Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Bordeaux shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Bordeaux offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Bordeaux at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Bordeaux? Wrong! If the Bordeaux is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Bordeaux then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Bordeaux? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Bordeaux and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Bordeaux wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Bordeaux then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Bordeaux site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Bordeaux, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Bordeaux, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{French commune|native_name= Ville de Bordeaux
UNESCO World Heritage Site] alone rules over the moon, the waves, the castle, and the lion"|image_map = France_jms.png|x = 82|y = 174|time zone = CET (GMT +1)|lat_long = |region= Aquitaine (33)|mayor= [Alain Juppé|mandat = since 2006|area= [1 E7 m²|date-population= 2007 estimate|population=230,600|population-ranking=7th in France|date-density= 2007 estimate|density= 4,658|communes= 191|UU-area=
1 E9 m²|UU-area-date= 2007 estimate|UU-pop=800,000|UU-pop-date= 2007 estimate|AU-area=
1 E9 m²|AU-area-date= 2007 estimate|AU-pop=1200000 (5th in France)|AU-pop-date= 2007 estimate|intercom-details2=
Urban Community of Bordeaux: Bordèu) is a [Seaport city in the southwest of France, with one million inhabitants in its
aire urbaine at a
2007 estimate. It is the
capital of the
Aquitaine regions of France, as well as the Prefectures in France of the
Gironde Departments of France. Its inhabitants are called
Bordelais.
With a population of 1,200,000 inhabitants in the Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, the fifth metropolitan area in France is known to be the world's wine industry capital, and it is considered Europe's main military space and aeronautics research and construction complex. Bordeaux wine draws its name from the city around which it has been produced since the
8th century. The historic part of the city is on the World Heritage Site as
"an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the
18th century. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6249110.stm
Geography
Bordeaux is located near the European
Atlantic Ocean coast, in the southwest of France and in the north of the Aquitaine region. The city is built on a bend of the river
Garonne, and is thus divided into two parts: the right bank to the East and left bank in the West. Historically, the left bank is the more developed. In Bordeaux, the
Garonne is accessible to ocean liners.
Demographics
At the 1999 census, there were 215.363 inhabitants in the city (
Commune in France) of Bordeaux, and the 2005 census showed a significant increase, this figure reaching 230 600 inhabitants . In 2007, there were 925 000 inhabitants in the Urban Community of Bordeaux and 1.2 Million in the Bordeaux Arcachon Libourne urban body. The city contains a diverse range of people. Much of the population is French, but there are sizable groups of Italian people,
Spaniards, Portuguese people, German people and North Africans. The metropolis has developed rapidly over the last decades and is facing urban sprawl.
History
Between 30,000 and 90,000 years ago the area of Bordeaux was inhabited by the
Homo neanderthalensis, whose remains have been found at a famous cave known as Pair-non-Pair, near Bourg sur Gironde, just north of Bordeaux.
In historical times, around
300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, who named the town
Burdigala, probably of Aquitainian origin. The name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city. The city fell under ancient Rome 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 sixth century, the city reemerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks. The city fell into obscurity as royal power waned in southern Gaul in the late seventh century. The city was plundered by the troops of
Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi in 732, after he had defeated
Odo of Aquitaine and before he was killed during the Battle of Tours on
October 10. Under the Carolingians were appointed a series of Count of Bordeaux who served to defend the mouth of the
Garonne from the Vikings. Eventually, the city was inherited by the
Dukes of Gascony in the late tenth century.
From the 12th to the 15th century, Bordeaux regained importance as part of the
Kingdom of England realm, following the marriage of Duchess Eleanor 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 wine trade, and the cathedral of St. André was built. It was also the capital of an independent state under Edward, the Black Prince (1362-
1372), but in the end, after the
Battle of Castillon (1453) it returned to France. The
Châteaux 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 richness by halting the wine commerce with England. In 1462 Bordeaux obtained a parliament, but regained importance only in the 16th century when it become a centre of distribution of sugar and slaves from
West Indies along with the traditional wine.
