burlesque acts. Costumes are welcome but optional. Tickets are listed at 3 or 5 €, and a dance-hall party where everyone joins in is easy to attend alone.
Student musicians from RésoNAnces play a surprise programme at this lunchtime concert in a former chapel in central Bordeaux. Entry is free without booking. A one-hour midday concert is an easy solo break in the working week.
The Orchestre d'Harmonie de Bordeaux and guests stage a 'bal scénique' marking 110 years since jazz arrived in Bordeaux in 1917, from swing and bebop to Afro-Cuban rhythms. Music and movement are meant to be shared, and entry is free without booking. A dance-hall evening like this is very easy to join alone.
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Come Alone → Meet & Mint
Choose something this week from the list on this page — easy to join on your own.
See who's going. If the event isn't in the app yet, tap “+” to add it and gather a group.
Write in the event chat and agree where to meet before you arrive.
Walk in already knowing a name or two — a good start in a new city.
The app · Meet & Mint
Meet & Mint is our app: come-alone events and people to go with. It is not a government service. Many of the events on this page are also in the app.
Meet & Mint: Events & FriendsiPhone · Android
Who else is going?See it in the Meet & Mint app.
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