Bordeaux ( ; ;
Gascon ; ) is a city on the river
Garonne in the
Gironde
Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749. department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...
region, as well as the
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called "''Bordelais'' (masculine) or "''Bordelaises'' (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region.
The city of Bordeaux proper had a population of 259,809 in 2020 within its small municipal territory of ,
but together with its
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
s and
exurb
An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburbs, suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing-density,
and rela ...
s the Bordeaux
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
had a population of 1,376,375 that same year (Jan. 2020 census),
the sixth-most populated in France after
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
,
Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
, and
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
.
Bordeaux and 27 suburban municipalities form the
Bordeaux Metropolis, an
indirectly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues. The Bordeaux Metropolis, with a population of 819,604 at the January 2020 census,
is the fifth most populated metropolitan council in France after those of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
,
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and
Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
.
Bordeaux is a world capital of wine: many
château
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
x and
vineyards stand on the hillsides of the
Gironde
Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749. , and the city is home to the world's main wine fair,
Vinexpo. Bordeaux is also one of the centers of gastronomy and business tourism for the organization of international congresses. It is a central and strategic hub for the aeronautics, military and space sector, home to major companies such as
Dassault Aviation,
ArianeGroup,
Safran and
Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...
. The link with aviation dates back to 1910, the year the first airplane flew over the city. A crossroads of knowledge through university research, it is home to one of the only two
megajoule lasers in the world, as well as a university population of more than 130,000 students within the Bordeaux Metropolis.
Bordeaux is an international tourist destination for its architectural and cultural heritage with more than 362 historic
monuments, making it, after Paris, the city with the most listed or registered monuments in France. The "Pearl of Aquitaine" has been voted European Destination of the year in a 2015 online poll. The metropolis has also received awards and rankings by international organizations such as in 1957, Bordeaux was awarded the
Europe Prize for its efforts in transmitting the European ideal.
In June 2007, the
Port of the Moon in historic Bordeaux was inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
, for its outstanding architecture and urban ensemble and in recognition of Bordeaux's international importance over the last 2000 years. Bordeaux is also ranked as a Sufficiency city by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
History
5th century BC to 11th century AD
Around 300 BC, the region was the settlement of a
Celtic tribe
This is a list of ancient Celtic peoples and tribes.
Continental Celts
Continental Celts were the Celtic peoples that inhabited mainland Europe and Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor). In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Celts inhabited a large ...
, the
Bituriges Vivisci, who named the town Burdigala, probably of
Aquitanian origin.
In 107 BC, the
Battle of Burdigala was fought by the Romans who were defending the
Allobroges
The Allobroges (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Allob ...
, a
Gallic tribe allied to Rome, and the
Tigurini led by
Divico. The Romans were defeated and their commander, the
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
Lucius Cassius Longinus, was killed in battle.
The city came under
Roman rule around 60 BC, and it became an important commercial centre for
tin and
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
. During this period were built the amphitheatre and the monument ''Les
Piliers de Tutelle''.
In 276 AD, it was sacked by the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...
. The Vandals attacked again in 409, followed by the
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...
in 414, and the
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
in 498, and afterwards the city fell into a period of relative obscurity.

In the late 6th century AD the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
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 Gallactorius was made
Count of Bordeaux and fought the
Basques
The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...
.
In 732, the city was plundered by the troops of
Abd er Rahman who stormed the fortifications and overwhelmed the
Aquitanian garrison.
Duke Eudes mustered a force to engage the
Umayyads, eventually engaging them in the
Battle of the River Garonne somewhere near the river
Dordogne
Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...
. The battle had a high death toll, and although Eudes was defeated he had enough troops to engage in the
Battle of Poitiers and so retain his grip on Aquitaine.
In 737, following his father Eudes's death, the Aquitanian
duke Hunald led a rebellion to which
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
responded by launching an expedition that captured Bordeaux. However, it was not retained for long, during the following year the Frankish commander clashed in battle with the Aquitanians but then left to take on hostile Burgundian authorities and magnates. In 745 Aquitaine faced another expedition where Charles's sons Pepin and Carloman challenged Hunald's power and defeated him. Hunald's son
Waifer replaced him and confirmed Bordeaux as the capital city (along with Bourges in the north).
During the last stage of the
war against Aquitaine (760–768), it was one of Waifer's last important strongholds to fall to the troops of King
Pepin the Short
the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king.
Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...
. Charlemagne built the fortress of
Fronsac (''Frontiacus'', ''Franciacus'') near Bordeaux on a hill across the border with the Basques (''Wascones''), where Basque commanders came and pledged their loyalty (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. In 814, Seguin was made Duke of
Vasconia, but was deposed in 816 for failing to suppress a Basque rebellion. Under the
Carolingians
The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid ...
, sometimes the
Counts of Bordeaux held the title concomitantly with that of
Duke of Vasconia. They were to keep the Basques in check and defend the mouth of the Garonne from the
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
s when they appeared in c. 844. In Autumn 845, the Vikings were raiding Bordeaux and Saintes, count
Seguin II marched on them but was captured and executed.
Although the
port of Bordeaux was a buzzing trade center, the stability and success of the city was threatened by
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
and
Norman incursions and political instability. The restoration of the
Ramnulfid Dukes of Aquitaine under
William IV and his successors (known as the
House of Poitiers) brought continuity of government.
12th century to 15th century, the English era
From the 12th to the 15th century, Bordeaux flourished once more following the marriage of
Eléonore, Duchess of
Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
and the last of the
House of Poitiers, to
Henry II Plantagenêt,
Count of Anjou
The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by King Charles the Bald, Charles the Bald of West Francia in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the t ...
and the grandson of
Henry I of England
Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...
, who succeeded to the English crown months after their wedding, bringing into being the vast
Angevin Empire, which stretched from the
Pyrenees to Ireland. After granting a tax-free trade status with England, Henry was adored by the locals as they could be even more profitable in the wine trade, their main source of income, and the city benefited from imports of cloth and wheat.
The belfry (Grosse Cloche) and
city cathedral St-André were built, the latter in 1227, incorporating the artisan quarter of Saint-Paul. Under the terms of the
Treaty of Brétigny it became briefly the capital of an independent state (1362–1372) under
Edward, the Black Prince, but after the
Battle of Castillon
The Battle of Castillon was a battle between the forces of England and France which took place on 17 July 1453 in Gascony near the town of Castillon-sur-Dordogne (later Castillon-la-Bataille).
On the day of the battle, the English commande ...
(1453) it was annexed by France.
15th century to 17th century
In 1462, Bordeaux created a local parliament.
Bordeaux adhered to the
Fronde, being effectively annexed to the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
only in 1653, when the army of
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
entered the city.
18th century, the golden era
The 18th century saw another golden age of Bordeaux. The
Port of the Moon supplied the majority of Europe with coffee, cocoa, sugar, cotton and indigo, becoming France's busiest port and the second busiest port in the world after London.
Many downtown buildings (about 5,000), including those on the quays, are from this period.
Bordeaux was also a major trading centre for slaves. In total, the Bordeaux shipowners deported 150,000 Africans in some 500 expeditions.
French Revolution: political disruption and loss of the most profitable colony
At the beginning of the
French Revolution (1789), many local revolutionaries were members of the
Girondists. This Party represented the provincial bourgeoisie, favorable towards abolishing aristocratic privileges, but opposed to the Revolution's social dimension. The Gironde valley's economic value and significance was satiated by the city's commercial power which was in dire contrast to the emerging widespread poverty affecting its inhabitants. Trade and commerce were the driving factors in the region's economic prosperity, still this resulted in a significant number of locals struggling to survive on a daily basis due to lack of food and resources. This socioeconomic disparity served as fertile ground for discontent, sparking frequent episodes of mass unrest well before the tumultuous events of 1783.
In 1793, the
Montagnards led by
Robespierre and
Marat came to power. Fearing a bourgeois misappropriation of the Revolution, they executed a great number of Girondists. During the purge, the local Montagnard Section renamed the city of Bordeaux "Commune-Franklin" (Franklin-municipality) in homage to
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
.
At the same time, in 1791, a
slave revolt broke out at
Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...
(current
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
), the most profitable of the French colonies. In the lively era of the 18th century, Bordeaux emerged as a center of economic activity, particularly known at first for its successful wine trade. The city's placement along the Gironde River was very strategic, helping to facilitate the transportation of produce to markets both internationally and domestically, which led to an increase in exports and Bordeaux's economic prosperity. There was a significant transformation to the economic landscape of Bordeaux in 1785, which was spurred by the attraction of large profits, traders and merchants in Bordeaux began to turn their attention to the slave trade. This was a very important moment in the city's economic history seeing as it diversified its commercial expansion, at a serious moral cost. This introduced a new layer of difficulty to Bordeaux's economic activities. Even though it brought along significant wealth to certain segments of society, it complicated the socio-economic inconsistencies within the region. The entry into the slave trade brought even more tension within Bordeaux society. The trade exacerbated the divide between an elite with growing wealth and those living in poverty. This economic divide laid out the foundation for the mass unrest that would break out in the French Revolution.
Three years later, the Montagnard Convention abolished slavery. In 1802, Napoleon revoked the manumission law but lost the war against the army of former slaves. In 1804, Haiti became independent. The loss of this "Pearl" of the West Indies generated the collapse of Bordeaux's port economy, which was dependent on the colonial trade and trade in slaves.
Towards the end of the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
of 1814, the
Duke of Wellington sent
William Beresford with two divisions and seized Bordeaux, encountering little resistance. Bordeaux was largely anti-
Bonapartist and the majority supported the
Bourbons. The British troops were treated as liberators. Distinguished historian of the French revolution Suzanne Desan explains that "examining intricate local dynamics" is essential to studying the Revolution by region.
19th century, rebirth of the economy
From the
Bourbon Restoration, the economy of Bordeaux was rebuilt by traders and shipowners. They engaged to construct the first bridge of Bordeaux, and customs warehouses. The shipping traffic grew through the new
African colonies.
Georges-Eugène Haussmann, a longtime prefect of Bordeaux, used Bordeaux's 18th-century large-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
to transform the quasi-medieval Paris into a "modern" capital that would make France proud.
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
found the town so beautiful he said: "Take
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
, add
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, and you have Bordeaux".
In 1870, at the beginning of the
Franco-Prussian war
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
against
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
, the French government temporarily relocated to Bordeaux from Paris.
That recurred during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and again very briefly during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when it became clear that Paris would fall into German hands.
20th century
During World War II, Bordeaux fell under
German occupation.
In May and June 1940, Bordeaux was the site of the life-saving actions of the Portuguese consul-general,
Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who granted thousands of Portuguese visas, which were needed to pass the Spanish border, to refugees fleeing the German occupation.
From 1941 to 1943, the
Italian Royal Navy established
BETASOM, a submarine base at Bordeaux. Italian submarines participated in the
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...
from that 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.
21st century, listed as World heritage
In 2007, 40% of the city surface area, located around the
Port of the Moon, was listed as
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
inscribed Bordeaux as "an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment, whose values continued up to the first half of the 20th century, with more protected buildings than any other French city except Paris".
Geography
Bordeaux is located close to the European
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
coast, in the southwest of France and in the north of the Aquitaine region. It is around 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. But, today, the right bank is developing, including new urban projects. In Bordeaux, the Garonne River is accessible to
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
s through the
Gironde estuary. The right bank of the Garonne is a low-lying, often marshy plain.
Climate
Bordeaux's climate can be classified as
oceanic (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Cfb''), bordering on a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(''Cfa''). However, the
Trewartha climate classification system classifies the city as solely humid subtropical, due to a recent rise in temperatures related – to some degree or another – to
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
and the city's
urban heat island
Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect; that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent when winds ar ...
.
The city enjoys cool to mild, wet winters, due to its relatively southerly
latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
, and the prevalence of mild, westerly winds from the Atlantic. Its summers are warm and somewhat drier, although wet enough to avoid a
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
classification. Frosts occur annually, but snowfall is quite infrequent, occurring for no more than 3–4 days a year. The
summer of 2003 set a record with an average temperature of , while February 1956 was the coldest month on record with an average temperature of −2.00 °C at Bordeaux Mérignac-Airport.
Economy
Bordeaux is a major centre for business in France as it has the sixth largest metropolitan population in France. It serves as a major regional center for trade, administration, services and industry.
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 wine growing area has about of
vineyard
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s, 57
appellations, 10,000 wine-producing estates (châteaux) and 13,000 grape growers. With an annual production of approximately 960 million bottles, the Bordeaux area 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:
Both red and white wines are made in the Bordeaux region. Red Bordeaux wine 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
Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) is a large laser-based inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research device near Bordeaux, France, built by the French nuclear science directorate, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA).
Laser Mégajoule plans to deliver ...
will be one of the most powerful lasers in the world, allowing
fundamental research
Basic research, also called pure research, fundamental research, basic science, or pure science, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenome ...
and the development of the
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
and
plasma technologies.
Some 15,000 people work for the aeronautic industry in Bordeaux. The city has some of the biggest companies including
Dassault,
EADS Sogerma,
Snecma,
Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...
, SNPE, and others. The
Dassault Falcon private jets are built there as well as the
military aircraft
A military aircraft is any Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing or rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on su ...
Rafale and
Mirage 2000, the
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...
cockpit, the
boosters of
Ariane 5, and the
M51 SLBM missile
A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor.
Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...
.
Tourism, especially
wine tourism, is a major industry. Globelink.co.uk mentioned Bordeaux as the best tourist destination in Europe in 2015.
Gourmet Touring is a tourism company operating in the Bordeaux wine region.
Access to the
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
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
An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
*
Groupe Bernard
*
Groupe Castel
*
Cdiscount
*
Dassault
*
Jock
*
Marie Brizard
*
McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation is a publicly traded American company that distributes Medication, pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology, Medical device, medical supplies, and Health administration, health management tools. The company ...
*
Oxbow
*
Ricard
*
Sanofi Aventis
*
Smurfit Kappa
*
Snecma
*
Solectron
*
Thales Group
Tours in Bordeaux
Population
In January 2020, there were 259,809 inhabitants in the city proper (commune) of Bordeaux.
The commune (including Caudéran which was annexed by Bordeaux in 1965) had its largest population of 284,494 at the 1954 census.
The majority of the population is French, but there are sizable groups of Italians,
Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...
,
Portuguese,
Turks,
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
.
The built-up area has grown for more than a century beyond the municipal borders of Bordeaux due to the small size of the commune () and
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...
. By January 2020 there were 1,376,375 people living in the overall metropolitan area (''aire d'attraction'') of Bordeaux,
only a fifth of whom lived in the city proper.
Politics
Municipal administration
The Mayor of the city is the environmentalist
Pierre Hurmic.
Bordeaux is the capital of five cantons and the Prefecture of the
Gironde
Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749. and
Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
.
The town is divided into three districts, the first three of Gironde. The headquarters of Urban Community of Bordeaux Mériadeck is located in the neighbourhood 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 250,000 and less than 299,999 so the number of municipal councilors is 65. They are divided according to the following composition:
Mayors of Bordeaux
Since the
Liberation (1944), there have been six mayors of Bordeaux:
*
RPR was renamed to
UMP in 2002 which was later renamed to
LR in 2015.
Elections
Presidential elections of 2007
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
François Bayrou
François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since December 2024. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (France ...
with 22.01%, followed by
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
who recorded 5.42%. None of the other candidates exceeded the 5% mark. Nationally, Nicolas Sarkozy led with 31.18%, then Ségolène Royal with 25.87%, followed by François Bayrou with 18.57%. After these came Jean-Marie Le Pen with 10.44%, none of the other candidates exceeded the 5% mark. In the second round, the city of Bordeaux gave Ségolène Royal 52.44% against 47.56% for Nicolas Sarkozy, the latter being elected
President of the Republic with 53.06% against 46.94% for Ségolène Royal. The abstention rates for Bordeaux were 14.52% in the first round and 15.90% in the second round.
Parliamentary elections of 2007
In the parliamentary elections of 2007, the left won eight constituencies against only three for the right. After the partial 2008 elections, the eighth district of Gironde switched to the left, bringing the count to nine. In Bordeaux, the left was for the first time in its history the majority as it held two of three constituencies following the elections. In the first division of the Gironde, the outgoing UMP MP
Chantal Bourragué was well ahead with 44.81% against 25.39% for the Socialist candidate
Béatrice 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 the UMP mayor and all new Minister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the c ...
confronted the General Counsel PS Michèle Delaunay. In the first round, Alain Juppé was well ahead with 43.73% against 31.36% for
Michèle Delaunay. In the second round, it was finally Michèle Delaunay who won the election with 50.93% of the votes against 49.07% for Alain Juppé, the margin being only 670 votes. The defeat of the so-called constituency "Mayor" showed that Bordeaux was rocking increasingly left. Finally, in the third constituency of the Gironde, Noël Mamère was well ahead with 39.82% against 28.42% for the UMP candidate Elizabeth Vine. In the second round, Noël Mamère was re-elected with 62.82% against 37.18% for his right-wing rival.
Municipal elections of 2008
In 2008 municipal elections saw the clash between mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé and the President of the Regional Council of Aquitaine Socialist
Alain Rousset. The PS had put up a Socialist heavyweight in the 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 it was Alain Juppé who was widely elected in the first round with 56.62 percent, far ahead of Alain Rousset who garnered 34.14 percent of the vote. At present, of the eight cantons that has Bordeaux, five are held by the PS and three by the UMP, the left eating a little each time into the right's numbers.
European elections of 2009
In the European elections of 2009, Bordeaux voters largely voted for the UMP candidate Dominique Baudis, who won 31.54% against 15.00% for PS candidate Kader Arif. The candidate of Europe Ecology José Bové came second with 22.34%. None of the other candidates reached the 10% mark. The 2009 European elections were like the previous ones in eight constituencies. Bordeaux is located in the district "Southwest", here are the results:
UMP candidate Dominique Baudis: 26.89%. His party gained four seats. PS candidate Kader Arif: 17.79%, gaining two seats in the European Parliament. Europe Ecology candidate Bove: 15.83%, obtaining two seats. MoDem candidate Robert Rochefort: 8.61%, winning a seat. Left Front candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon: 8.16%, gaining the last seat. At regional elections in 2010, the Socialist incumbent president Alain Rousset won the first round by totaling 35.19% in Bordeaux, but this score was lower than the plan for Gironde and Aquitaine. Xavier Darcos, Minister of Labour followed with 28.40% of the votes, scoring above the regional and departmental average. Then came Monique De Marco, Green candidate with 13.40%, followed by the member of Pyrenees-Atlantiques and candidate of the MoDem Jean Lassalle who registered a low 6.78% while qualifying to the second round on the whole Aquitaine, closely followed by Jacques Colombier, candidate of the National Front, who gained 6.48%. Finally the candidate of the Left Front Gérard Boulanger with 5.64%, no other candidate above the 5% mark. In the second round, Alain Rousset had a tidal wave win as national totals rose to 55.83%. If Xavier Darcos largely lost the election, he nevertheless achieved a score above the regional and departmental average obtaining 33.40%. Jean Lassalle, who qualified for the second round, passed the 10% mark by totaling 10.77%. The ballot was marked by abstention amounting to 55.51% in the first round and 53.59% in the second round.
''Only candidates obtaining more than 5% are listed''
2017 elections
Bordeaux voted for
Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
in the
presidential election. In the
2017 parliamentary election,
La République En Marche! won most of the constituencies in Bordeaux.
2019 European elections
Bordeaux voted in the
2019 European Parliament election in France
European Parliament elections were held in France on 26 May 2019 (and on 25 May in parts of overseas France and for some nationals abroad), electing members of the 9th French delegation to the European Parliament as part of the 2019 European Parl ...
.
Municipal elections of 2020
After 73 years of right-of-centre rule, the ecologist Pierre Hurmic (
EELV) came in ahead of Nicolas Florian (
LR/
LaREM).
Parliamentary representation
The city area is represented by the following
constituencies
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
:
Gironde's 1st,
Gironde's 2nd,
Gironde's 3rd,
Gironde's 4th,
Gironde's 5th,
Gironde's 6th,
Gironde's 7th.
Education
University

During Antiquity, a first university had been created by the Romans in 286. The city was an important administrative centre and the new university had to train administrators. Only
rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
and
grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
were taught.
Ausonius
Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...
and
Sulpicius Severus
Sulpicius Severus (; c. 363 – c. 425) was a Christian writer and native of Aquitania in modern-day France. He is known for his chronicle of sacred history, as well as his biography of Saint Martin of Tours.
Life
Almost all that we know of Se ...
were two of the teachers.
In 1441, when Bordeaux was an English town, the
Pope Eugene IV created a university by demand of the archbishop Pey Berland. In 1793, during the
French Revolution, the National Convention abolished the university, and replace them with the École centrale in 1796. In Bordeaux, this one was located in the former buildings of the college of Guyenne. In 1808, the university reappeared with Napoleon. Bordeaux accommodates approximately 70,000 students on one of the largest campuses of Europe (235 ha).
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 nationale supérieure d'électronique, informatique, télécommunications, mathématique et mécanique de Bordeaux (ENSEIRB-MATMECA)
* École supérieure de technologie des biomolécules de Bordeaux
* École nationale supérieure des sciences agronomiques de Bordeaux Aquitaine
* École nationale supérieure de chimie et de physique 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
* EPSI, 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 – 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:
* French National School for the Judiciary, ''École nationale de la magistrature'' (National school for the judiciary)
*
*
* (EFAP)
* (CNAM)
* (law school)
Weekend education
The , a Hoshuko, part-time Japanese supplementary school, is held in the ''Salle de L'Athénée Municipal'' in Bordeaux.
[欧州の補習授業校一覧(平成25年4月15日現在)]
. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Retrieved on 10 May 2014. "Salle de L'Athénée Municipal Place St. Christoly, 33000 Bordeaux, FRANCE"
Attractions and tourism

In October 2021, Bordeaux was shortlisted for the European Commission's 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism award along with Copenhagen, Dublin, Florence, Ljubljana, Palma de Mallorca, and Valencia.
Heritage and architecture
Bordeaux is classified "City of Art and History". The city is home to 362 ''monuments historiques'' (national heritage sites), with some buildings dating back to Roman times. Bordeaux,
Port of the Moon, has been inscribed on World Heritage Site, 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, France, 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, Louis XV, under the supervision of two intendants (Governors), first Nicolas-François Dupré de Saint-Maur then the Marquis de Tourny.
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. The organ in Saint-Louis-des-Chartrons is registered on the French monuments historiques.
Notable historic buildings include:
* ''Place de la Bourse'' (1735–1755), designed by the Royal architect Jacques Gabriel as landscape for an equestrian statue of Louis XV, now replaced by the ''Fountain of the Three Graces''.
* ''Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Grand Théâtre'' (1780), a large neoclassical theater built in the 18th century.
* ''Allées de Tourny''
* ''Cours de l'Intendance''
* ''Place du Chapelet''
* ''Place du Parlement''
* ''Place des Quinconces'', the largest square in France.
* ''Monument aux Girondins''
* ''Place Saint-Pierre''
* ''Pont de pierre (Bordeaux), Pont de pierre'' (1822)
* ''Bordeaux Cathedral (Saint André)'', consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096 and dedicated to the Apostle Saint Andrew. Of the original Romanesque edifice only a wall in the nave remains. The Royal Door is from the early 13th century, while the rest of the construction is mostly from the 14th and 15th centuries.
* ''Tour Pey-Berland'' (1440–1450), a massive, quadrangular Gothic tower annexed to the cathedral.
* ''Église Sainte-Croix, Sainte-Croix church'': This church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, stands on the site of a seventh-century abbey destroyed by the Saracens. Rebuilt under the Carolingians, it was again destroyed by the Normans in 845 and 864. The present building was erected and was built in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. The façade is in Romanesque architecture, Romanesque style.
* The Gothic ''Basilica of St. Michael, Bordeaux, Saint Michel Basilica'', constructed between the end of the 14th century and the 16th century.
* Basilica of Saint Severinus of Bordeaux, Basilica of Saint Severinus, the oldest church in Bordeaux, built in the early sixth century on the site of a palaeo-Christian necropolis. It has an 11th-century portico, while the apse and transept are from the 12th. The 13th-century nave has chapels from the 11th and the 14th centuries. The ancient crypt houses tombs 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, Bordeaux, Palais Rohan'', once the archbishop's residence, now city hall
* , the remains of a late second-century Ancient Rome, Roman amphitheatre
* ''Porte Cailhau'', a medieval gatehouse in the old city walls.
* ''La Grosse Cloche'' (15th century), the second remaining gate in the medieval walls. It was the Bell tower, belfry of the old Town Hall. It consists of two circular towers and a central bell tower housing a bell (instrument), bell weighing . The clock is from 1759.
* ''Great Synagogue of Bordeaux, Grande Synagogue'', completed 1882
* ''Sainte-Catherine Street (Bordeaux), Rue Sainte-Catherine'', the longest pedestrian street in France
* ''Darwin ecosystem'', alternative place into former military barracks
* The
BETASOM submarine base
File:Le Palais Gallien vestige gallo-romain à Bordeaux.jpg, Palais Gallien
File:Cathédrale St André Bordeaux 3.jpg, Bordeaux Cathedral (Saint André)
File:Bordeaux Porte Cailhau R02.jpg, Porte Cailhau
File:Grand Théâtre Bordeaux.jpg, Grand Théâtre
File:Bordeaux Notre-Dame R01.jpg, The Notre Dame church
File:151 - Le Pont de Pierre - Bordeaux.jpg, Pont de pierre (Bordeaux), Pont de Pierre
File:Bordeaux - Basilique Saint-Michel - Vue générale.jpg, Basilica of St. Michael, Bordeaux, Basilica of Saint Michel
File:Puerta de Burdeos.JPG, Grosse cloche
File:026 - Hôtel de ville Place Pey-Berland - Bordeaux.jpg, Palais Rohan, Bordeaux, Palais Rohan (town hall)
File:FacadeSainteCroixBordeauxsoir.jpg, Église Sainte-Croix, Sainte-Croix church
File:Bordeaux Place du Parlement R01.jpg, Place du Parlement
File:Synagogue Bx 5.jpg, The Great Synagogue of Bordeaux, Grand Synagogue
File:Façades de deux ouvrages Art Déco du Quartier Lescure (Bordeaux).jpg, Facades of the Art déco district
File:Darwin - Magasin général.jpg, Darwin district
File:Basesousmarine.JPG, Submarine Pen
Contemporary buildings in contemporary architectural style include:
* Cité Frugès de Pessac, ''Cité Frugès'', district of Pessac, built by Le Corbusier, 1924–1926, listed as UNESCO heritage
* Fire Station, ''la Benauge'', Claude Ferret/Adrien Courtois/Yves Salier, 1951–1954
* Mériadeck district, 1960–70's
* ''Tribunal d'instance, 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 de Bacalan, King Kong architects, 2007
* Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Matmut Atlantique stadium, Herzog & de Meuron, 2015
*
Cité du Vin, XTU architects, Anouk Legendre & Nicolas Desmazières, 2016
* MECA of Bordeaux, MECA, Maison de l'Économie Créative et de la culture de la Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bjarke Ingels, 2019
File:Cité Frugès, Pessac 08.jpg, Cité Frugès de Pessac, ''Cité Frugès'', at Pessac
File:Bordeaux Meriadeck.JPG, Mériadeck district
File:Bordeaux Palais de Justice 23.JPG, Court of first instance
File:Seeko'o Hotel, Bordeaux, July 2014 (03).JPG, Seeko'o hotel
File:Cite du vin Bordeaux 2017 (37500642606).jpg, Cité du Vin
File:RB 20200222 Bordeaux-11.jpg, MECA of Bordeaux, MECA
Museums
* Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux, ''Musée des Beaux-Arts'' (''Fine arts museum''), one of the finest painting galleries in France with paintings by painter such as Tiziano, Paolo Veronese, Veronese, Rubens, Van Dyck, Frans Hals, Claude Lorrain, Claude, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Chardin, Eugène Delacroix, Delacroix, Renoir, Seurat, Odilon Redon, Redon, Matisse and Picasso.
