Bordeaux · Month comparison

March vs May

May ranks #1 overall vs March at #7. Bordeaux Wine Festival Marathon prep — the city in spring with vineyards green and rates still soft.

Bordeaux March — Saint-Émilion vineyards with first vine buds

March

#7 of 12 months

Strong option

First signs of vine budbreak — Saint-Émilion vines come to life, terraces tentatively reopen.

  • ↑Vine budbreak across Médoc — first green of the year on the cabernet
  • ↑Quai des Marques outlet shopping in Bègles at quietest
Bordeaux May — Médoc vineyard rows in full green

May

#1 of 12 months

Best match

Bordeaux Wine Festival Marathon prep — the city in spring with vineyards green and rates still soft.

  • ↑Vineyards in full leaf, châteaux at their photogenic peak
  • ↑21°C dry afternoons — perfect for Médoc cycling route
FactorMarchMay
Weather score
6
9
Value score
9
7
Crowd score
9
7
Events score
6
9
Atmosphere
7
10
Avg high temp14°C21°C
Monthly rain70mm80mm
Daily sunshine5hrs7hrs

March trade-offs

  • ↓70mm rain — still pack a waterproof, not an umbrella
  • ↓Many small Saint-Émilion châteaux still closed weekends

May trade-offs

  • ↓Bank holiday weekends (Ascension, Pentecost) push hotels 30%
  • ↓First wine-tour bus convoys appear at Saint-Émilion
See all 12 months for Bordeaux →March in detail →May in detail →
Scores compare months within Bordeaux. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →