Bordeaux - Bordeaux

Bordeaux (French pronunciation: ​[bÉ"ʁdo]; Gascon Occitan: Bordèu) is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.

The municipality (commune) of Bordeaux proper has a population of 243,626 (2012). Together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Bordeaux is the centre of the Bordeaux Métropole. With 749,595 inhabitants (as of 2013) and 1,178,335 in the Metropolitan Area, it is the fifth largest in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille, and before Toulouse. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called "Bordelais" (for men) or "Bordelaises" (women). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region.

Bordeaux is the world's major wine industry capital. It is home to the world's main wine fair, Vinexpo, and the wine economy in the metro area takes in 14.5 billion euros each year. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the 8th 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. After Paris, Bordeaux has the highest number of preserved historical buildings of any city in France.

History

In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, who named the town Burdigala, probably of Aquitanian origin. The name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city.

In 107 BC, the Battle of Burdigala was fought by the Romans who were defending the Allobroges, a Gallic tribe allied to Rome, and the Tigurini led by Divico. The Romans were defeated and their commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus, was killed in the action.

The city fell under Roman rule around 60 BC, its importance lying in the commerce of tin and lead towards Rome. Later it became capital of Roman Aquitaine, flourishing especially during the Severan dynasty (3rd century). In 276 it was sacked by the Vandals. Further ravage was brought by the same Vandals in 409, the Visigoths in 414 and the Franks in 498, beginning a period of obscurity for the city.

In the late 6th century, the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks, but royal Frankish power was never strong. The city started to play a regional role as a major urban center on the fringes of the newly founded Frankish Duchy of Vasconia. Around 585, a certain Gallactorius is cited as count of Bordeaux and fighting the Basques.

The city was plundered by the troops of Abd er Rahman in 732 after storming the fortified city and overwhelming the Aquitanian garrison. Duke Eudes mustered a force ready to engage the Umayyads outside Bordeaux, eventually taking on them in the Battle of the River Garonne somewhere near the river Dordogne, described as taking a heavy death toll. After duke Eudes's defeat, the Aquitanian duke could still save part of its troops and keep his grip on Aquitaine after the Battle of Poitiers.

In 735, the Aquitanian duke Hunald led a rebellion after his father Eudes's death, at which Charles responded by sending an expedition that captured and plundered Bordeaux again, but it was not retained for long. The following year, the Frankish commander descended again over Aquitaine, but clashed in battle with the Aquitanians and left to take on hostile Burgundian authorities and magnates. In 745, Aquitaine faced yet another expedition by Charles' sons Pepin and Carloman against Hunald, the Aquitanian princeps (or duke) strong in Bordeaux. Hunald was defeated, and his son Waifer replaced him, who in turn confirmed Bordeaux as the capital city (along with Bourges in the north).

During the last stage of the war against Aquitaine (760â€"768), it was one of Waifer's last important strongholds to fall to King Pepin the Short's troops. Next to Bordeaux, Charlemagne built the fortress of Fronsac (Frontiacus, Franciacus) on a hill across the border with the Basques (Wascones), where Basque commanders came over to vow loyalty to him (769).

In 778, Seguin (or Sihimin) was appointed count of Bordeaux, probably undermining the power of the Duke Lupo, and possibly leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass that very year. In 814, Seguin was made Duke of Vasconia, but he was deposed in 816 for failing to suppress or sympathise with a Basque rebellion. Under the Carolingians, sometimes the Counts of Bordeaux held the title concomitantly with that of Duke of Vasconia. They were meant to keep the Basques in check and defend the mouth of the Garonne from the Vikings when the latter appeared c. 844 in the region of Bordeaux. In Autumn 845, count Seguin II marched on the Vikings assaulting Bordeaux and Saintes, but was captured and put to death. There are no bishops mentioned during the whole 8th century and part of the 9th in Bordeaux.

From the 12th to the 15th century, Bordeaux regained importance following the marriage of Duchess Eléonore of Aquitaine with the French-speaking Count Henri Plantagenet, born in Le Mans, who became, within months of their wedding, King Henry II of England. The city flourished, primarily due to the wine trade, and the cathedral of St. André was built. It was also the capital of an independent state under Edward, the Black Prince (1362â€"1372), but in the end, after the Battle of Castillon (1453), it was annexed by France which extended its territory. The Château Trompette (Trumpet Castle) and the Fort du Hâ, built by Charles VII of France, were the symbols of the new domination, which however deprived the city of its wealth by halting the wine commerce with England.

