Language Lab

English▾

← All destinations

🇫🇷 France · City guide

Moving to Bordeaux: Language & First Steps

Elegant wine-country city, well connected to Paris by high-speed train and increasingly popular with remote workers.

Living in Bordeaux

Elegant wine-country city two hours from Paris by high-speed train, increasingly popular with remote workers; the Chartrons and Saint-Michel areas draw newcomers. Quality of life is high, and French smooths renting and préfecture visits.

To settle into Bordeaux you'll need French — and the practical kind: residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to do first and the phrases to learn.

Sources: Language Lab's French curriculum & culture notes; city/official processes vary — confirm with Bordeaux's local authority. · Join the beta →

What to do in your first week in Bordeaux?

1. Register your address / residency — residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months.
2. Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
3. Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
4. Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
5. Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.

French phrasebooks for Bordeaux

For the full country picture, see our guide to moving to France.