Bordeaux is France's 5th largest city (1992) and Préfecture (county town) of the department of the Gironde, which is named after the river. The city’s history dates back to Gallo-Roman times and it has been a trading port dealing in tin ore since the first Century. The Romans planted the first vines and started a wine trade that has lasted to the present day.
Events which took place in 1152, explain the strong British link with Bordeaux. The future English King, Henry II, married the remarkable Eleanor of Aquitaine. With their combined territories, the English crown now claimed ownership of whole of western France from the English Channel to the Pyrenees with Bordeaux becoming the English base for the next 300 years. Richard II of England was born here in 1367. The area was retaken by the French after England’s defeat at the battle of Castillon in 1453. Virtually all English territory was lost except for the Channel port of Calais which remained in British hands until 1558.
Bordeaux is best seen on foot, so park in the Esplanade des Quinconces, by the river and the quais. Bordeaux's water front is truly most elegant, with its tall wine merchant houses and classic 18th Century façades which surround the gardens and fountains of the Place de la Bourse.
For more tourist information and history, see Premier Pages (Wine Regions, Places of Interest)