In 1462, Bordeaux obtained a parliament, but regained importance only in the 16th century when it became the centre of the distribution of sugar and slaves from the West Indies along with the traditional wine.

Bordeaux adhered to the Fronde, being effectively annexed to the Kingdom of France only in 1653, when the army of Louis XIV entered the city.

The 18th century was the golden age of Bordeaux. Many downtown buildings (about 5,000), including those on the quays, are from this period. Victor Hugo found the town so beautiful he once said: "Take Versailles, add Antwerp, and you have Bordeaux". Baron Haussmann, a long-time prefect of Bordeaux, used Bordeaux's 18th-century large-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor Napoleon III to transform a then still quasi-medieval Paris into a "modern" capital that would make France proud.

In 1814, towards the end of the Peninsula war, the Duke of Wellington sent William Beresford with two divisions, who seized Bordeaux without much resistance on 12 March. Bordeaux was largely anti-Bonapartist and had a majority that supported the Bourbons, so the British troops were treated as liberators.

In 1870, at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian war against Prussia, the French government temporary relocated to Bordeaux from Paris. This happened again during the First World War and again very briefly during the Second World War, when it became clear that Paris would soon fall into German hands. However, on the last of these occasions the French capital was soon moved again to Vichy. In May and June 1940, Bordeaux was the site of the life-saving actions of the Portuguese consul-general, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who illegally granted thousands of Portuguese visas, which were needed to pass the Spanish border, to refugees fleeing the German Occupation.

From 1940 to 1943, the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina Italiana) established BETASOM, a submarine base at Bordeaux. Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic from this base, which was also a major base for German U-boats as headquarters of 12th U-boat Flotilla. The massive, reinforced concrete U-boat pens have proved impractical to demolish and are now partly used as a cultural center for exhibitions.

Geography

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 (310 mi) 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 because when flowing outside the bend, the water makes a furrow of the required depth to allow the passing of merchant ships, which used to offload on this side of the river. In Bordeaux, the Garonne River is accessible to ocean liners. The right bank of the Garonne is a low-lying, often marshy plain.

Climate

Bordeaux's climate is usually classified as an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb); however, the summers tend to be warmer and the winters milder than most areas of similar classification. Substantial summer rainfall prevents its climate from being classified as Mediterranean.

Winters are cool because of the prevalence of westerly winds from the Atlantic. Summers are warm and long due to the influence from the Bay of Biscay (surface temperature reaches 21 to 22 °C (70 to 72 °F). The average seasonal winter temperature is 7.1 °C (44.8 °F), but recent winters have been warmer than this. Frosts in the winter are commonplace, occurring several times during a winter, but snowfall is very rare, occurring only once every three years. The average summer seasonal temperature is 20.7 °C (69.3 °F). The summer of 2003 set a record with an average temperature of 23.3 °C (73.9 °F).

Economy

Bordeaux is a major centre for business in France as it has the fifth largest metropolitan population in France.

As of 2014, the GDP of Bordeaux is €32.7 Billion.

Wine

The vine was introduced to the Bordeaux region by the Romans, probably in the mid-first century, to provide wine for local consumption, and wine production has been continuous in the region since.

Bordeaux now has about 116,160 hectares (287,000 acres) 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: The first growths are:

• Château Lafite-Rothschild
• Château Margaux
• Château Latour
• Château Haut-Brion
• Château Mouton-Rothschild

In 1855, Mouton-Rothschild was ranked a Second Growth. In 1973, it was elevated to First Growth status.

Both red and white wines are made in Bordeaux. Red Bordeaux is called claret in the United Kingdom. Red wines are generally made from a blend of grapes, and may be made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit verdot, Malbec, and, less commonly in recent years, Carménère.

White Bordeaux is made from Sauvignon blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle. Sauternes is a sub-region of Graves known for its intensely sweet, white, dessert wines such as Château d'Yquem.

Because of a wine glut (wine lake) in the generic production, the price squeeze induced by an increasingly strong international competition, and vine pull schemes, the number of growers has recently dropped from 14,000 and the area under vine has also decreased significantly. In the meantime, the global demand for first growths and the most famous labels markedly increased and their prices skyrocketed.

The Cité du Vin, a museum as well as a place of exhibitions, shows, movie projections and academic seminars on the theme of wine opened its doors in June 2016.