* ''Musée d'Aquitaine'' (archeological and history museum)
* ''Musée du Vin et du Négoce'' (museum of the wine trade)
* (museum of decorative arts and design)
* ''Musée d'Histoire Naturelle'' (natural history museum)
* ''Musée Mer Marine'' (Sea and Navy museum)
* ''
Cité du Vin''
* ''CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux'' (modern art museum)
* ''Musée national des douanes'' (history of French customs)
* ''Bordeaux Patrimoine Mondial'' (architectural and heritage interpretation centre)
* ''Musée d'ethnologie'' (ethnology museum)
* ''Institut culturel Bernard Magrez'', modern and streetart museum into an 18th-century mansion
* Cervantez Institute (into the house of Francisco Goya, Goya)
* :fr:Cap Sciences, ''Cap Sciences''
* ''Centre Jean Moulin''
File:Beaux arts bordeaux.jpg, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, ''Musée des Beaux-Arts''
File:Musée Aquitaine.JPG, ''Musée d'Aquitaine''
File:Hôtel de Lalande - Musée des arts décoratifs et du design de Bordeaux.jpg,
File:CAPC janvier 2018.jpg, ''CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux''
File:Musée du vin et du négoce de Bordeaux (3).jpg, ''Musée du vin et du négoce de Bordeaux''
Slavery memorials
Slavery was part of a growing drive for the city. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Bordeaux was an important Slave Trade, slave port, which saw some 500 slave expeditions that cause the deportation of 150,000 Africans by Bordeaux shipowners. Secondly, even though the "Triangular trade" represented only 5% of Bordeaux's wealth, the city's direct trade with the Caribbean, that accounted for the other 95%, concerns the colonial stuffs made by the slave (sugar, coffee, cocoa). And thirdly, in that same period, a major migratory movement by Aquitanians took place to the Caribbean colonies, with
Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...
(now
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
) being the most popular destination. 40% of the white population of the island came from
Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
. They prospered with Plantation economy, plantations incomes, until the Haitian Revolution, first slave revolts which concluded in 1848 in the final abolition of slavery in France.
A statue of Modeste Testas, an Ethiopian woman who was enslaved by the Bordeaux-based Testas brothers was unveiled in 2019. She was trafficked by them from West Africa, to Philadelphia (where one of the brothers coerced her to have two children by him) and was ultimately freed and lived in Haiti. The bronze sculpture was created by the Haitian artists Woodly Caymitte.
A number of traces and memorial sites are visible in the city. Moreover, in May 2009, the Museum of Aquitaine opened the spaces dedicated to "Bordeaux in the 18th century, trans-Atlantic trading and slavery". This work, richly illustrated with original documents, contributes to disseminate the state of knowledge on this question, presenting above all the facts and their chronology.
The region of Bordeaux was also the land of several prominent abolitionism, abolitionists, as Montesquieu, André-Daniel Laffon de Ladebat, Laffon de Ladébat and Elisée Reclus. Others were members of the Society of the Friends of the Blacks as the revolutionaries Jean-Baptiste Boyer-Fonfrède, Boyer-Fonfrède, Armand Gensonné, Gensonné, Marguerite-Élie Guadet, Guadet and Jean-François Ducos, Ducos.
File:Bordeaux place de la Bourse mascaron visage africain.JPG, African face Mascaron (architecture), mascaron on the place de la Bourse
File:Détail de la fresque du Grand-Théâtre de Bordeaux.jpg, Allegory of Bordeaux and her wealth, including two African slaves, ceiling of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Grand-Théâtre de Bordeaux
File:Salles consacrées à l'esclavage au Musée d'Aquitaine, Bordeaux.jpg, Spaces dedicated to slave trade, Musée d'Aquitaine
File:Statue-fétiche Fon-Musée d'Aquitaine (1).jpg, Fon people, Fon fetish, Musée d'Aquitaine
File:Buste en bronze de Toussaint Louverture, Bordeaux.jpg, Bronze bust of Toussaint Louverture
File:Statue de Modeste Testas, quai des Chartrons, Bordeaux.jpg, Bronze Statue of Modeste Testas, Ethiopian woman enslaved by two Bordeaux plantation owners
Parks and gardens
* Jardin public de Bordeaux, which contains the Jardin botanique de Bordeaux
* Jardin botanique de la Bastide
* Parc bordelais
* Parc aux Angéliques
* Jardin des Lumières
* Parc Rivière
* Parc Floral
File:Bordeaux Jardin Public R02.jpg, Jardin public
File:Jardin botanique de Bordeaux 7.jpg, Jardin botanique de la Bastide, Jardin botanique
File:Bordeaux Quai Louis XVIII R01.jpg, Jardin des Lumières
File:Parc floral de Bordeaux 3298.jpg, Parc floral, Casablanca pavilion
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 , weighs 4,600 tons and can be lifted vertically up to 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 (France), Mayor of Bordeaux.
Shopping
Bordeaux has many shopping options. In the heart of Bordeaux is Sainte-Catherine Street (Bordeaux), Rue Sainte-Catherine. This pedestrianised street has 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 there are the more exclusive shops and boutiques.
Culture
Bordeaux is the first city in France to have created, in the 1980s, an architecture exhibition and research centre, ''Arc en rêve''.
The city has a large number of cinemas, theatres, and is the home of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Opéra national de Bordeaux. There are many music venues of varying capacity. The city also offers several festivals throughout the year.
The Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema (Festival international du cinéma au féminin de Bordeaux) took place in Bordeaux from 2002 until 2005. The Festival international du film indépendant de Bordeaux (Fifib or FIFIB),
[ or Bordeaux International Independent Film Festival,] was established in 2012.
File:GrandTheatreBordeaux2.jpg, ''Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux''
File:Bordeaux - Théâtre Femina.jpg, ''Théâtre Femina''
File:RB 20200222 Bordeaux-11.jpg, ''MECA, Maison de l'Économie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine''
Transport
Road
Bordeaux is an important road and Interchange (road), motorway junction. The city is connected to Paris by the A10 autoroute (France), A10 motorway, with Lyon by the A89 autoroute, A89, with Toulouse by the A62 autoroute, A62, and with Spain by the A63 autoroute, A63. There is a Beltway, ring road called the "Rocade de Bordeaux, 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 suspension 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 2009–2012 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 in closed position comparable to that of Pont de pierre, and to the Pont d'Aquitaine when open. 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. Bike lane, 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 was established in 2010.