Bordeaux adhered to the
Fronde, being effectively annexed to the Kingdom of France only in 1653 when Louis XIV of France entered in 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 big-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor Napoleon III of France to transform a then still quasi-medieval Paris into a "modern" capital that would make France proud.
The French government withdrew to the city during the wars of 1870, World War I and World War II.
Economy
Wine
Bordeaux has about 117,000 hectares of
vineyards, 57 appellations, 9,000 wine-producing châteaux, 13,000 grape growers, 400 traders and sales of 14.5 billion euros annually. With an annual production of over 700 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, Chateau Haut-Brion, from Graves), established by the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855:The first growths are:
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,
Carmenere. White Bordeaux is made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle. Sauternes is a subregion of Graves known for its intensely sweet, white, dessert wines such as Château d'Yquem.
Because of the wine glut (wine lake), the price squeeze caused by 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.
Laser
The Laser Megajoule will be the most powerful laser in the world, allowing fundamental research and the development of the lasers and plasmas technologies. This project, carried by the French Ministry of Defence, involves an investment of 2 billion euros. In 2009, the 600 experiments programmed each year with the Laser Mégajoule will begin. The "Road of the lasers", a major project of regional planning for the optical and lasers industries, will be born. Therefore, the area of Bordeaux will shelter the most important concentration of optical and laser experts in Europe.
Aeronautics
20 000 people work for the aeronautic industry in Bordeaux. The city has some of the biggest companies including Dassault, 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 A380 cockpit, the boosters of
Ariane 5, and the
M51 SLBM missile.
Tourism
Tourism is fast growing industry in Bordeaux. The city and the beautiful Aquitaine region surrounding it hope to attract more and more visitors in the coming years. Bordeaux attracts 3 million visitors each year.
Port
The port lies on the Atlantic ocean and the
Gironde estuary. Almost 9 million tons of goods arrive and leave each year. The Port is a nice area to sit and relax, a good place to tour if ever visiting.
List of major companies settled in Bordeaux
Education.
University
The university was created by the archbishop Pey Berland and was removed under the French revolution in 1793, before reappearing in 1808 with
Napoleon I of France. 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 (Physical sciences and Technologies), 10,693 students in 2002
- The University Bordeaux 2 (Medicine and Life sciences), 15,038 students in 2002
- The University Bordeaux 3 (Liberal Arts, Humanities, Languages), 14,785 students in 2002
- The University Bordeaux 4 (Law, Economy and Management). 12,556 students in 2002
Schools
Bordeaux has numerous public and private schools offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
Engineering schools:
Business and management schools:
- Bordeaux école de management (Bordeaux Management school)
- EBP International
- Institut des hautes études économiques et commerciales
- École de commerce européenne
Other:
- Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux (Institute of political sciences)
- École nationale de la magistrature (National school for Magistrate)
- École du service de santé des armées
- 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)
:
Harbour at Bordeaux, 1871
Main sights
Bordeaux is classified "City of Art and History". The city has been inscribed on World Heritage Site 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 of France, under the supervision of 2 intendants (Governors), first Mr.
Dupre de Saint Maur then the
Marquis de Tourny.
Buildings
Main sights include:
- Esplanade des Quinconces
- Colonnes des Girondins
- Grand Théâtre (Bordeaux)
- Allées de Tourny
- Cours de l'Intendance
- Place du Chapelet
- 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-15th centuries.
- Tour Pey Berland (1440-1450), a massive, quadrangular tower annexed to the cathedral.
- Sainte-Croix Church (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. Of the Benedictine abbey of the 11th century only the nave walls and other minor part can be seen now. The current appearance is from the 19th century.
- The Gothic architecture basilica of Saint-Michel, constructed in the late 14th-15th centuries.
- 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.
- Palais Rohan (Exterior: )
- Palais Gallien, the remains of a late 2nd-century Ancient Rome amphitheatre
- Porte Cailhau
- La Grosse Cloche (15th century) is the second remaining gate of the Medieval walls. It was the belfry of the old Town Hall. It consists of two 40m-high circular towers and a central bell tower housing a bell (instrument) weighing 7,800&kg. The watch is from 1759.