Others

The Laser Mégajoule will be one of the most powerful lasers in the world, allowing fundamental research and the development of the laser and plasma technologies. This project, carried by the French Ministry of Defence, involves an investment of 2 billion euros. The "Road of the lasers", a major project of regional planning, promotes regional investment in optical and laser related industries leading to the Bordeaux area having the most important concentration of optical and laser expertise in Europe.

Some 20,000 people work for the aeronautic industry in Bordeaux. The city has some of the biggest companies including Dassault, EADS Sogerma, Snecma, Thales, SNPE, and others. The Dassault Falcon private jets are built there as well as the military aircraft Rafale and Mirage 2000, the Airbus A380 cockpit, the boosters of Ariane 5, and the M51 SLBM missile.

Tourism, especially wine tourism, is a major industry. Globelink.co.uk mentioned Bordeaux as the best tourist destination in Europe in 2015.

Access to the port from the Atlantic is via the Gironde estuary. Almost nine million tonnes of goods arrive and leave each year.

Major companies

(This list includes indigenous Bordeaux-based companies and companies that have major presence in Bordeaux, but are not necessarily headquartered there.)

• Arena
• Cdiscount
• Cultura
• Dassault
• EADS composites
• EADS Sogerma
• EADS Space Transportation
• Ford Motor Company
• Lectra
• LU
• Marie Brizard
• McKesson Corporation
• Oxbow
• Ricard
• Sanofi Aventis
• Smurfit Kappa
• SNECMA
• SNPE
• Solectron
• Thales Group
• William Pitters

Population

At the January 2011 census, there were 239,399 inhabitants in the city proper (commune) of Bordeaux. Bordeaux in its hey day had a population of 262,662 in 1968. The majority of the population is French, but there are sizable groups of Italians, Spaniards (Up to 20% of the Bordeaux population claim some degree of Spanish heritage), Portuguese, Turks, Germans..

The built-up area has grown for more than a century beyond the municipal borders of Bordeaux due to urban sprawl, so that by the January 2011 census there were 1,140,668 people living in the overall metropolitan area of Bordeaux, only a fifth of whom lived in the city proper.

Population Change (See database)

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006) ·

Population Over Time

Politics

At the 2007 presidential election, the Bordelais gave 31.37% of their votes to Ségolène Royal of the Socialist Party against 30.84% to Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the UMP. Then came Francois Bayrou with 22.01%, followed by Jean-Marie Le Pen who recorded 5.42%. None of the other candidates exceeded the 5% mark. Nationally, Nicolas Sarkozy lead with 31.18%, then Ségolène Royal with 25.87%, followed by François Bayrou with 18.57%. After Jean-Marie Le Pen with 10.44%, none of the other candidates exceeded the 5% mark. In the second round, the city of Bordeaux place Segolene Royal 52.44% against head with 47.56% for Nicolas Sarkozy, the latter being elected President of the Republic with 53.06% against 46.94% for Ségolène Royal. The abstention amounts to Bordeaux in the first round and 14.52% in the second round to 15.90%. This is an earthquake in Bordeaux, a city deeply rooted right symbol for the latter city.

In the parliamentary elections of 2007, the left won eight constituencies against only three right. It should be added that after the partial 2008, the eighth district of Gironde will switch to the left, bringing to nine the account. In Bordeaux, the left is for the first time in its history the majority as it holds two three constituencies following the elections. In the first division of the Gironde, the outgoing UMP MP Chantal Bourragué well ahead with 44.81% against 25.39% for only the Socialist candidate Beatrice Desaigues. In the second round, it was Chantal Bourragué who was re-elected with 54.45% against 45.55% for his socialist opponent. In the second district of Gironde confront the UMP mayor and all new Minister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea Alain Juppe facing the General Counsel PS Michèle Delaunay. In the first round, Alain Juppe is well ahead with 43.73% against 31.36% for Michèle Delaunay. In the second round, it was finally Michèle De launay who won the election with 50.93% of the votes against 49.07% for Alain Juppé, the advance being only 670 votes. The defeat of the so-called constituency "Mayor" shows that Bordeaux rocking increasingly left. Finally, on the third constituency of the Gironde, Noël Mamère is well ahead with 39.82% against 28.42% for only the UMP candidate Elizabeth Vine. In the second round, it's Christmas Mamère is re-elected with 62.82% against 37.18% for his rival right.