Rail
The main railway station, Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean, near the center of the city, has 12 million passengers a year. It is served by the French national (SNCF) railway's high speed train, the TGV, that gets to Paris in two hours, with connections to major European centers such as Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, Geneva and London. The TGV also serves Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
and Irun (Spain) from Bordeaux. A regular train service is provided to Nantes, Nice, Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
and Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
. The Gare Saint-Jean is the major hub for regional trains (Transport express régional, TER) operated by the SNCF to Arcachon, Limoges, Agen, Périgueux, Langon, Gironde, Langon, Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 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 became a bottleneck and a new bridge was built, opening in 2009. The new bridge has four tracks and allows trains to pass at . 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.
The LGV Sud Europe Atlantique became fully operational in July 2017, shortening the journey time from Bordeaux city to Paris to 2hrs 4mins.
Air
Bordeaux is served by Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport, located from the city centre in the suburban city of Mérignac, Gironde, 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:
* Four Tramway de Bordeaux, tram lines (Bordeaux Tramway Line A, A, Bordeaux Tramway Line B, B, Bordeaux Tramway Line C, C and Bordeaux Tramway Line D, D)
* 75 Bus lines in Bordeaux, bus routes, all connected to the tramway network (from 1 to 96)
* 13 night bus routes (from 1 to 16)
* An Trolleybus, electric bus shuttle in the city centre
* A boat shuttle on the Garonne river
This network is operated from 5 am to 2 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 Alstom APS a form of ground-level power supply 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 road, limited access for cars.
The Bordeaux Tramway system reached the Mérignac airport on April 29th 2023 with the opening of a 5-km extension of Line A.
Taxis
There are more than 400 taxicabs in Bordeaux.
Public transportation statistics
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Bordeaux, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 51 min. 12.% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 13 min, while 15.5% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is , while 8% travel for over in a single direction.
Sport
The 41,458-capacity Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux is the largest stadium in Bordeaux. The stadium was opened in 2015 and replaced the Stade Chaban-Delmas, which 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 (football), 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, FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Girondins de Bordeaux is the association football, football team who, following administrative relegation, currently play in Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of French football league system, French football. They are one of the most successful clubs in France, with six Ligue 1, Division 1/Ligue 1 titles. Union Bordeaux Bègles is a rugby union, rugby team in the Top 14 in the National Rugby League (France), Ligue Nationale de Rugby. Skateboarding, rollerblading, and BMX biking are activities enjoyed by many young inhabitants of the city. Bordeaux is home to a quay which runs along the Garonne 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.
Other sports clubs include top flight ice hockey team Boxers de Bordeaux and third-tier basketball team JSA Bordeaux Basket
Bordeaux is also the home to one of the strongest cricket teams in France and are champions of the South West League.
There is a wooden velodrome, Vélodrome du Lac, in Bordeaux which hosts international cycling competition in the form of UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, 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 and aftermath. The Short Program occurred hours before the bombing. French skaters Chafik Besseghier (68.36) in tenth 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 second.
Between 1951 and 1955, an annual Formula 1 motor race was held on a 2.5-kilometre circuit which looped around the Esplanade des Quinconces and along the waterfront, attracting drivers such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Jean Behra and Maurice Trintignant.
Notable people
File:Ausonius.jpg, Ausonius
Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...
File:Anthony Frederick Sandys - Queen Eleanor.JPG, Eleanor of Aquitaine
File:Richard II King of England.jpg, Richard II of England
File:Montaigne-Dumonstier.jpg, Michel de Montaigne
File:Joanna de Chantal.jpg, Jeanne de Lestonnac, Sainte Jeanne de Lestonnac
File:Charles Montesquieu.jpg, Montesquieu
File:Rosa Bonheur, 1865, wearing the Legion of Honour.jpg, Rosa Bonheur
File:095 Odilon Redon Mon portrait.jpg, Odilon Redon
File:Self-Portrait Albert Marquet (1904).jpg, Albert Marquet
* Ausonius
Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...