- Eglise Saint-Eloi
- Place de la Bourse (1730-1775), designed by the Royal architect Jacques Ange Gabriel as landscape for an equestrian statue of Louis XV.
- Place du Parlement
- Place Saint-Pierre
- Rue Sainte-Catherine
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.
Museums
- Musée des Beaux Arts
- Musée d'Aquitaine
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs
- Musée D'Histoire Naturelle
- CAPC
- Musée National des Doines
- French cruiser Colbert
- Vinorama
- Musée Goupil
- Casa de Goya
- Cap Sciences
- Centre Jean Moulin
Shopping
Bordeaux boasts numerous options for shopping. In the heart of Bordeaux is Rue Sainte-Catherine. This pedestrian only shopping street is 1.2 kilometers of shops, restaurants and cafes; it is also the longest shopping street in Europe. Rue Sainte-Catherine starts at Place de la Victoire and ends at Place de la Comedie by the opera house. The shops become progressively more upscale as one moves towards Place de la Comedie 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 center, Arc en rêve, still the most prestigious in France besides Paris
Institut Francais d'Architecture.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.
Music
Media
Radio Stations
These are the radio stations in Bordeaux.
- Wit FM :(Pop, Rock, Dance music)
- Black Box :(Hip-Hop, R&B, Ragga, Funk, Soul, Disco)
- Radio Nova Sauvagine :(Alternative Music)
- Campus FM :(Alternative Music)
- La Clé des Ondes :(World Music)
Newspaper
TV
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 ring road called the "Rocade" which is often very busy. The project of another ring road is being discussed.
Bordeaux has 4 road bridges that cross the
Garonne, the Pont-de-Pierre built in the 1820s and 3 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 2 bridges are part of the ring road around Bordeaux. There is also a steel railway bridge, built in the 1850s by Gustave Eiffel, and used daily by 100s, including the TGV, a high speed train.
Rail
The main railway station, the Gare St-Jean near the centre of the city, welcomes 4 million passengers a year. It is served by the French national (
SNCF) railway's high speed train, the TGV, that allows a trip to Paris in 3 hours, offering connections with major European centres such as
Lille,
Brussels,
Amsterdam, Cologne, Geneva and
London. The TGV also serves Toulouse and
Irun from Bordeaux. Regular train service is provided to Nantes,
Nice,
Marseille and
Lyon. The Gare St-Jean is the major hub for regional trains (Transport express régional) operated by the SNCF to
Arcachon, Limoges, Agen, Périgueux, Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Bayonne.
Air
Bordeaux is served by an international airport, Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac, located 8km from the city center in the suburban city of
Mérignac, Gironde.
Trams, buses and boats
Bordeaux has an important public transport system called TBC. This company is run by the Connex group. The network is composed of:
- 3 tram lines (A, B and C)
- 75 bus routes, all connected to the tramway network (from 1 to 96)
- 12 night bus routes (from S1 to S12)
- An electric bus shuttle in the city centre
- A boat shuttle on the Garonne river
This network is operated from 5am to 1am
There have been several plans for a subway network to be set up but they were given up for both geological and financial reasons. The
Tramway de Bordeaux system was started in the autumn of 2000 and put into service in December 2003, connecting Bordeaux with the suburban areas. It uses the
Alimentation par Sol technology, a brand new and exclusive cableless technology developed by French company Alstom and designed to preserve the aesthetic environment the tramway is surrounded by (although very controversial for its considerable cost of installation and maintenance, but also for the numerous technical problems that paralyzed the network for an unusually long time even if those problems have been resolved). At the same time many downtown streets and squares along the tramway lines became pedestrian areas, with limited access by cars.
Sport
The Stade Chaban-Delmas is the largest stadium. It can host 35000 spectators.There are two major sport teams in Bordeaux :
- FC Girondins de Bordeaux is the (soccer) team. It is part of the Ligue 1 in the French soccer championship.
- The Bordeaux Rugby Métropole (Union de Stade Bordelais - Club Athlétique Bordeaux-Bègles) team is part of the Rugby Pro D2 (Second Division) of the Rugby Union Ligue Nationale de Rugby.
