Le CAPC, Bordeaux, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

Le CAPC is the contemporary art museum of Bordeaux, housed in a grand stone warehouse built in 1824 to store colonial goods. It stands at 7 Rue Ferrère in the Chartrons district, close to the Garonne, and shows how a working port building can become a home for modern art.

The story behind it

In the 18th century Bordeaux grew rich as a colonial port, trading with the Atlantic colonies. The 19th century brought setbacks, among them the loss of Saint-Domingue, and the city's merchants wanted trade to be better organised. One of them, Balguerrie-Suttenberg, urged the Chamber of Commerce to build a warehouse where colonial goods could be stored under customs control. The architect Claude Deschamps designed it, and it opened in 1824.

For a long time it was simply a utilitarian building on the quays. In 1973 it was protected as a historic monument, which saved it from demolition. In 1974 it was reborn as the CAPC, the Centre for Contemporary Visual Arts, and it has been a contemporary art venue ever since.

What to look for

• The severe, solid stone exterior, which looks more like a fortress of commerce than a gallery and shows the building's original purpose.
• The rows of tall arches and the vaulted spaces inside, designed to hold heavy goods and now used to frame large artworks.
• The contrast between the 19th-century masonry and the contemporary pieces on display, which change with each exhibition.
• The surrounding Chartrons streets, where former merchant houses and warehouses still tell the story of the wine and colonial trade.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about an hour for the exhibitions, and a little more if you want to linger over the architecture or the building's exterior.
• Check current opening hours and admission arrangements before you go, as they can change with each exhibition.
• Combine the visit with a walk through Chartrons, which has antique shops, cafes and the quays of the Garonne close by.
• The Jardin Public is within walking distance if you want a quiet break after the museum.

See it on a quest

The CAPC is one of the places you pass on Whispers of Wine: Exploring Bordeaux's Grand Crus, a self-guided walk with a wine theme. You reach it on foot as one stop of a longer route through the city, the app tells you about the place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle right in front of the building. It suits the story well, since this warehouse is part of the trading history that built Bordeaux's fortune. The quest is paid, and one ticket covers the whole group.