In 2008 held municipal elections saw the clash between mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppe and the President of the Regional Council of Aquitaine Socialist Alain Rousset. The PS had put a Socialist heavyweight Gironde and had put great hopes in this election after the victory of Ségolène Royal and Michèle Delaunay in 2007. However, after a rather exciting campaign is Alain Juppé who was widely elected in the first round with 56.62%, far ahead of Alain Rousset who has managed to get 34.14%. At present, of the eight cantons that has Bordeaux, five and three are at the PS to the UMP, left munching at every election a little bit on the right electorate.

In the European elections of 2009, Bordeaux voters largely voted for the UMP list Dominique Baudis, who won 31.54% against 15.00% for only a list PS Kader Arif. The list of Europe Ecology José Bové has released its game arrived second with 22.34%. None of the other lists have reached the 10% mark. The 2009 European elections are like the previous ones in eight constituencies. Bordeaux is located in the district "Southwest", here are the results:

UMP list Dominique Baudis: 26.89%. His list gets four seats. PS list Kader Arif: 17.79%. Two seats in the European Parliament. Europe Ecology list Bove: 15.83%. Two seats were obtained. MoDem list Robert Rochefort: 8.61%. Won a seat. List Left Front of Jean-Luc Mélenchon: 8.16%. The last seat deserves. At regional elections in 2010, the Socialist incumbent president Alain Rousset won the first round by totaling 35.19% in Bordeaux, but this score is lower than the Gironde and Aquitaine plan. Then arrived Xavier Darcos, Minister of Labour who got 28.40% of the votes, score above the regional and departmental average. Then come Monique De Marco, Green candidate which totals 13.40%, followed by the member of Pyrenees-Atlantiques and candidate of the Modem Jean Lassalle who registers a low 6.78% while it is qualified to the second round on the whole Aquitaine. It is closely followed by Jacques Colombier, candidate of the National Front, which gets 6.48%. Finally comes the candidate of the Left Front Gérard Boulanger which totals 5.64%, no other candidate from the 5% mark. In the second round, Alain Rousset is needed largely carried away by the wave as national totals rose 55.83%. If Xavier Darcos largely loses the election, he nevertheless achieves a score above the regional and departmental average obtaining 33.40%. Jean Lassalle, who qualified for the second round, passes the 10% mark by totaling 10.77%. The ballot is marked by abstention amounted to 55.51% in the first round and 53.59% in the second round.

Only candidates obtaining more than 5% are listed

Municipal administration

The Mayor of the city is Alain Juppe.

Bordeaux is the capital of five cantons and the Prefecture of the Gironde and Aquitaine.

The town is divided into three districts, the first three of Gironde. The headquarters of Urban Community of Bordeaux Mériadeck is located in the neighborhood and the city is at the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry that bears his name.

The number of inhabitants of Bordeaux is greater than 199,999 and less than 250,000 and so the number of municipal councilors is 61. They are divided according to the following composition:

Mayors of Bordeaux

Since 1947, there have been 3 mayors of Bordeaux:

1947â€"1995: Jacques Chaban-Delmas (RPR)
1995â€"2004: Alain Juppe (RPR/UMP/LR)
2004â€"2006: Hugues Martin (UMP)
2006â€"present: Alain Juppe (UMP/LR)

• RPR was renamed to UMP in 2002 which was later renamed to Les Republicains in 2015

Education

University

The university was created by the archbishop Pey Berland in 1441 and was abolished in 1793, during the French Revolution, before reappearing in 1808 with Napoleon I. Bordeaux accommodates approximately 70,000 students on one of the largest campuses of Europe (235 ha). The University of Bordeaux is divided into four:

• The University Bordeaux 1, (Maths, Physical sciences and Technologies), 10,693 students in 2002
• The University Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux Segalen (Medicine and Life sciences), 15,038 students in 2002
• The University Bordeaux 3, Michel de Montaigne (Liberal Arts, Humanities, Languages, History), 14,785 students in 2002
• The University Bordeaux 4, Montesquieu (Law, Economy and Management), 12,556 students in 2002
• Institut of Political Sciences of Bordeaux. Although technically a part of the fourth university, it largely functions autonomously.

