Bordeaux is a town in the southwest of France. Capital of Gaul in
Aquitaine under the Roman Empire for nearly 200 years; then of the
Duchy of Aquitaine, of the royal province of Guyenne and of the Age
of Enlightenment, it is today the capital and the prefecture of the
New Aquitaine region, of the department of Gironde and the seat of
Bordeaux Métropole.
As of January 1, 2017, it was the ninth
largest municipality in France in terms of its population with
254,436 inhabitants. However, with 1,232,550 inhabitants in 2016,
the urban area of Bordeaux is the fifth largest urban area in
France. The city is also the center of an agglomeration of 927,445
inhabitants and a metropolis of 791,958 inhabitants.
An
integral part of cultural Gascony, Bordeaux is located at the
crossroads of the Landes Forest and the Atlantic Ocean. During the
advent of the Empire, the Romans planted vines on the banks of the
Garonne and introduced vines from the Basque foothills. Bordeaux's
central position between commercial, land and river routes in the
heart of a rich wine region, has made it one of the main cities of
France, with royal palaces, rich abbeys and a cathedral. During the
twelfth century, Bordeaux became one of the first centers in Europe
for education and international trade. In the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, Bordeaux became the first port of the Kingdom
of France and the third slave port. Crossed by the Garonne and
bordering the Atlantic Coast, the metropolis of lights has been
staging since the eighteenth century its blond and golden facades,
its prestigious courtyards and monumental squares, as well as its
lively streets accompanied by its French gardens.
World
capital of wine by its castles and prestigious Bordeaux vineyards
which feature the slopes of the Gironde, the city is also considered
to be a center of gastronomy and business tourism for the
organization of international conferences. It is also a central and
strategic hub of the aeronautics, military and space sector,
bringing together several international companies such as Dassault
Aviation, Ariane Group, Safran and Thalès. A link with aviation
established in 1910, the year of the first flight over the city by
an airplane. The pilots Ruchonnet and Daudret being at the origin of
this performance on August 24, 1910. Important crossroads of
knowledge by the university research, it shelters one of the only
two laser megajoule of the world, as well as an important university
pole of nearly 100,000 students in the Bordeaux metropolis.
Finally, Bordeaux is an international tourist destination for its
exceptional architectural and cultural heritage bringing together
more than 350 historical monuments which make Bordeaux, after Paris,
the city with the most monuments classified or registered as
historical monuments in France. The metropolis has also received
numerous awards and rankings by international organizations, such as
in 1957, Bordeaux was awarded the Europe Prize for its exceptional
efforts in transmitting the European ideal. And in June 2007, with
more than 1,810 hectares, it is the largest protected city in the
world, with the inscription of the Port of the Moon by the World
Heritage Committee, appointed by the General Assembly of the Unesco,
on the World Heritage List for all of the cultural and natural
properties of exceptional interest for the common heritage of
humanity.