- Bordeaux is the home of one of the strongest cricket teams in France, "Bordeaux-La Brède".
There is a 250m wooden velodrome, Vélodrome du Lac, in Bordeaux which hosts international
cycling competition in the form of UCI World Cup events.
Miscellaneous
Births
Bordeaux was the birthplace of:
- Bertrand Andrieu (1761-1822), engraver
- Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), dramatist
- Yvonne Arnaud (1892-1958), actress
- Decimus Magnus Ausonius (c. 310-395), Roman poet and rhetorician
- François Bigot (1703-1788), last Intendant of New France of New France
- René Clément (1913-1996), actor, director, writer
- Marie-Louise Damien (1899-1978), singer
- Lili Damita (1901-1994), actress
- Danielle Darrieux (born 1917), actress
- Jacques Ellul (1912–1994), sociologist, theologian, Christian anarchist
- Eugène Goossens, fils (1867-1958) conductor, violinist
- François Mauriac (1885-1970), writer, Nobel Prize
- Édouard Molinaro (born 1928), film director, producer
- Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), essayist
- Paulinus of Nola (354-431), educator, religious figure
- Georges Antoine Pons Rayet (1839–1906), astronomer, discoverer of the Wolf-Rayet stars, founder of the Bordeaux Observatory
- Richard II of England 1367- 1400
- Pierre Rode (1774-1830), violinist
- Jean-Jacques Sempé (born 1932), cartoonist
- Florent Serra, tennis player
Sister Cities and partnerships
Sister cities
- Bristol, United Kingdom, since 1947.
- Lima, Peru, since 1957
- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, since 1962
- Munich, Germany, since 1964
- Los Angeles, United States, since 1968
- Porto, Portugal, since 1978
- Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, since 1982
- Madrid, Spain, since 1984
- Ashdod, Israel, since 1984
- Baku, Azerbaijan, since 1985
- Casablanca, Morocco, since 1988
- Wuhan, People's Republic of China, since 1998
- Oran, Algeria, since 2003
Partnerships
See also
References
External links
- Bordeaux city council website
- Tourist office website
- Official Girondins de Bordeaux website
- Sciences Po Bordeaux
- Tram and bus maps and schedules
- Bordeaux Wine official website
- Full screen interactive map of Bordeaux
-
{{French commune|native_name= Ville de Bordeaux
UNESCO World Heritage Site] alone rules over the moon, the waves, the castle, and the lion"|image_map = France_jms.png|x = 82|y = 174|time zone = CET (GMT +1)|lat_long = |region= Aquitaine (33)|mayor= [Alain Juppé|mandat = since 2006|area= [1 E7 m²|date-population= 2007 estimate|population=230,600|population-ranking=7th in France|date-density= 2007 estimate|density= 4,658|communes= 191|UU-area= 1 E9 m²|UU-area-date= 2007 estimate|UU-pop=800,000|UU-pop-date= 2007 estimate|AU-area=
1 E9 m²|AU-area-date= 2007 estimate|AU-pop=1200000 (5th in France)|AU-pop-date= 2007 estimate|intercom-details2= Urban Community of Bordeaux:
Bordèu) is a [Seaport city in the southwest of France, with one million inhabitants in its aire urbaine at a 2007 estimate. It is the capital of the Aquitaine
regions of France, as well as the Prefectures in France of the
Gironde Departments of France. Its inhabitants are called
Bordelais.
With a population of 1,200,000 inhabitants in the Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, the fifth metropolitan area in France is known to be the world's wine industry capital, and it is considered Europe's main military space and aeronautics research and construction complex.
Bordeaux wine draws its name from the city around which it has been produced since the 8th century. The historic part of the city is on the World Heritage Site as
"an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6249110.stm
Geography
Bordeaux is located near the European Atlantic Ocean coast, in the southwest of France and in the north of the Aquitaine region. The city is built on a bend of the river Garonne, and is thus divided into two parts: the right bank to the East and left bank in the West. Historically, the left bank is the more developed. In Bordeaux, the Garonne is accessible to ocean liners.
