Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department.

Bordeaux is the world's major wine industry capital. It is home to the world's main wine fair, Vinexpo, while the wine economy in the metro area moves 14.5 billion euros each year. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the eighth century. The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century.

Bordeaux is located close to the European Atlantic coast, in the southwest of France and in the north of the Aquitaine region. It is around 500 km southwest of Paris. The city is built on a bend of the river Garonne, and is divided into two parts: the right bank to the east and left bank in the west. Historically, the left bank is more developed. In Bordeaux, the Garonne River is accessible to ocean liners. The left bank of the Garonne is a low-lying, often marshy plain.

History

Between 30,000 and 20,000 years ago the area of Bordeaux was inhabited by the Neanderthal, whose remains have been found at a famous cave known as Pair-non-Pair, near Bourg sur Gironde, just north of Bordeaux.

The 18th century was the golden age of Bordeaux. Many downtown buildings (about 5,000), including those on the quays, are from this period.
The French government relocated from Paris to Bordeaux very briefly during World War II, when it became apparent that Paris would soon fall into German hands. From 1940 to 1943, the Italian Royal Navy established BETASOM, a submarine base at Bordeaux.

Wine

Bordeaux has about 116,160 hectares of vineyards, 57 appellations, 10,000 wine-producing châteaux and 13,000 grape growers. With an annual production of approximately 960 million bottles, Bordeaux produces large quantities of everyday wine as well as some of the most expensive wines in the world. Included among the latter are the area's five premier cru (first growth) red wines (four from Médoc and one, Château Haut-Brion, from Graves), established by the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

Main sights

Bordeaux is classified "City of Art and History". The city has been inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble".

Bordeaux is home to one of Europe's biggest 18th century architectural urban areas, making it a sought-after destination for tourists and cinema production crews. It stands out as one of the first French cities, after Nancy, to have entered an era of urbanism and metropolitan big scale projects, with the team Gabriel father and son, architects for King Louis XV, under the supervision of two intendants (Governors), first Nicolas-François Dupré de Saint-Maur then the Marquis (Marquess) de Tourny.

Main sights include: Esplanade des Quinconces, Colonnes des Girondins, Grand Théâtre, Allées de Tourny, Cours de l'Intendance, Place du Chapelet, Pont de pierre, Saint-André Cathedral, Tour Pey Berland, Église Sainte-Croix, Basilica of Saint Michael, Basilica of Saint-Seurin, Palais Rohan, Palais Gallien, Porte Cailhau, La Grosse Cloche, Église Saint-Éloi, Place de la Bourse, Place du Parlement, Place Saint-Pierre, Rue Sainte-Catherine, The Betasom submarine base.