With 2,400 exhibitors from 48 countries and 46,621 visitors from 135 countries, the 2009 Vinexpo exhibition turned out to be a huge successful. In 2011, Vinexpo invites wine and spirits trade professionals and associated businesses to again take advantage of the views of world experts and develop your business.
Confirming your participation is just the first step in preparing for your trip to Bordeaux.
Next comes the selection of the exhibitors you want to meet, the events you want to visit and last but not least – to book the hotel you want to stay.
Bordeaux hotels encompassed more than 5,300 rooms, and range from hotels, resorts, bed-and-breakfast inns, furnished apartments, and vacation rentals. But if during any other time of the year it will be not so hard to find available rooms on reasonable rate, during the days of Vinexpo that can be a real challenge. The only advice we can give is: “Book in Advance!” If you book early you can decide whether to stay in hotel adjusted to the exhibition, or in one walking distance to the city centre pedestrian precinct with its bars, restaurants and shops.
Bordeaux is quite a big city; however, most of the interesting attractions are in the town center. It is not recommended that visitors drive as it is always a hassle to park (and car parks are expensive), and there are often traffic jams in the narrow, old streets of the city.
The main railway station, Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean, is near the centre of the city. It is served by the French national (SNCF) railway’s high speed train, the TGV, that gets to Paris in three hours, with connections to major European centres such as Lille, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, Geneva and London. Most tourist hotels are close to the railway station . There are some luxury hotels close to Gambetta square and Quinconces square, which are really nice but rather expensive.
A free shuttle service is available to provide easy travel to the Exhibition Centre and Convention Centre, so wherever you stay, you will be able to convenient go to the fairgrounds.