Demographics
At the 1999 census, there were 215.363 inhabitants in the city (
Commune in France) of Bordeaux, and the 2005 census showed a significant increase, this figure reaching 230 600 inhabitants . In 2007, there were 925 000 inhabitants in the Urban Community of Bordeaux and 1.2 Million in the Bordeaux Arcachon Libourne urban body. The city contains a diverse range of people. Much of the population is French, but there are sizable groups of
Italian people,
Spaniards,
Portuguese people,
German people and North Africans. The metropolis has developed rapidly over the last decades and is facing urban sprawl.
History
Between 30,000 and 90,000 years ago the area of Bordeaux was inhabited by the
Homo neanderthalensis, whose remains have been found at a famous cave known as Pair-non-Pair, near Bourg sur Gironde, just north of Bordeaux.
In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, who named the town
Burdigala, probably of Aquitainian origin. The name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city. The city fell under
ancient Rome 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 sixth century, the city reemerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks. The city fell into obscurity as royal power waned in southern Gaul in the late seventh century. The city was plundered by the troops of Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi in 732, after he had defeated
Odo of Aquitaine and before he was killed during the Battle of Tours on October 10. Under the Carolingians were appointed a series of
Count of Bordeaux who served to defend the mouth of the
Garonne from the
Vikings. Eventually, the city was inherited by the Dukes of Gascony in the late tenth century.
From the 12th to the 15th century, Bordeaux regained importance as part of the
Kingdom of England realm, following the marriage of Duchess Eleanor 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 wine trade, and the cathedral of St. André was built. It was also the capital of an independent state under Edward, the Black Prince (1362-
1372), but in the end, after the
Battle of Castillon (1453) it returned to France. The
Châteaux 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 richness by halting the wine commerce with England. In 1462 Bordeaux obtained a parliament, but regained importance only in the 16th century when it become a centre of distribution of sugar and slaves from West Indies along with the traditional wine.
Bordeaux adhered to the
Fronde, being effectively annexed to the Kingdom of France only in 1653 when
Louis XIV of France entered in 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 big-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor Napoleon III of France to transform a then still quasi-medieval Paris into a "modern" capital that would make France proud.
The French government withdrew to the city during the wars of 1870,
World War I and World War II.
Economy
Wine
Bordeaux has about 117,000 hectares of
vineyards, 57 appellations, 9,000 wine-producing châteaux, 13,000 grape growers, 400 traders and sales of 14.5 billion euros annually. With an annual production of over 700 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, Chateau Haut-Brion, from Graves), established by the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855:The first growths are:
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,
Carmenere. White Bordeaux is made from
Sauvignon Blanc,
Semillon, and Muscadelle.
Sauternes is a subregion of Graves known for its intensely sweet, white, dessert wines such as
Château d'Yquem.
Because of the wine glut (wine lake), the price squeeze caused by 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.
Laser
The
Laser Megajoule will be the most powerful laser in the world, allowing fundamental research and the development of the lasers and plasmas technologies. This project, carried by the French Ministry of Defence, involves an investment of 2 billion euros. In 2009, the 600 experiments programmed each year with the Laser Mégajoule will begin. The "Road of the lasers", a major project of regional planning for the optical and lasers industries, will be born. Therefore, the area of Bordeaux will shelter the most important concentration of optical and laser experts in Europe.
Aeronautics
20 000 people work for the aeronautic industry in Bordeaux. The city has some of the biggest companies including Dassault, 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
A380 cockpit, the boosters of
Ariane 5, and the M51 SLBM missile.
Tourism
Tourism is fast growing industry in Bordeaux. The city and the beautiful Aquitaine region surrounding it hope to attract more and more visitors in the coming years. Bordeaux attracts 3 million visitors each year.
Port
The port lies on the Atlantic ocean and the
Gironde estuary. Almost 9 million tons of goods arrive and leave each year. The Port is a nice area to sit and relax, a good place to tour if ever visiting.
List of major companies settled in Bordeaux
Education.