Schools

Bordeaux has numerous public and private schools offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Engineering schools:

• Arts et Métiers ParisTech, graduate school of industrial and mechanical engineering
• ESME-Sudria, graduate school of engineering
• École d'ingénieurs en modélisation mathématique et mécanique
• École nationale supérieure d’électronique, informatique, télécommunications, mathématique et mécanique de Bordeaux (ENSEIRB-MATMECA)
• École supérieure de technologie des biomolécules de Bordeaux
• École nationale d'ingénieurs des travaux agricoles de Bordeaux
• École nationale supérieure de chimie et physique de Bordeaux
• École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies
• Institut des sciences et techniques des aliments de Bordeaux
• Institut de cognitique
• École supérieure d'informatique
• École privée des sciences informatiques

Business and management schools:

• The Bordeaux MBA (International College of Bordeaux)
• IUT Techniques de Commercialisation of Bordeaux (Business School)
• INSEEC Business School (Institut des hautes études économiques et commerciales)
• KEDGE Business School (former BEM â€" Bordeaux Management School)
• Vatel Bordeaux International Business School
• E-Artsup
• Institut supérieur européen de gestion group
• Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action

Other:

• École nationale de la magistrature (National school for Magistrate)
• École d'architecture et de paysage de Bordeaux
• École des beaux-arts de Bordeaux
• École française des attachés de presse et des professionels de la communication (EFAP)
• Conservatoire national des arts et métiers d'Aquitaine (CNAM)

Weekend education

The École Compleméntaire Japonaise de Bordeaux (ボルドー日本語補ç¿'授業校 Borudō Nihongo HoshÅ« Jugyō Kō), a part-time Japanese supplementary school, is held in the Salle de L'Athenee Municipal in Bordeaux.

Main sights

Bordeaux is classified "City of Art and History". The city is home to 362 monuments historiques (only Paris has more in France) with some buildings dating back to Roman times. Bordeaux 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 de Tourny.

Buildings

Main sights include:

• Esplanade des Quinconces, the largest square in Europe.
• Monument aux Girondins
• Grand Théâtre, a large neoclassical theater built in the 18th century.
• Allées de Tourny
• Cours de l'Intendance
• Place du Chapelet
• Place de la Bourse(1730â€"1775), designed by the Royal architect Jacques Ange Gabriel as landscape for an equestrian statue of Louis XV.
• Place du Parlement
• Place Saint-Pierre
• Pont de pierre
• Saint-André Cathedral, consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096. Of the Original Romanesque edifice only a wall in the nave remain. The Royal Gate is from the early 13th century, while the rest of the construction is mostly from the 14th and 15th centuries.
• Tour Pey-Berland (1440â€"1450), a massive, quadrangular gothic tower annexed to the cathedral.
• Église Sainte-Croix (Church of the Holy Cross). It lies on the site of a 7th-century abbey destroyed by the Saracens. Rebuilt under the Carolingians, it was again destroyed by the Normans in 845 and 864. It is annexed to a Benedictine abbey founded in the 7th century, and was built in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. The façade is in Romanesque style
• The gothic Basilica of Saint Michael, constructed between the end of the 14th century and the 16th century.
• Basilica of Saint-Seurin, the most ancient church in Bordeaux. It was built in the early 6th century on the site of a palaeochristian necropolis. It has an 11th-century portico, while the apse and transept are from the following century. The 13th-century nave has chapels from the 11th and the 14th centuries. The ancient crypt houses sepulchres of the Merovingian family.
• Église Saint-Pierre, gothic church
• Église Saint-Éloi, gothic church
• Église Saint-Bruno, baroque church decorated with frescoes
• Église Notre-Dame, baroque church
• Église Saint-Paul-Saint-François-Xavier, baroque church
• Palais Rohan (Exterior:)
• Palais Gallien, the remains of a late 2nd-century Roman amphitheatre
• Porte Cailhau, a medieval gate of the old city walls.
• La Grosse Cloche (15th century), the second remaining gate of the Medieval walls. It was the belfry of the old Town Hall. It consists of two 40-metre-high (131-foot) circular towers and a central bell tower housing a bell weighing 7,800 kilograms (17,200 lb). The watch is from 1759.
• Rue Sainte-Catherine, the longest Pedestrian street of France
• The BETASOM submarine base

Saint-André Cathedral, Saint-Michel Basilica and Saint-Seurin Basilica are part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.

