The City of Bordeaux, France
ABOUT
Bordeaux’s fortunes have long been tied to viticulture with its wine being produced from as early as Roman times. Wine trade with England in the 14th century helped the industry to expand. As a result it is a handsome and cohesive city with monumental buildings and fine mansions financed by the almighty grape. The city was pillaged and plundered many times over the past two millennia but it survived it all. Its people are very proud of the fact that in 2007 UNESCO designated the city as a World Heritage Site due to its beautifully preserved architectural heritage.
The current population is approximately 1,000,000
Currency used is the Euro.
THINGS TO DO
Bordeaux is a city that has thrived on the production, sale and export of wine over centuries. The result of its wealth can be seen in the architecture of this beautiful city. Magnificent buildings, the opera house, commercial buildings will truly amaze the visitor. Added to that some of the public parks and gardens and you can find plenty to do even without visiting vineyards and wineries.
There is a famous monument to the Girondins of Bordeaux with its 43m-high column. It is completed at the base by an ornate fountain, cast in bronze and can be found on the Esplanade de Quinconces, a wide promenade next to the River Garonne. The monument is a tribute to the Girondins, a political group that has roots in the Gironde department, of which Bordeaux is the capital. They were intrinsic to the wave of anti-royal feeling which swept France in the 18th century. However further power struggles between them and the Montagnards resulted in many facing the guillotine.
OUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO
We were fortunate to have an overnight stay in Bordeaux and had planned to visit a winery. The local population had other ideas as there was a national strike on that day and everything closed to enable protests to take place. So we went for a stroll in the near vicinity of the dock and found some beautiful buildings, the Monument to the Girondins and other shady walkways.
On our second day we took a City Tour bus to view the main sights – if you are visiting it is well worth doing this tour. It is easy to find the starting point and at the end you even get a voucher for a local cake called a canele. From there we also walked to the Jardin Public which is a public green space with an arboretum & large lake, park areas and a cafe/restaurant.
There is far too much to see in the city, even on a 2-day visit and we hope that our next visit will enable us to venture out into the countryside.
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