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Bordeaux, France Guide | |
| Bordeaux, the city that gives its name to famous French wines, is a delightful, historic place, and the perfect base for visits to the Médoc, Saint Émilion and other destinations of southwestern France. | ||
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Bordeaux, 633 km (393 miles) southwest of Paris in the Aquitaine région of France (map), is the center of the French wine region that is among the best-known in the world. This metropolitan area of more than a million people has a bewilderingly deep and eventful history going back to the days of Neanderthal Man, 30,000 years ago, then through Celts, Romans, Visigoths and Moors to the turbulent times of medieval France and up to our own time. It's significant that Bordeaux is second only to Paris in its number of historic buildings. As the capital of the Nouvelle Aquitaine région and of the Gironde département, Bordeaux is a government center as well as a commercial one, with plenty of good hotels for visitors. More...
The historic city center holds many fine buildings from the 1700s and earlier, good restaurants, excellent museums and more. You can travel from Paris's Gare Montparnasse by fast TGV train to Bordeaux in only two hours. More... Bordeaux makes an excellent base for visiting the famous vineyards of the Médoc region and the historic winemaking town of Saint-Émilion. More... Slightly farther are the Basque region to the south and the Atlantic coastal cities and islands of Poitou-Charentes to the north.
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La Porte Cailhau,
a 15th-century gate
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