Contemporary architecture

• Fire Station, la Benauge, Claude Ferret/Adrien Courtois/Yves Salier, 1951â€"1954
• Court of first instance, Richard Rogers, 1998
• CTBA, wood and furniture research center, A. Loisier, 1998
• Hangar 14 on the Quai des Chartrons, 1999
• The Management Science faculty on the Bastide, Anne Lacaton/Jean-Philippe Vassal, 2006
• The Jardin botanique de la Bastide, Catherine Mosbach/Françoise Hélène Jourda/Pascal Convert, 2007
• The Nuyens School complex on the Bastide, Yves Ballot/Nathalie Franck, 2007
• Seeko'o Hotel on the Quai des Chartrons, King Kong architects, 2007

Museums

• Musée des Beaux Arts (Fine arts museum), one of the finest painting galleries in France with paintings by painter such as Tiziano, Veronese, Rubens, Van Dyck, Frans Hals, Claude, Chardin, Delacroix, Renoir, Seurat, Matisse and Picasso.
• Musée d'Aquitaine (archeological and history museum)
• Musée du Vin et du Négoce (museum of the wine trade)
• Musée des Arts Décoratifs (museum of decorative arts)
• Musée d'Histoire Naturelle (natural history museum)
• CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux (contemporary art museum)
• Musée national des douanes
• Vinorama
• Musée Goupil
• Casa de Goya
• Cap Sciences
• Centre Jean Moulin

Parks and gardens

• Jardin botanique de Bordeaux
• Jardin botanique de la Bastide
• La Maison des Chameaux (Camel Park)

"Le Jardin Public" is a park in the heart of the city.

Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas

Europe’s longest-span vertical-lift bridge, the Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas, was opened in 2013 in Bordeaux, spanning the River Garonne. The central lift span is 117-metre-long (384-foot) and can be lifted vertically up to 53 metres (174 feet) to let tall ships pass underneath. The €160 million bridge was inaugurated by President François Hollande and Mayor Alain Juppé on 16 March 2013. The bridge was named after the late Jacques Chaban-Delmas, who was a former Prime Minister and Mayor of Bordeaux.

Shopping

Bordeaux has many shopping options. In the heart of Bordeaux is Rue Sainte-Catherine. This pedestrian-only shopping street has 1.2 kilometers (0.75 mi) of shops, restaurants and cafés; it is also one of the longest shopping streets in Europe. Rue Sainte-Catherine starts at Place de la Victoire and ends at Place de la Comédie by the Grand Théâtre. The shops become progressively more upmarket as one moves towards Place de la Comédie and the nearby Cours de l'Intendance is where one finds the more exclusive shops and boutiques.

Culture

Bordeaux is also the first city in France to have created, in the 1980s, an architecture exhibition and research centre, Arc en rêve. Bordeaux offers a large number of cinemas, theatres and is the home of the Opéra national de Bordeaux. There are many music venues of varying capacity. The city also offers several festivals throughout the year.

Transport

Road

Bordeaux is an important road and motorway junction. The city is connected to Paris by the A10 motorway, with Lyon by the A89, with Toulouse by the A62, and with Spain by the A63. There is a 45 km (28 mi) ring road called the "Rocade" which is often very busy. Another ring road is under consideration.

Bordeaux has five road bridges that cross the Garonne, the Pont de pierre built in the 1820s and three modern bridges built after 1960: the Pont Saint Jean, just south of the Pont de pierre (both located downtown), the Pont d'Aquitaine, a suspended bridge downstream from downtown, and the Pont François Mitterrand, located upstream of downtown. These two bridges are part of the ring road around Bordeaux. A fifth bridge, the Pont Jacques-Chaban-Delmas, was constructed in 2009â€"2012 and opened to traffic in March 2013. Located halfway between the Pont de pierre and the Pont d'Aquitaine and serving downtown rather than highway traffic, it is a vertical-lift bridge with a height comparable to the Pont de pierre in closed position, and to the Pont d'Aquitaine in open position. All five road bridges, including the two highway bridges, are open to cyclists and pedestrians as well. Another bridge, the Pont Jean-Jacques Bosc, is to be built in 2018.

Lacking any steep hills, Bordeaux is relatively friendly to cyclists. Cycle paths (separate from the roadways) exist on the highway bridges, along the riverfront, on the university campuses, and incidentally elsewhere in the city. Cycle lanes and bus lanes that explicitly allow cyclists exist on many of the city's boulevards. A paid Bicycle sharing system with automated stations has been established in 2010.