University
The university was created by the archbishop Pey Berland and was removed under the French revolution in 1793, before reappearing in 1808 with
Napoleon I of France. 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 (Physical sciences and Technologies), 10,693 students in 2002
- The University Bordeaux 2 (Medicine and Life sciences), 15,038 students in 2002
- The University Bordeaux 3 (Liberal Arts, Humanities, Languages), 14,785 students in 2002
- The University Bordeaux 4 (Law, Economy and Management). 12,556 students in 2002
Schools
Bordeaux has numerous public and private schools offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
Engineering schools:
- École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers
- École d'ingénieurs en modélisation mathématique et mécanique
- École nationale supérieure d'électronique, informatique, radiocommunications de Bordeaux
- 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
- 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:
- Bordeaux école de management (Bordeaux Management school)
- EBP International
- Institut des hautes études économiques et commerciales
- École de commerce européenne
Other:
- Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux (Institute of political sciences)
- École nationale de la magistrature (National school for Magistrate)
- École du service de santé des armées
- 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)
:
Harbour at Bordeaux, 1871
Main sights
Bordeaux is classified "City of Art and History". The city has been inscribed on
World Heritage Site 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 of France, under the supervision of 2 intendants (Governors), first Mr. Dupre de Saint Maur then the
Marquis de Tourny.
Buildings
Main sights include:
- Esplanade des Quinconces
- Colonnes des Girondins
- Grand Théâtre (Bordeaux)
- Allées de Tourny
- Cours de l'Intendance
- Place du Chapelet
- 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-15th centuries.
- Tour Pey Berland (1440-1450), a massive, quadrangular tower annexed to the cathedral.
- Sainte-Croix Church (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. Of the Benedictine abbey of the 11th century only the nave walls and other minor part can be seen now. The current appearance is from the 19th century.
- The Gothic architecture basilica of Saint-Michel, constructed in the late 14th-15th centuries.
- 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.
- Palais Rohan (Exterior: )
- Palais Gallien, the remains of a late 2nd-century Ancient Rome amphitheatre
- Porte Cailhau
- La Grosse Cloche (15th century) is the second remaining gate of the Medieval walls. It was the belfry of the old Town Hall. It consists of two 40m-high circular towers and a central bell tower housing a bell (instrument) weighing 7,800&kg. The watch is from 1759.
- Eglise Saint-Eloi
- Place de la Bourse (1730-1775), designed by the Royal architect Jacques Ange Gabriel as landscape for an equestrian statue of Louis XV.
- Place du Parlement
- Place Saint-Pierre
- Rue Sainte-Catherine
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.
Museums
- Musée des Beaux Arts
- Musée d'Aquitaine
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs
- Musée D'Histoire Naturelle
- CAPC
- Musée National des Doines
- French cruiser Colbert
- Vinorama
- Musée Goupil
- Casa de Goya
- Cap Sciences
- Centre Jean Moulin
Shopping
Bordeaux boasts numerous options for shopping. In the heart of Bordeaux is Rue Sainte-Catherine. This pedestrian only shopping street is 1.2 kilometers of shops, restaurants and cafes; it is also the longest shopping street in Europe. Rue Sainte-Catherine starts at Place de la Victoire and ends at Place de la Comedie by the opera house. The shops become progressively more upscale as one moves towards Place de la Comedie 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 center, Arc en rêve, still the most prestigious in France besides Paris
Institut Francais d'Architecture.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.
Music
Media
Radio Stations
These are the radio stations in Bordeaux.
- Wit FM :(Pop, Rock, Dance music)
- Black Box :(Hip-Hop, R&B, Ragga, Funk, Soul, Disco)
- Radio Nova Sauvagine :(Alternative Music)
- Campus FM :(Alternative Music)
- La Clé des Ondes :(World Music)
Newspaper
TV
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 ring road called the "Rocade" which is often very busy. The project of another ring road is being discussed.
Bordeaux has 4 road bridges that cross the
Garonne, the Pont-de-Pierre built in the 1820s and 3 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 2 bridges are part of the ring road around Bordeaux. There is also a steel railway bridge, built in the 1850s by Gustave Eiffel, and used daily by 100s, including the TGV, a high speed train.
