Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called Bordelais.

The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, with a population of 1,010,000, is the seventh largest metropolitan area in France. The city is among the world's major wine industry centres. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the eighth century. The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century.

Bordeaux is considered a very tolerant and relaxed place - no one will bother you about your political beliefs, religion, or sexual orientation. The cultural, artistic, and music scenes are very vibrant. The city was ruled by the English for a long time, which is why Bordeaux seems to have an "English flair". Bordeaux is often referred to as "Little Paris" and the rivalry between the "Bordelais" (people from Bordeaux) and Parisiens is a hot subject, so you may experience some heated arguments on the subject during your stay.

The main railway station, Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean, near the centre of the city, has 4 million passengers a year. It is served by the French national (SNCF) railway's high speed train, the TGV, that gets to Paris in three hours, with connections to major European centres such as Lille, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, Geneva and London. The TGV also serves Toulouse and Irun from Bordeaux. A regular train service is provided to Nantes, Nice, Marseille and Lyon. The Gare Saint-Jean is the major hub for regional trains (TER) operated by the SNCF to Arcachon, Limoges, Agen, Périgueux, Pau and Bayonne.

Bordeaux is quite a big city; however, most of the interesting attractions are in the town center. It is not recommended that visitors drive as it is always a hassle to park it (and car parks are expensive), and there are often traffic jams in the small, old streets of the city. The most interesting way to explore the city is by walking. As most of the town center is a 'pedestrian area', this is easy to do. If you like sports, you can rent roller-skates or a bike (see below) or you can make your way in town using the various bus lines. A small ferry boat permits to go from the western shore of the river to the eastern shore, and vice-versa. Three efficient tramway lines are also available (A, B, and C), tickets cost 1.40€ and covers unlimited journeys within one hour of validation.

There are also daily Bordeaux sightseeing excursions that visit all the major sights of the region: Bordeaux Wine tours of the different vineyards (Medoc, Sauternes, Graves), Saint Emilion wine tour, Arcachon Boat ride, Cognac, Saintes, Biarritz tour and the Dordogne region tour' etc. The excursions take place on board 8 seater fully equipped minivans and are taken care of by professional driver guides. All tours are held in English unless otherwise mentioned.