Rail

The main railway station, Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean, near the center of the city, has 4 million passengers a year. 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 centers such as Lille, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, Geneva and London. The TGV also serves Toulouse and Irun from Bordeaux. A regular train service is provided to Nantes, Nice, Marseille and Lyon. The Gare Saint-Jean is the major hub for regional trains (TER) operated by the SNCF to Arcachon, Limoges, Agen, Périgueux, Pau, Le Médoc, Angoulême and Bayonne.

Historically the train line used to terminate at a station on the right bank of the river Garonne near the Pont de Pierre, and passengers crossed the bridge to get into the city. Subsequently, a double-track steel railway bridge was constructed in the 1850s, by Gustave Eiffel, to bring trains across the river direct into Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean. The old station was later converted and in 2010 comprised a cinema and restaurants.

The two-track Eiffel bridge with a speed limit of 30 km/h (19 mph) became a bottleneck and a new bridge was built, opening in 2009. The new bridge has 4 tracks and allows trains to pass at 60 km/h (37 mph). During the planning there was much lobbying by the Eiffel family and other supporters to preserve the old bridge as a footbridge across the Garonne, with possibly a museum to document the history of the bridge and Gustave Eiffel's contribution. The decision was taken to save the bridge, but by early 2010 no plans had been announced as to its future use. The bridge remains intact, but unused and without any means of access.

Air

Bordeaux is served by an international airport, Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac, located 8 km (5.0 mi) from the city center in the suburban city of Mérignac.

Trams, buses and boats

Bordeaux has an important public transport system called Transports Bordeaux Métropole (TBM). This company is run by the Keolis group. The network consists of:

• 3 tram lines (A, B and C)
• 75 bus routes, all connected to the tramway network (from 1 to 96)
• 13 night bus routes (from 1 to 16)
• An electric bus shuttle in the city center
• A boat shuttle on the Garonne river

This network is operated from 5 am to 1 am.

There had been several plans for a subway network to be set up, but they stalled for both geological and financial reasons. Work on the Tramway de Bordeaux system was started in the autumn of 2000, and services started in December 2003 connecting Bordeaux with its suburban areas. The tram system uses ground-level power supply technology (APS), a new cable-free technology developed by French company Alstom and designed to preserve the aesthetic environment by eliminating overhead cables in the historic city. Conventional overhead cables are used outside the city. The system was controversial for its considerable cost of installation, maintenance and also for the numerous initial technical problems that paralysed the network. Many streets and squares along the tramway route became pedestrian areas, with limited access for cars.

Taxis

There are more than 400 taxicabs in Bordeaux.

Sport

The 35,000-capacity Stade Chaban-Delmas is the largest stadium in Bordeaux. It was a venue for the FIFA World Cup in 1938 and 1998, as well as the 2007 Rugby World Cup. In the 1938 FIFA World Cup, it hosted a violent quarter-final known as the Battle of Bordeaux. The ground was formerly known as the Stade du Parc Lescure until 2001, when it was renamed in honour of the city's long-time mayor, Jacques Chaban-Delmas.

There are two major sport teams in Bordeaux, both playing at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. Girondins de Bordeaux is the football team, currently playing in Ligue 1 in the French football championship. Union Bordeaux Bègles is a rugby team in the Top 14 in the Ligue Nationale de Rugby. Skateboarding, rollerblading, and BMX biking are activities enjoyed by many young inhabitants of the city. Bordeaux is home to a beautiful quay which runs along the Gironde river. On the quay there is a skate-park divided into three sections. One section is for Vert tricks, one for street style tricks, and one for little action sports athletes with easier features and softer materials. The skate-park is very well maintained by the municipality.

A new stadium has been open in 2015 to replace the Chaban-Delmas stadium. It has a capacity of 42500 people.

Bordeaux is also the home to one of the strongest cricket teams in France and are the current champions of the South West League.

There is a 250 m (820 ft) wooden velodrome, Vélodrome du Lac, in Bordeaux which hosts international cycling competition in the form of UCI Track Cycling World Cup events.

The 2015 Trophee Eric Bompard was in Bordeaux. But the Free Skate was cancelled in all of the divisions due to the Paris bombing(s) and aftermath. The Short Program occurred hours before the bombing. French skaters Chafik Besseghier (68.36) in 10th place, Romain Ponsart (62.86) in 11th. Mae-Berenice-Meite (46.82) in 11th and Laurine Lecavelier (46.53) in 12th. Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres (65.75) in 2nd.

People

Bordeaux was the birthplace of:

International relationship

Twin towns and sister cities

Bordeaux is twinned with:

Partnerships