Rail
The main railway station, the Gare St-Jean near the centre of the city, welcomes 4 million passengers a year. It is served by the French national (SNCF) railway's high speed train, the TGV, that allows a trip to
Paris in 3 hours, offering connections with major European centres such as
Lille, Brussels,
Amsterdam, Cologne, Geneva and
London. The
TGV also serves
Toulouse and Irun from Bordeaux. Regular train service is provided to
Nantes,
Nice,
Marseille and Lyon. The Gare St-Jean is the major hub for regional trains (
Transport express régional) operated by the
SNCF to
Arcachon, Limoges,
Agen, Périgueux, Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Bayonne.
Air
Bordeaux is served by an international airport,
Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac, located 8km from the city center in the suburban city of
Mérignac, Gironde.
Trams, buses and boats
Bordeaux has an important public transport system called TBC. This company is run by the Connex group. The network is composed of:
- 3 tram lines (A, B and C)
- 75 bus routes, all connected to the tramway network (from 1 to 96)
- 12 night bus routes (from S1 to S12)
- An electric bus shuttle in the city centre
- A boat shuttle on the Garonne river
This network is operated from 5am to 1am
There have been several plans for a subway network to be set up but they were given up for both geological and financial reasons. The
Tramway de Bordeaux system was started in the autumn of 2000 and put into service in December 2003, connecting Bordeaux with the suburban areas. It uses the
Alimentation par Sol technology, a brand new and exclusive cableless technology developed by French company Alstom and designed to preserve the aesthetic environment the tramway is surrounded by (although very controversial for its considerable cost of installation and maintenance, but also for the numerous technical problems that paralyzed the network for an unusually long time even if those problems have been resolved). At the same time many downtown streets and squares along the tramway lines became pedestrian areas, with limited access by cars.
Sport
The
Stade Chaban-Delmas is the largest stadium. It can host 35000 spectators.There are two major sport teams in Bordeaux :
There is a 250m wooden
velodrome, Vélodrome du Lac, in Bordeaux which hosts international cycling competition in the form of UCI World Cup events.
Miscellaneous
Births
Bordeaux was the birthplace of:
- Bertrand Andrieu (1761-1822), engraver
- Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), dramatist
- Yvonne Arnaud (1892-1958), actress
- Decimus Magnus Ausonius (c. 310-395), Roman poet and rhetorician
- François Bigot (1703-1788), last Intendant of New France of New France
- René Clément (1913-1996), actor, director, writer
- Marie-Louise Damien (1899-1978), singer
- Lili Damita (1901-1994), actress
- Danielle Darrieux (born 1917), actress
- Jacques Ellul (1912–1994), sociologist, theologian, Christian anarchist
- Eugène Goossens, fils (1867-1958) conductor, violinist
- François Mauriac (1885-1970), writer, Nobel Prize
- Édouard Molinaro (born 1928), film director, producer
- Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), essayist
- Paulinus of Nola (354-431), educator, religious figure
- Georges Antoine Pons Rayet (1839–1906), astronomer, discoverer of the Wolf-Rayet stars, founder of the Bordeaux Observatory
- Richard II of England 1367- 1400
- Pierre Rode (1774-1830), violinist
- Jean-Jacques Sempé (born 1932), cartoonist
- Florent Serra, tennis player
Sister Cities and partnerships
Sister cities
- Bristol, United Kingdom, since 1947.
- Lima, Peru, since 1957
- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, since 1962
- Munich, Germany, since 1964
- Los Angeles, United States, since 1968
- Porto, Portugal, since 1978
- Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, since 1982
- Madrid, Spain, since 1984
- Ashdod, Israel, since 1984
- Baku, Azerbaijan, since 1985
- Casablanca, Morocco, since 1988
- Wuhan, People's Republic of China, since 1998
- Oran, Algeria, since 2003
Partnerships
See also
References
External links
- Bordeaux city council website
- Tourist office website
- Official Girondins de Bordeaux website
- Sciences Po Bordeaux
- Tram and bus maps and schedules
- Bordeaux Wine official website
- Full screen interactive map of Bordeaux
-
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