(310–395), Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric
* Jean Alaux (1786–1864), painter
* Bertrand Andrieu (1761–1822), engraver
* Jean Anouilh (1910–1987), dramatist
* Lucien Arman (1811–1873), shipbuilder and politician
* Yvonne Arnaud (1892–1958), pianist, singer and actress
* Xavier Arnozan (1852–1928), physician
* Floyd Ayité (born 1988), Togolese footballer
* Jonathan Ayité (born 1985), Togolese footballer
* Jean-Baptiste Barrière (1707–1747), cellist, composer
* Gérard Bayo (born 1936), writer and poet
* Jean Bertheroy (1858-1927), writer
* François Bigot (1703–1778), last "Intendant" of New France
* Arnaud Binard (born 1971), actor and producer
* Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899), animal painter and sculptor
* Grégory Bourdy (born 1982), golfer
* Samuel Boutal (born 1969), footballer
* Alice Caffarel (born 1961), linguist
* Edmond de Caillou (died c. February 1316) Gascon knight fighting in Scotland
* Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
* Leopold Chasseriau (1825–1891), planter
* René Clément (1913–1996), actor, director, writer
* Jean-René Cruchet (1875–1959), pathologist
* José Cubero Sánchez (1964–1985), Spanish bullfighter
* Boris Cyrulnik (born 1937), psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
* Marie-Louise Damien, Damia (1899–1978), singer and actress
* Étienne Noël Damilaville (1723–1768), Encyclopédistes, encyclopédiste
* Lili Damita (1901–1994), actress
* Frédéric Daquin, (born 1978), footballer
* Danielle Darrieux (1917–2017), actress
* Bernard Delvaille (1931–2006), poet, essayist
* David Diop (1927–1960), poet
* Jean-Francois Domergue, footballer
* Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204), duchess of Aquitaine, queen of France and queen of England
* Jacques Ellul (1912–1994), sociologist, theologian, Christian anarchist
* Jean Eustache (1938–1981), French New Wave, Nouvelle Vague director
* Marie Fel (1713–1794), opera singer
* Jean-Luc Fournet (1965), papyrologist
* Pierre-Jean Garat (1762–1823), singer
* Armand Gensonné (1758–1793), politician
* Sébastien Gervais (born 1976), professional footballer
* Stephen Girard (1750–1831), merchant, banker, and Philadelphia philanthropist
* Jérôme Gnako (born 1968), footballer
* Randolphe Gohi (born 1969), former professional footballer
* Eugène Goossens, fils, Eugène Goossens (1867–1958), conductor, violinist
* Anna Hamilton (1864–1935), doctor, superintendent of the Protestant Hospital at Bordeaux (1901–1934)
* Adolphe Jacquies (c. 1798–1860), Canadian shopkeeper, printer, trade unionist, and newspaper publisher
* Joseph Kabris (1780-1822), sailor known for his tattoos
* Pierre Lacour (1745–1814), painter
* Léopold Lafleurance (1865–1953), flautist
* Joseph Henri Joachim Lainé (1767–1835), statesman
* Jeanne de Lestonnac, Sainte Jeanne de Lestonnac (1556–1640), Roman Catholic saint and foundress of the Sisters of the Company of Mary, Our Lady
* Christophe Lestrade (born 1969), former professional footballer
* André Lhote (1885–1962), cubist painter
* Jeanne Henriette Louis, (1938), professor of North American civilization
* Jean-Baptiste Lynch (1749–1835), politician
* Lucenzo (born 1983), singer
* Jean-Jacques Magendie (1766–1835), officer
* François Magendie (1783–1855), physiologist
* Bruno Marie-Rose (born 1965), athlete (sprinter)
* Albert Marquet, (1875–1947), painter
* François Mauriac (1885–1970), writer, Nobel laureate 1952
* Benjamin Millepied (born 1977), dancer and choreographer
* Édouard Molinaro (1928–2013), film director, screenwriter
* Pierre Molinier (1900–1976), painter, photographer
* Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592), essayist
* Montesquieu (1689–1755), man of letters and political philosopher
* Olivier Mony (1966–), writer and literary critic
* Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty (1768–1815), general
* Elie Okobo, basketball player
* Pierre Palmade (born 1968), actor and comedian
* Paulinus of Nola, St. Paulinus of Nola (354–431), educator, religious figure
* Émile Péreire (1800–1875), banker and industrialist
* Sophie Pétronin (born 1945), aid worker and humanitarian
* Albert Pitres (1848–1928), neurologist
* Hippolyte Pradelles (1824–1913), naturalist painter
* Georges Rayet, Georges Antoine Pons Rayet (1839–1906), astronomer, discoverer of the Wolf-Rayet stars, & founder of the Bordeaux Observatory
* Odilon Redon (1840–1916), painter
* Richard II of England (1367–1400), king
* Pierre Rode (1774–1830), violinist
* Olinde Rodrigues (1795–1851), mathematician, banker and social reformer
* Marie-Sabine Roger (born 1957), writer
* Eugenie Santa Coloma Sourget (1827–1895), composer, pianist and singer
* Bernard Sarrette (1765–1858), conductor and music pedagogue
* Jean-Jacques Sempé (1932–2022), cartoonist
* Florent Serra (born 1981), tennis player
* Alfred Smith (artist), Alfred Smith, (1854–1932), painter
* Soko (singer), Soko (born 1985), singer
* Philippe Sollers, (born 1936), writer
* Wilfried Tekovi, (born 1989), Togolese footballer
* Elie Vinet (1509–1587), historian and humanist of the Renaissance
* Adam Siao Him Fa, (born 2001), professional figure skater
* Claude Dagens, (born 1940), prelate
International relationships
Twin towns – sister cities
Bordeaux is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with:
* Ashdod, Israel, since 1984
* Bilbao, Spain
* Baku, Azerbaijan, since 1985
* Bristol, United Kingdom, since 1947
* Casablanca, Morocco, since 1988
* Fukuoka, Japan, since 1982
* Kraków, Poland, since 1993
* Lima, Peru, since 1957
* Los Angeles, California United States, since 1968
* Madrid, Spain, since 1984
* Munich, Germany, since 1964
* Oran, Algeria, since 2003
* Porto, Portugal, since 1978
* Quebec City, Quebec Canada, since 1962
* Ramallah, Palestine
* Riga, Latvia
* Saint Petersburg, Russia, since 1993
* Wuhan, China, since 1998
Partnerships
* Samsun, Turkey, since 2010
See also
* Atlantic history
* Bordeaux wine regions
* Bordeaux–Paris, a formerly professional road bicycle racing annual event
* The Burdigalian Age of the Miocene Epoch is named for Bordeaux
* Canelé, a local pastry
* Communes of the Gironde department
* Dogue de Bordeaux, a Dog breed, breed of dog originally bred for dog fighting
* French wine
* Girondins
* History of slavery
* List of mayors of Bordeaux
* Operation Frankton, a British Combined Operations Headquarters, Combined Operations raid on shipping in the harbour at Bordeaux, in December 1942, during World War II
* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bordeaux
Explanatory notes
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Bordeaux: the world capital of wine
– Official French website (in English)
*
{{Authority control
Bordeaux,
Burdigalian,
Cities in France
Cities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Communes of Gironde
Gallia Aquitania
Gironde
Guyenne
Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast
Prefectures in France
World Heritage Sites in France